How To Start a Podcast on YouTube: Top Tips

It’s never been easier to start a podcast, and many creators have opted to post video podcasts on YouTube. The site’s built-in features offer several benefits for podcasters, including interactive features, built-in channel analytics, and monetization options. 

If you want to create a YouTube podcast but don’t know where to begin, you’re in the right place. Read on to learn how to start a podcast on YouTube, plus discover some tips to grow your following.

What’s a Podcast on YouTube?

Podcasts started as audio-only shows, but they quickly evolved into video podcasts that use both audio and visuals. YouTube podcasts are formatted as playlists, with each episode appearing as a video in the series. Episodes vary from simple interviews to comedy performances to true crime stories. 

Most of the time, podcasters also post audio-only versions of their shows across platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean. However, if creators want to include any visual elements in their content, YouTube is the platform to do it. 

3 Reasons You Should Be Podcasting on YouTube

In 2023, nearly 70 million Americans listened to podcasts, and this number is expected to increase to over 110 million in the next few years. So, there’s never been a better reason to start a YouTube podcast. Here are a few benefits of this platform.

1. Increased Reach and Discoverability

YouTube is the world’s largest video-sharing platform, so it has a huge audience you can tap into. Additionally, the YouTube algorithm is incredibly powerful, helping people worldwide discover content that fits their search results. 

By focusing on your podcast’s search engine optimization, you can increase your content’s visibility on YouTube. Effective thumbnails, titles, and video descriptions boost your podcast to the top of search results, enhancing your views and channel growth. Combined with a massive user base, these features make it easier to grow a podcast audience on YouTube than on smaller platforms.

2. More Monetization Opportunities

Audio-only podcasts rely heavily on sponsorships and joining ad networks to generate revenue. However, YouTube provides several ways for creators to make money with podcasts. These include:

• AdSense — As long as you meet the Partner Program’s eligibility requirements, YouTube will pay you a cut from ad revenue.
• Audience interactions — Viewers can pay for Super Chats, Stickers, and Thanks to have their messages highlighted in videos or comments sections.
• Channel memberships — Audiences can pay a subscription fee to view your exclusive content.
• Shopping — You can sell merchandise on YouTube’s shopping tab or post affiliate links for other brands.
• YouTube Premium revenue — When Premium subscribers watch your channel, you’ll earn part of their subscription fee.
  
  

3. Improved Engagement

YouTube provides great engagement features that let creators connect with their audience. Viewers can leave comments to share their thoughts, ask questions, and give feedback, which builds a sense of community. The platform’s live streaming features improve this interaction, allowing hosts to talk to viewers in real time. Plus, the ability to like and share videos encourages fans to promote content they enjoy, helping it reach more people. 

How To Make a Podcast on YouTube: 5 Steps

If you’re ready to launch your own podcast on YouTube, follow these five steps. 

1. Plan

Arguably, planning is the most important step to starting a career in podcasting. Think carefully about your podcast topic, and choose one you can talk about confidently. Popular themes include true crime, pop culture, health and wellness, and relationships. 

During the planning stage, you should also pick a podcast format. Decide whether you’ll structure your podcast as an interview, roundtable discussion, or monologue. Outline your first few episodes and create a content schedule so you can easily keep the content flowing. 

2. Get Equipment

Your equipment needs will vary based on your podcast type, budget, and format. Remember, having the best gear in the world won’t automatically get you more subscribers on YouTube, and it’s possible to create great content without fancy equipment. 

To start podcasting, you’ll need a microphone, camera, and headphones. Once you’ve established your podcast, you can invest in additional equipment like an audio interface and lighting. 

3. Record

After you have a topic and equipment, you can begin recording your podcast episodes. Choose a quiet space with minimal background noise and decent lighting to ensure the best audio and visual quality. Make a test recording, adjust your setup to fix any issues, and start shooting episodes.

4. Edit

Knowing how to edit YouTube videos is key to making a great video podcast. YouTube has a built-in editor, but manually reviewing content takes time. Thankfully, Captions can automatically edit your podcasts using AI. Here’s how: 

• Upload — Import your video into Captions.
• Edit — Let AI remove distracting background noise, cut vocal pauses, and add customizable subtitles. 
• Share — Post your polished podcast on YouTube.

To help advertise your new show, use Captions to scrub your long-form content and search for viral-worthy clips. Then, upload these across platforms to reach a wider audience.

5. Upload

After you’ve finished editing, you’re ready to create a podcast playlist and upload your episode. Simply follow these steps:

• Sign in — Open YouTube Studio, click Create, and select “New podcast.”
• Make a playlist — Tap “Create a new podcast” or “Set an existing playlist as a podcast” from the pop-up menu.
• Add your info — Provide your podcast details, including the title, description, and thumbnail.
• Finalize — Click “Create” to save.

You can add videos to this playlist by clicking “Details” during an upload. To add an existing video, navigate to the Content tab, pick a video, and tap “Add to playlist.”

4 Tips To Grow Your Podcast

Although their content and format vary, all the best podcasts share a few common traits. Here are a few podcast tips to help you maximize your growth and revenue.

1. Create Engaging Thumbnails and Titles

Viewers will get their first impressions of your video from the title and thumbnail. Eye-catching content encourages people to click on your post, which improves engagement rates.

As you plan your YouTube titles, use relevant keywords and questions to drive clicks. When making a thumbnail for YouTube, remember to use bold images that incorporate your logo or enhance your brand recognition.

To save time on this process, use Captions’ Prepare Social Post feature. It uses AI to automatically generate a title, description, and viral hashtags based on the content in your video. This gives you more time to film and promote your YouTube video podcast. 

2. Do Collaborations and Cross-Promotions

Collaborations and cross-promotions are great ways to grow your YouTube video podcast. By teaming up with other creators, influencers, or brands, you can reach their audience and get more people to check out your podcast. This might mean cohosting an episode, interviewing each other, or simply mentioning each other's channels in your videos.

3. Promote on Social Media

To maximize your growth, you need to promote your podcast in as many places as possible. Use Captions to automatically extract viral-worthy clips from your longer videos. Then, post those on your social media channels, website, and blog to hype up your podcast.

4. Interact With Your Audience

Audience interaction is one of the most important yet often-forgotten podcast best practices. Talking to your audience and prompting discussion increases engagement, which helps viewers connect with your content and develops dedicated fans. 

Ask for podcast ideas in the comments, and follow through by creating episodes based on those suggestions. Or, have people submit questions that you can answer in future episodes. You could also invite viewers to call in and speak with you directly during episodes. No matter how you reach out, creating a community around your podcast is the best way to encourage repeat listens.

Elevate Your YouTube Podcasts With Captions

YouTube offers a range of features to help you monetize and grow your podcast. If you're ready to get into the podcasting game, you need a tool that makes creating and editing episodes easy.

Captions has all the features you need to enhance your podcast’s audio and visuals. Use our AI tools to remove background noise, apply style and audio effects, and add captions to your YouTube videos. 

Try Captions today to have podcasting tools right at your fingertips.