Useful Tips for Putting Your Podcast on YouTube

Unedited Transcript of the Episode:

Hi, I’m Andy smiley, your friendly podcast guide. I help you create and grow a podcast that is fun and fulfilling, whether you’re just starting or a few years in. I share tips stories from my own journey and insights from podcasters.

I admire. This week, I’m talking about YouTube. Why it’s a good idea for you to have your podcast on YouTube, an easy way for you to get your podcasts on YouTube that you could literally do today. And what I’ve learned from putting my podcast on YouTube for the past couple of months. As always I’ll be recapping the highlights at the end of the episode.

So you don’t have to take notes. Unless you want to.

So if you’ve heard that you should put your podcast on YouTube, but you don’t know why? Like, why should you put your podcasts? That’s. Audio. Onto YouTube. Here are some facts that can help you understand the why behind everyone telling you to put your podcast on YouTube.

First of all there is.

Uh, company. Like the helps podcasters called sounds profitable. And they did a study. They did, or they did some research and this is one of the questions that they asked their. The people that they pulled, they said aside from personal recommendations, which of the following are ways you find your podcasts. And 48% of the listeners who responded to this poll, this survey. Said they discovered new shows through YouTube. So this tells us that first of all, recommendations from other humans is still the number one way that people get podcasts, recommendations and learn about new podcasts. But other than that, like when you take that one away, almost half of. Listeners podcast listeners find their new shows on YouTube. Which is a little crazy.

And if you want to see the whole study, it’s a bunch of slides.

That’s really quite interesting. If you’re interested in that side of the podcasting world, um, I’ll put a link to it in the show notes so that you can grab your own copy of that slide deck. It’s quite interesting. And this, um, Like little stat is on slide 30. If you’re looking for it.

Another reason for being on YouTube is because YouTube is really good at what it does. YouTube is the second largest search engine. Only behind Google.

So, like I said, in the previous fact. Um, a lot of people are searching for pretty much anything and everything on YouTube, including new podcast recommendations.

And they’re also looking for how to do things. So if your podcast is teaching people how to do something, then being on YouTube will help more people that are looking to learn how to do that thing. They will find you. And that’s what we want, right. The goal is to help people.

Also Google shows YouTube content on the first page results.

So if your keywords. Match the keywords of whatever someone is Googling, then the likelihood of that, of them seeing it goes up. If you have a YouTube, because Google likes to show YouTube on the first page. So that’s nice. And YouTube’s recommendation algorithm, the algorithm that some people hate, some people love and. Most people are somewhere in the middle. Um, it does help users find you find new content that they might enjoy, which would be you.

We want people to find you. So let’s use the YouTube algorithm for good. And help more people find you via YouTube.

There are a lot of things on YouTube that are great. But the last one that I’m going to talk about today is all of their built in engagement features. So comments likes dislikes, shares. All of them are very easy to see. And like take in. Both as a podcaster and as people that are seeing your content, and that is something that podcast apps. Are working toward and some podcasts apps have, but not all of them.

So it’s really nice to get a little bit more immediate feedback via comments and likes and other things like that. Um, that we don’t really get on traditional podcast apps quite as much. So that is a benefit and something that I’ve. Enjoyed more than I thought I would just getting a little more engagement on the podcast itself and not just like on social media and things like that.

Okay, so now you know why you should be on YouTube?

Why it’s a good idea, but you’re like, Andy, I do not have the energy or the time to do a video podcast right now. Like that is just not in my plan. It’s not in my. Life, I cannot find a spot to put it in the schedule. I totally get it. I was there last year. So this is what I did to still be on YouTube without having a video podcast,

you can still be on YouTube without changing anything that you’re doing right now.

YouTube now has a way for you to upload your RSS feed. So you just go to YouTube. If you don’t have a YouTube account, make one. And then, um, you can just upload your RSS feed and then every time a new episode drops, um, it will also go onto YouTube and we’ll just show your, um, whatever your episode art is. Um, and then it will just play your audio while it shows that episode art.

If you want me to create a step-by-step video, that explains how to upload your RSS feed. Let me know in the comments. I’ll totally make one, if you want one,

so I’ve been creating a video podcast and uploading it to YouTube for two months now. So I definitely don’t know everything, but I have learned quite a bit and I wanted to share what I’ve learned so far. So the first thing is I use descript. I started using descript to edit all of my videos and it is so. Easy. It makes life so easy, honestly, even if you are just an audio podcast. Um, It still makes it so much easier to edit.

Because truly, so one of the things I was the most worried about when I wanted to start making a video podcast to put it on YouTube so that it would be more searchable was.

Editing a video like that just adds a whole nother level before that I was just audio. And that was kind of where I was comfortable.

Before I became a mom. I was a radio producer. So I was like, Really comfortable with editing audio, but not so much video. I did a little bit, but not very much. And, um, all I had was I movie. So like editing video and I movie is doable, but difficult. And so I did not want to do that.

So. I started using descript and it was a game changer because all you have to do is upload your video. To descript and then it does its magical technical technological thing. And then it spits out a transcript. And then you use that transcript to edit the video. So if I say. Um, or if I repeat myself three times and I want to get rid of at least two of the repeats. All I have to do is highlight it and delete it. In the transcript and then it deletes it in the video. It’s amazing.

It’s magic. I love it so much. So, and it’s truly saved me so much time and energy and effort. Um, As I’m putting my video podcast together. So that I can focus on other aspects of my podcast. Especially as I’m figuring out YouTube and all of the things that go with it. So. Highly highly, highly recommend descript, but also I know some of you are like me and you want to still be able to do like nitpicky edits. Like if I accidentally talk over my guest or if my guests. Lola.

If my guest coughed while I was talking, then I still want to be able to go in and like, mute that you totally can’t descript still has all of those like capabilities. Um, but for like broad strokes, most of the time when you’re editing, all you have to do is edit the transcript and it is so, so nice. So if the editing part of making a video podcast is what’s holding you back. I highly, highly recommend trying descript. Um, I have an affiliate link in, I’ll put it in the show notes. And. You can give it a try for free,

Another thing that I’ve learned about YouTube in the past couple of months. Is, if you want to make money from YouTube, you have to have a thousand subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the last year.

So, I mean, it would be nice to make money from YouTube, but that’s not my main goal right now with this platform.

It’s mostly just for people to find my podcast and start listening. So it’s nice to know that you can make money and that. Like you have to have a thousand subscribers and 4,000 hours. Um, but that’s not something that is my. That’s not my main goal right now, but nice to know, like in the back of my head, um, like what we’re building towards and that there’s an opportunity to make money on YouTube.

Another thing that I learned is. So YouTube shorts, if you’ve heard of those are pretty much the equivalent of reels on Instagram. Um, And I’ve noticed that when I do YouTube shorts, That has been the main way that I get new subscribers to my channel.

And right now. All of my YouTube shorts are just repurposed reels. I,

I don’t like pull it directly from Instagram and put onto shorts, but I’ll just use the same video. Use the same. Audio use the same words and then I’ll do it that way. Um, and that has made it significantly easier to. Do YouTube shorts, because I don’t have the capacity to make all brand new ones for YouTube shorts.

So that’s how I’ve been doing it. And it’s been pretty helpful. Oh, one other cool thing about shorts is that you can tie them back to a video.

So, um, like I will take, uh, usually like my favorite clip from. The episode for that week and I will. Clip it down. So it’s shorter. Usually around 30 seconds. And, um, have that be a YouTube short and then. In the, like, as you’re making the short, you can tap, like tie it to. Whatever video that came from, and that is one. Nice thing you can do with shorts is um, like if you liked this YouTube short, then you might like this longer form video.

And it’s just another way that you can point people to see your stuff and learn more about you. So that’s kind of fun and unique to YouTube shorts.

Have you seen how YouTube videos are kind of like cut into sections and there’s like titles of those sections. So those are called timestamps and I figured out how to do them. It’s actually way, way easier than I thought it was going to be. All you have to do is have like a section in your YouTube. Video description. Um, Title at something. I literally just call them timestamps. Um, and then for every section at the beginning, like when that section starts you type. The time. So let’s say I have something special that happens at a minute 23 I’ll type in zero one, colon 23. And then whatever the title, I, whatever I want the title to be. And then. Once it publishes. It creates a timestamp right there.

And I’ve noticed that this helps with SEO. So that I can use keywords without trying to make them sound supernatural in a different part of the. Um, description. So that’s been really nice and it also just makes my videos look a little bit more legitimate. And it just makes me feel a little bit more like professional because I have timestamps, um, You can also do this for your podcast. Um, it’s, it’s similar to YouTube, but to make things just a little bit more exciting, it’s a little bit different.

So send me a DM at friendly podcast guide on Instagram. If you want me to walk you through it, it’s. Pretty simple, but like you have to format it just slightly different. So let me know, I do it on my podcast as well for like podcast apps. Um, And I can walk you through it.

Thumbnails are something that are pretty unique to YouTube.

And I learned a lot about how to make good ones. I’m definitely still in the experimenting to try and figure out how exactly to make them look good, but have learned something. So. First of all. The meals are important if that’s not obvious enough, um, Even more so important than the title. From what I have seen and gathered from my own experience and from what I’ve learned from other people. Um, Because that’s what people see.

That’s kind of their, that’s their first impression. Um, and. It’s. Pretty much the thing that will help them decide on if they’re going to click it or not.

So when I was doing research about thumbnails, these are kind of like the three things that people on the internet said over and over again. First try and keep the amount of words on your thumbnail to five or six words or less. Um, Less is more when it comes to words, also put your face on it or someone’s face, put a face on it. And like having them have some sort of interesting, um, facial expression helps to. And use color. I have have splashes of color on there that get attention.

But also I had, I saw someone else say, don’t use too much or else, then it’s overwhelming. And people are like, look, I don’t want to deal with that. So. There’s a bouncing Arthur and I do feel like it also will depend on your aesthetic and what you want, the vibe you want your podcast to have, but. Using color will help attract eyes. For sure.

As far as how I make my thumbnails, I use Canva and,

When I did my leg brand photo shoot. Um, for my podcast, my photographer actually had me do a bunch of like poses where I was like,

And like,

And I’ve used a lot of those for my thumbnails and it’s been very convenient. So, um,

You can try doing something like that. I just did against a blink wall so that I could like cut out the outline and use it and have like different colors and stuff. But, um, You can do it however you want.

The final thing that I’m going to talk about today that I learned about YouTube in the past couple of months is having a background.

That isn’t a blank wall is always a good idea. Um, and, and using, um, You know, on zoom and. Other video chat software, you can like blur your background or make it look like you’re at a beach or something. Um, in my experience, those don’t usually work that well, most people don’t really like it when it’s a fake background and you can tell, um, and I feel like you can always tell, even if. Even if you think, you think people don’t. I be able to tell they can usually talk. Um, So having something in your background, that’s not just a blank wall is. Always a good idea.

Um, I learned this the hard way. When I was doing it. Interview with the creators of pixel quest, which is a really great kid podcast. If you’re looking for one, um, or if you’re not, and you have littles. Pixel quest is a good one. My children will love it. Um, But both of the creators that I was interviewing had really interesting backgrounds.

They were really fun and dynamic, but not like super distracting. And I was like, dang. My background, which I’m pretty sure in that video is just my bedroom. Because I was just doing the interview at home. I’d put my children to bed and did the interview. And I realized right then and there that I need to work on my background for my videos.

So this is one of my backgrounds right now is the bookshelves because I work from my parents’ house on Monday. This is what I use and it works pretty well, but I do want something that’s a little more personalized to me. Someday we’ll figure it out. And I think that’s going to be one of my projects. Um, in between seasons. So. Keep an eye out for new fun background. That is a little more personalized to me. So to recap, putting your podcasts on YouTube is a really good idea, especially if you want new people to find your show.

The second thing is you can get your podcast on YouTube today by uploading your RSS feed to YouTube. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward. And you can start using. All of the benefits of YouTube. Today without having to create a.

Video podcast.

But if you’re ready to take that next step and create a video podcast, but you’re still a little intimidated by editing video. I highly recommend descript. It’s the bomb. I’ll put the F my affiliate link in the show notes so that you can try it out for free and hopefully fall in love with it like me, because it has been such a game changer for me and my show. You can grow faster on YouTube if you use YouTube shorts.

Um, and I just repurpose my Instagram reels as YouTube shorts, and it’s been. Pretty successful overall.

Thumbnails on YouTube are as important, if not more important than the title of a YouTube video. So make sure to spend some time making it. Interesting eye catching.

But not misleading. Cause then people aren’t going to trust you with not aren’t going to come back.

So. Toe the line, make sure it’s interesting, but also conveys what the episode is about. And then last but not least. Get an interesting background. And when you’re ready to do a video podcast so that you won’t be embarrassed when the people that you’re interviewing have way cooler backgrounds and you’re just sitting with your bed and like a window in the background, like I did, it was.

A bit of a wake-up call.

Will you share this episode with your podcasting friend who’s on the fence about putting her podcast on YouTube. She can use this information to realize that being on YouTube is a really good idea, and it’s not as hard as she thinks it is. Next week’s episode, I’ll be talking about how the friendly podcast guide did in October. Including download numbers, how much money I made and what experiments I tried that you should implement in your podcast to help you to. Thanks for being here and I’ll see you next week.