A lot of top YouTube creators have audio podcasts in iTunes that compliment their YouTube channels and engages their audience on other platforms. The producer of Tyler Oakley’s podcast, Psychobabble, shares how to use an audio podcast to engage your viewers in ways that compliment your YouTube videos and subscribers.
We’re going to talk about what you guys, as creators, how you can leverage a podcast of your own, maybe. To grow your own audience and how that really fits into your audience development stuff. We’ll talk about that. It’s coming up right after this.
So I’ve been thinking about starting a podcast of my own as a way to reach new people. But I’ve never done the whole podcasting thing. What advice and tips do you have, one, for what are the advantages that podcasting has for audience growth as a YouTuber, but then two, how we might get started with that. Something we’re interested in.
Podcasting is Very Intimate
Sure. Yeah. I think as a YouTuber, there’s a great opportunity with podcasting, especially audio podcasting. I mean, you can do video podcasting as well, but with audio podcasting, it’s a very intimate kind of media, to where you can get right into the ears of your audience. And so they’re able to consume your podcast while they’re exercising, while they’re commuting. They can get that content in places that they can’t get content by watching a video.
And so it’s a huge, huge opportunity for you to share something that might take a little bit longer. So say you want to dive deeper into a subject that you cover. It’s a great way to do that, because a lot of times, YouTube videos seem to work better when they’re shorter.
I’m not saying always. But sometimes they work better when they’re shorter. Whereas podcasts, the average commute time is around 20, 30 minutes. The average exercise time is around–
On the bus as a kid, or driving to work, or whatever.
Yeah. So it’s a great way to have them spend some time with you and to you get your messaging across, to get your entertainment across, and really engage them in something that is going to take a little bit longer.
So how would you create a podcast that compliments your channel in a way that’s actually valuable that they would want to subscribe on iTunes.
Sure. I mean, it really depends on what your audience wants and what their needs are. But whether it’s entertainment or a how-to or something like that, if there’s something that you just don’t have enough time to talk about on your YouTube channel, that’s a great thing to explore. Or if there’s something that you feel is special, some kind of special treat.
Podcasting Allow More In-Depth Conversation
One of things that Tyler and Korey do, they’ll talk way more about gossip and what’s going on at award shows. They talk more about their background and more about themselves. So they’ll share things that they don’t share on YouTube. They’ll dive into a little bit deeper in “Psychobabble.”
Is it easier to do that on podcasts because it’s a little more long-form content a little bit? Is that easier on a podcast to do than if you’re going to make a 30 minute video about it?
I think making an audio podcast is always easier than making a video.
Probably. You don’t have to get dressed up and
Yeah. And the lights and the camera costs are a lot cheaper too, if you’re just doing audio. So I think that as we get more cars that interface with our phones and more cars that have podcasting built into it– the name may change, you know, it could just be audio. Oh, I listen to a radio show or an audio show on demand, but we’re getting more used to getting our content when and where we want it, and audio is a great way.
Great Way to Build an Audience
The other thing is that if you’re YouTuber and you wanted to start something new, and you weren’t sure about how to do it on YouTube yet, an audio podcast is a great way to build an audience from scratch. It’s a great way to experiment. The BBC, they do a lot of their pilots on radio first, and then if it works out well on radio, and they know what the characters are, then they take it to television.
So I think that’s a really great place to experiment and play. And podcasting is getting a lot easier to do than it was 10, 15 years ago. You used to have to roll your own RSS feed. I don’t even know what that means.
Services had to do that for you, yeah.
Yeah. And so now, it’s all ready to do, and you just need to record it and upload it.
OK. So is it a good idea or a bad idea to take what’s right on your YouTube channel and put it– it sounds like– and put it into a podcast. It sounds like what you’re saying is the podcast needs to complement the channel, not necessarily just copy it.
Yeah. I think there’s some interesting strategy to play with here, and it’s still early days. So it could work out different ways. But I would have the content on your audio podcast be different. I also, if you have the ability to shoot video while you’re recording your audio podcast, I would take a section of that video, let’s say the first two minutes of that video, and make that available on your YouTube channel so that it teases people to go check out your audio podcast and subscribe.
So how about turning our YouTube videos into a video podcast? The same thing, just don’t take your same YouTube content and put it on– or are you reaching a new, totally different group of people by doing it that way?
It really depends. I think if you’re going to go audio podcast, you should build content that’s right for that. But there are exceptions to that. Like you take “CBS Evening News” or “60 Minutes.” Now, “CBS Evening News” is on television, and “60 Minutes” is on television, but CBS Radio makes that available in an audio format.
Now, it’s kind of weird that you’re listening to a TV show on the radio, but if you’re a big “60 Minutes” fan, and you want to hear what the show’s about, and you’re stuck in your car, that’s how you’re going to consume it. I don’t think that works for everybody. So I’d be hesitant to recommend that to anyone. But experiment. Ask your audience. See what they think.
So tips for getting started. If they were thinking, this sounds awesome, what are the first steps that I do? What should I do first?
Tips for Getting a Started
Well, you’ve got to have the tools. So you need a good microphone, and you need a recording. If you have a Mac, GarageBand records. You can record right to GarageBand. There’s some people that they use Google– what is it, Google Chat? I’m blanking on what it’s called.
Google Chat or Skype, or something?
Or Skype. And you can record to either one and take the audio out and make an audio podcast to that. But again, a really good microphone. You don’t need to spend a lot of money, but just make sure it sounds good, and your levels are right. And then once you have that, and you can edit it and create a format. I mean, really thinking about what the show format is and who’s the audience that it’s going to serve. What are the benefits going to be for them?
Make sure all of that is in there in an entertaining and in a informative way. Really important to build that out. But from a nuts and bolts, once you have that edited, you’ve got your file, you’re happy with it, you don’t have any copyrighted music in it, take that, and you’re going to have to upload it to a hosting site. There are ones out there. You can just Google podcast hosting.
Podcast Hosting Options
Two that I would say take a look at– there’s a couple. One is a site called Libsyn to check out. And the other one is– I was going to say Blueberry, but Todd Cochrane’s website. Check it out. And you can do hosting there. It’s Burberry. And once you have those files hosted, then you want to be able to make sure that you have third party metrics.
OK. And both of those services have metrics built in?
They have metrics built in, but it’s always a good idea to have something else. So there’s a company that I consult with, let me say that, called Podtrac, and it’s free, no obligation. And there are instructions on how to do this, but you install the measurement software into your feed, and then there’s also a survey for your audience.
So you can find out who your listeners are, because they’ll fill out the survey for you, and then you can also see who’s downloading. And if you’re interested in monetizing, once you have that installed there, we’ll be able to see who’s listening, who’s downloading, and if any sponsors are interested in sponsoring that.
Cool. The next step sounds like it’s probably to go tell your audience about it.
List Your Podcast on iTunes
Well, the other thing– this is really important– most audio podcasts are consumed on iTunes. So you want to make sure that you get your podcast listed on iTunes. It’s free. You’re going to have to create the show art.
Will services help you do that too? The Libsyn and–
You can use them, or you can do it direct. I say do it direct, so that if something better comes along, or you change your mind, you have control.
It’s easier, yeah. So you just go to the podcasting section of iTunes and find the Submit Podcast button?
Yeah, exactly. And there’s some information to fill out. You’re going to need some artwork. But every Tuesday, there’s new music on iTunes. And so a lot of people go to see what the new music is. They go to get to see what the new books are. And in the process, they stumble across new podcasts.
A new podcast. OK. So you want to be new and noteworthy in there and get a lot of traffic to it as quickly as possible in the beginning?
Tips for Launching Podcast
Absolutely. It’s really important when you launch. When you launch, you want to make sure you’ve got three episodes in the can, ready to go. And when you have something that’s good, and you send your audience there, the iTunes guys will notice and they’ll feature you. Once you’re featured, you get a lot of traffic.
Awesome. Cool. I know for a lot of those guys, like– I just like creating stuff that helps people. I know a lot of you guys do also. And we do that on YouTube, but I do think it makes sense to leverage out and move out to other platforms like podcasting and iTunes too. So if they have any questions, do you have any good resources to point them to that I can link up down in the description below, they could check out quickly, to get kick started with this?
Yeah. I think there are a lot of great sites out there. If you just Google podcasting and starting a podcast, there’s great videos to watch on YouTube.
Great. Sweet. I really hope some of this has been helpful for you guys. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Those of you, especially, who do have a podcast associated with your brand, with your YouTube channel, things that you’re doing in your audience development. What lessons have you learn about this? What tips do you have?
I’m really looking forward to learning from you guys about all this myself, as I’m kind of thinking about this currently. So go down there, comment, help me and other people out. And if you’re thinking about this along with me, definitely read the comments other people are sharing. I know you’ll learn a lot from them, just like I do.