Should You Put Your Podcast On YouTube?

I know that podcasting is the new thing. Everyone loves a nice podcast, but when you're uploading your content and you start asking yourself "Ooh, why are people not downloading my podcast episodes? Why are people not watching it? Why are people not listening to it?" or "Hold on. I'm getting more views on my Instagram stories than I do on my podcast downloads. What is happening here?" Don't worry, boo, I got you. I feel that to my core and we're going to fix that today.

Why does it take podcasts so long for you to start seeing results?

Here's the thing, podcasts are not discoverable. It’s only an audio file. When you upload it to your podcast host, it's just distributing it to other podcast platforms, so no one knows that your podcast exists. It's up to you to find ways to get that traffic.

Here's what's happening when people are getting traffic to their podcasts.

Think of those really good podcasts you love binge-listening to all the time. You probably found it because they were a guest on someone else's podcast, or they've been posting about it all the time on their Instagram, and then finally there was an episode that you were like, "Ooh, maybe I'll listen to it". Also, that person is going on to other people's podcasts, talking about their business, and then they do a little promo at the end saying, "Hey, go and listen to my podcast show too." So that's the only way for you to start getting traffic to your podcast starting out.

You have to manually put in the effort to start getting the traffic, because when you insert yourself, you are saying, "Hey guys, there's this episode that I think that you may like. Go ahead and go in there," and that takes so much work.

How to Get More Podcast Downloads With YouTube

That is the only reason why it takes so long for it to happen. Podcasts are not discoverable. It's you actively using your community to get people to watch your podcast. Whenever you have a podcast, the name of the game is to get traffic to it and one of the easiest ways to do that is to use a search engine-based social media platform to help you do that. It may take podcasts by themselves more time for you to start seeing results.

Have a Video-First Mentality

Let's go back to this traffic thing. The thing that I want you to do is when you use YouTube, it's going to give you the traffic that you need. What I would do is start with a video-first mentality. So, I know it's been amazing doing your podcasts inside your closet. It's time to come out of the closet, get off the floor, girl, let's go ahead.

While you are recording your podcast, I want you to record it on your phone or with a camera. I want you to have a camera with your microphone, so you are also getting the audio for the podcast but you're also getting some good video content for your YouTube channel. That is going to be how I want you to start getting the most bang for your buck for your efforts. While people are listening to your podcasts individually, they can do that and it's still the same quality, but you can also put it up on YouTube. Then, you're able to slice it and dice it however way you want because now you have this high-quality video that you can use.

Share Video Clips from the Podcast

Now that we're thinking about video first, what I want you to do is think about your YouTube channel as sharing different clips from your podcast. Instead of just thinking about posting that whole 30-minute episode about that one topic maybe create five-to-seven-minute videos that answer a topic that you could rank for.

The name of the game for YouTube is the way we can send traffic by ranking these videos, sending traffic to the podcast, and getting people to find the video because it has one of the highest search results. They watch that video and then if they want more of that, they can click through the link in the description to do, what? Go to the podcast and listen to the entire thing! That's what we're trying to do here and how we're going to start sending traffic.

We're going to be using YouTube's algorithm as a way for us to send traffic to show people that we have resources for them and that we are answering questions for them. People are searching for separate questions, and so if we could use bits and pieces of your podcast like for instance if I'm talking about how to create a YouTube strategy through a podcast that is such a heavy topic there are other things that we're talking about in that strategy.

What if I kept the podcast as the whole 30-minute episode, but I also created these separate videos that are about branding your channel, choosing the right videos for your channel, how to do keyword research for your channel? I'm pretty sure I'm probably talking about that stuff on the podcast. Why not create different clips so that all three of those videos are ranking for their own separate type of keywords? But the call to action on all three of these videos is to watch the rest of the episode on Stitcher, Spotify, or whatever platform you use.

Also, whatever your lead magnet is, who your offers are that you have to book a discovery call, or whatever that need be they know that you have a podcast. There are other ways for them to get to it if you left them. So, I think about it that way. You're probably sitting on such a goldmine of content, but you're so concerned with people listening to the entire podcast all the way through for your ego. Oops, that's probably what it is. So instead, what we need to do is think about, using up all this information, how about we start attracting more people to it so that we can start retaining them inside the podcast?

A YouTube channel is built to attract more people who may have never known about you. If we're doing that, we're capitalizing on our topics by putting out more videos that are in four separate clips and we're taking that advantage YouTube has by sending them to the podcast through there.

Do a Keyword Search Before Podcasting

Now we know to have a video mindset and cut things up in clips. That's the easiest thing to do right? Now let’s make sure that we are thinking with keywords in mind. Because we can't just take the question that we're answering in the podcast and put it up on YouTube as the video title. Think about, how are people searching for that term. How people are talking about it is a different way than what they are typing. I encourage you to use a free tool like “TubeBuddy” which will allow you to see if a keyword is searchable, rank-able, and competitive.

The idea is to find that sweet spot so that your keywords are not falling on deaf ears where no one can really find you because so many other bigger, more mature channels who talked about that topic before. How can we create a less competitive keyword that's still about that video topic? Use TubeBuddy to start doing some keyword research of your own to see how you should write a video title in a way that people can find it. Because thinking in keywords is a little bit more strategic. It takes a little bit more time, but it gives you so much bang for your buck because now you're thinking about how are people searching on this platform and how can people find this video that I worked so hard on? That's what we want to do!

Keep in mind you're not just doing this for YouTube. YouTube videos rank in Google search too! You're already exposing your video and your podcast to other ways for them to be found through Google and YouTube search. Along with you're probably going on other podcasts, interviews, and all this other stuff. This gives you some consistent stream of traffic that you don't have to hunt for all the time. You don't have to manually do anything. After you do these videos and you optimize your YouTube channel, you're good to go! You don't have to worry about it. Thinking about keywords is going to be the main thing that you must do to make sure you don't have to manually get traffic anymore. The traffic is coming to you because they are searching for things you're coming up for. You feel me? This is how easy it is to use YouTube for your podcast.

These were the main things I wanted to make sure that you guys understood so that you can start getting the traffic that I know you want to your podcast. The name of the game is, again, getting YouTube to attract people that would have never known about you from different areas, from different states, cities, countries, etc. become interested in your expertise and your podcasts thus building that community even more. Because podcasts are not searchable or discoverable, it's very hard for them to function by themselves. That's why I always recommend pairing it with a YouTube channel so that YouTube can bring in those people. You don't have to keep on posting about the same episode all the time, girl!

Put it up on YouTube, chop it up into some clips that are going to rank individually, and then the traffic is going to come that way. It's so much easier. You won't get burnt out as quickly and you will start seeing the return on your investment.

There are too many podcasters out here that start a show, and then after six months, they give up because no one is watching it. Let's start adding YouTube to it to help you start serving your community even better.

If you do need help with this, I can totally help you out with my YouTube marketing consulting services. I can make a whole three-month strategy for you to make sure all your videos are ranking on YouTube and Google search. I give you a whole strategy so that all you need to do is copy and paste exactly what I tell you to.