How to Start a Podcast on YouTube in 9 Steps

Nowadays, many people have started doing podcasts. Some are podcasting just for fun, while for others, it is both a source of entertainment and money. There is another good reason behind the growth of podcasters. Podcasting is a cost-friendly way to deliver content to a target audience and build brand awareness for yourself or your business.

And since YouTube is one of the greatest places for publishing audio content, it makes sense to consider using this platform while starting your podcasting career. Why should podcasters choose YouTube? This platform has 2.527 billion monthly active users as of April 2023. Another great reason to use this platform for podcasts is its search engine. It also has a great recommendation algorithm that can offer your podcast to people listening to similar content. So, if you are still trying to decide whether it is worth using YouTube, you leave a lot of money on the table. 

However, you should clarify what you are trying to achieve with YouTube. If you are striving to increase your brand popularity, then creating a YouTube channel is sensible. You can upload any video content you want.

On the other hand, if your primary goal is to dive into the world of podcasting, more than creating a YouTube channel is required. First, you should get your podcast on famous podcast platforms such as Spotify and Google Podcasts. After that, you can upload your podcasts on YouTube and continue to grow your audience there. 

Our comprehensive guide on how to start a podcast on YouTube will help you to get started gradually. We have prepared a guide that consists of some essential steps to follow as a beginner in the amazing world of podcasting.

What are YouTube Podcasts?

A YouTube podcast is a unique content form on YouTube that is similar to a traditional podcast with the addition of some visual elements. Similar to audio podcasts, a YouTube podcast can be in the form of discussions, interviews, storytelling, or educational content around different topics. However, unlike audio podcasts, a YouTube podcast is presented in a video format, often featuring hosts or guests on camera, visual aids, and other video-related elements.

YouTube Channel vs. Podcast

If you aim to build your own brand, then you can set up a YouTube channel and upload any video you’d like. 

On the other hand, if your goal is to break into the podcasting space, YouTube alone cannot help you grow your show. You will also need your episodes to get listed on all the leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. In that case, you can start a podcast and then upload your episodes to YouTube as part of your podcast-building strategy.

Why to start a podcast on YouTube?

Starting a podcast on YouTube comes with a lot of benefits:

1. YouTube is one of the largest content platforms worldwide, with millions of daily users. By uploading your podcasts here, you have a chance to reach a diverse audience that might discover your content organically.

2. YouTube provides various opportunities to monetize your content. You can make money through ads running on your videos, channel memberships that offer exclusive content and other perks to subscribers, and the sale of merchandise through the platform.

3. YouTube has powerful search and recommendation algorithms that can help your podcast reach viewers interested in your industry. If you optimize your content, it can appear in search results and be recommended to users watching similar videos.

4. You can repurpose your video podcasts into shorter clips, teasers, or highlights for social media platforms. This way, you can expand your reach and direct viewers to your full podcast episodes on YouTube.

A 9-Step Guide on How to Start a Podcast on YouTube for Beginners

1. Choose a Topic

Starting a podcast might take a lot of work. The most challenging part is choosing the right topic for your podcasts. You may have a passion for different themes and will need help figuring out which one to choose. So, to get started, you need to identify your niche. Write down a list of favorite topics you are interested in. Next, narrow down this list and leave the ones you think you have enough knowledge of. Additionally, you can write what skills and knowledge you have and lack for a specific topic. This will also help you to choose a theme. 

If you are still trying to decide what niche to choose, consider getting advice from your friends, relatives, colleagues, and acquaintances. Receiving recommendations from other people will allow you to generate ideas and choose the best topic for your podcasts. 

2. Learn Your Target Audience

The next step of our tutorial about how to start a podcast on YouTube is learning who your target audience is. It is an important step to take in order to understand which markets fit your niche and which ones are less valuable. Once you identify who your buyer persona is, you can craft effective strategies and a content plan to make relevant offerings to your target audience. 

To define who your target audience is, you need to do proper research. First, you can conduct a demographic and psychographic analysis. You may wonder what these are.

Demographic information about your target audience typically includes people’s age, gender, ethnicity, race, education level, marital status, number of children, occupation, income, and geographic location.

Psychographics, on the other hand, is the study of people’s interests, personalities, attitudes, values, opinions, and lifestyles. This is important data that you can use to avoid conveying messages your audience does not care about.

So, as you can see, researching your market is highly essential. After collecting all the necessary information, you will be able to understand whether you can achieve your target audience with your niche and if it is interesting enough for your target audience. If you still need to, then you can always make changes to achieve the best possible results.

3. Pick the Right Equipment for Podcasting

When starting a podcast, it is important to make sure that you have the right equipment in order to produce high-quality content. Below, you will find some essential equipment and software you need to get started.

• • Microphone: If you are looking for a good microphone, one thing you should consider is whether you might need a USB connector or a modern XLR connector with a mixer. Additionally, if you are going to record your podcasts in a dedicated noiseless place, then you can buy a microphone with a condenser. However, if you are planning to record your podcasts outdoors, then it would be better to purchase a dynamic microphone.
  • A good camera: If you want to record your video podcast in high quality, you need to obtain a good camera. You can choose an external webcam as it provides clearer images compared to the computer’s built-in webcam. A handheld camera is yet another great option to consider. You just need to place it on a tripod and start recording. 
  • A PC or laptop
  • Headphones
  • Podcast recording software: If podcasting is not just a hobby for you but a career, you should invest in quality software that will help you achieve great results. GarageBand and Audacity are great software for beginners. However, regardless of what software you choose, make sure it is reliable and easy to use. Whatever recording software you pick, be sure to choose something that is reliable and easy to use. 
  • Podcast editing software: Reaching your target audience and leaving a long-lasting impression on them is not that easy. You need to achieve the best possible quality to make people listen to your podcasts. As for editing software, the above-mentioned options are also suitable for editing.
  • Podcast hosting software: Podcast hosting software is a repository for your audio files and the places where you decide to create your podcast feed. After uploading your podcast episodes to a hosting site, you can add your podcasts’ RSS feed to podcast directories such as Spotify, iTunes, and so on. Afterwards, you can upload your podcasts on YouTube to maximize their reach.

Below you can find some famous podcast-hosting platforms 

• Buzzsprout
• Podbean
• Simplecast
  

  4. Record Your Podcast

The next step in our guide on how to start a podcast on YouTube is recording a podcast. Whether you are hosting a guest for your podcast or filming only yourself, it would be great to do a soundcheck before you start recording. In this way, you can make sure that your mic is working and the quality of your sound is good enough.

Once you have checked everything, start recording. You can have a piece of paper with the outline of your podcast. It can help you to remember all the important points of your speech. However, try not to read your notes all the time. Instead, try to be conversational and engage as much as it is possible.

5. Edit Your Podcast

After recording your podcast, you also need to edit it. As we have already discussed, there are some great software programs that you can use as a beginner. You can add intro and outro to your podcasts. It is a great way to impress your listeners. Besides, you can use music and different sound effects (only if they make sense). 

Once you have made all the necessary editing changes, listen to your podcast one more time to make sure everything is ok. Make the final adjustments and prepare to upload it on YouTube. 

6. Create a YouTube Podcast Channel and Upload Your Podcasts

YouTube is the number one platform for listening to podcasts. If you wonder how to create a podcast channel on YouTube, you should know that the signup process is quite easy. You can use your email or Google account to sign in. Once you have a YouTube podcast channel, upload your podcasts. 

After learning how to create a podcast channel on YouTube, start thinking about your podcasts’ discoverability. Make sure to include relevant hashtags. People can find your channel thanks to those hashtags. Also, make sure to have a visually appealing cover for your podcasts. If you have a good cover, people are likely to click on your YouTube podcast to learn more about it. 

7. Monetize Your Videos

Some people start podcasting for fun. However, over time, when they have real success and gain publicity, they also want to make money. So, if you are wondering how to receive income from your podcasting efforts, you need to try some famous effective methods. Below you will find some of them.

Alt text: A hand holding a pile of dollar banknotes

• Sponsorships: Sponsorships assume advertising and promoting products and services of businesses or companies. They make use of your listenership by placing some ads in your video podcasts. In return, you receive some monetary benefits. 
• Affiliate marketing: Affiliate marketing is the practice of promoting products or services in your podcasts in exchange for some money. The receiving company can tell when a consumer has come from your show because the end payout is tracked by an affiliate link or code that is specific to your podcast. 
• Offer premium paid content: If you manage to establish a loyal audience, they will be more than happy to pay you for additional content. So, you can create and offer exclusive premium content which you can monetize by asking your followers to pay for it. 
• Donations: Your podcast fans will surely be happy to support you financially. However, make sure you make this process transparent. They should know how you are going to use that money. Whether it is for obtaining more advanced equipment or something else, tell your audience why you need their donations. 
• Host live podcast recording events: This is yet another great way to make some money with your podcasts. You can host a live podcast recording event and sell the tickets so that your listeners can attend it and have a real-time experience.
• Make use of the YouTube Partner Program: Last but not least, you can join YouTube Partner Program to monetize your podcasts.
  

  8. Create a Content Calendar

Developing a clear content calendar is one of the most important steps in our tutorial about how to start a podcast on YouTube. If you want to grow your audience and have loyal fans, you need to post consistently. Publishing one podcast every two months will not bring you closer to your goal. Moreover, it will only negatively impact your podcasting career. So, bring your podcasts in front of your audience regularly if you want them to remember and become an active listener of your podcasts.

To do so, you need to create a content calendar. It is a great tool for organizing your content and making sure you are on the right track. Instead of spending hours thinking about what to post, you can have a clear schedule for your podcasts. 

First, decide how often you want to publish your podcasts. Let’s say you want to publish two podcasts every week. Next, choose the days of the week and stick to them. After, decide on when to post. Choose the best time for posting so that you can maximize the reach of your podcasts.

9. Track and Monitor

Some people wonder how to start a podcast on YouTube but forget to think about tracking and monitoring their efforts. This is an important step that many podcasters neglect. It is done to ensure you are on the right track and your podcasting career progresses in the right direction. 

So, if you want to enhance the quality of your podcasts, you need to make use of YouTube analytics. You can get some valuable insights about how your content performs in general and whether it gets the right engagement. If not, then you should definitely do something about it. 

Additionally, you can create a survey for your audience. Ask them to share their feedback about your podcasts, what they like and dislike the most, what topics they would like to cover in the upcoming episodes, and so on. This information will help you to identify the weaknesses and strengths of your podcasts and make improvements.

Final Thoughts

YouTube is one of the most powerful platforms to start a podcast and grow your listenership. Some people cannot figure out how to start a podcast on YouTube and soon give up on their dreams and goals. However, by following the steps mentioned earlier, you will be able to easily upload your podcasts on YouTube and increase your audience there. 

Start small and be patient. Achieving success does not happen overnight. You need to work diligently and focus on your goals. 

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

FAQ about YouTube podcasts

1. Is it hard to start a podcast on YouTube?

Starting a podcast on YouTube isn’t that challenging, but it requires thorough planning, consistent content creation, and some technical know-how to create and manage a YouTube channel.

2. What equipment do you need to start a podcast on YouTube?

To start a podcast on YouTube, you’ll need a microphone for better audio, headphones to monitor sound and video recording equipment such as a webcam or camera. You can also purchase basic video editing software for refining your episodes.

3. How long should a YouTube podcast be?

It depends, but many successful podcasts range from 20 to 60 minutes. However, depending on the topic, it can take even longer as long as it makes sense.

4. Why do YouTubers start podcasts?

YouTubers often start podcasts to provide their followers with diverse content, connect with them on a deeper level, cover broader topics, and invite interesting guests.

5. How do I get more podcast views on YouTube?

To boost your podcast views on YouTube, concentrate on crafting compelling titles, thumbnails, and descriptions that accurately reflect your content. Consistency also matters, so have a regular upload schedule. Also, make sure to engage with your audience through comments and social media to build a loyal community around your podcast.

6. Where can I listen to YouTube podcasts?

You can listen to YouTube podcasts on the YouTube platform, where creators upload full episodes. However, some creators repurpose their podcasts into audio-only formats available on podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.