Why Your Podcast Needs YouTube and An Email List

Two things that will be central to growing your podcast in 2023  are a YouTube channel and an email list.

First, YouTube.  Now don't be scurred.  If you're camera shy, this doesn't mean you need to shoot video of your podcast.  There are tools like Headlinerand others that will take the AUDIO of your show, and either your show or episode artwork or an image of your choice, add one of those moving waveforms and boom, it's a video file that you can either download or just connect the app to your YouTube page. You can even automate it to go to YouTube whenever an episode publishes.  Example: https://make.headliner.app/download/e3a68b01-b965-4641-b345-af942d00ab37

Why is YouTube so important?  Because YouTube is now a top 3 platform for both podcast discovery AND podcast consumption.  You may have noticed that Google, who owns YouTube, is eliminating the Google Podcasts app, and they are folding it into the YouTube music platform.   In fact, as a creator, if you have a playlist on YouTube, you can now designate it as a podcast.   Podcast consumers are viewing, and even just listening, to podcasts on YouTube.   Sometimes the audio just plays in the background while they are driving, or working on their TPS reports, or however they're going about their day.  YouTube and Google's search engine can't be beat - so it's an easy way to find and consume content.

The only downside is that your YouTube views and podcast downloads are counted separately, because YouTube doesn't yet use an RSS feed.  But because of the exponential growth of podcasts, and the fact that Google is now all in, my prediction is that this problem will be solved by late 2023 or early 2024.   So get on YouTube now and don't be late to the party.

The other key to your podcast is an email list.  It's easy to set up with a service like MailChimp or Constant Contact, or AWeber, which is what I use because it's got a template for podcasts.  To quote my friend  and colleague Tiffany from Twiz Creative, by using an email list, you are creating your own algorithm.  You aren't relying on Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk to  display your content to your followers.  Sure, post your stuff on social.  It can't hurt.  But an email list guarantees your listeners will see that you've posted a new episode.    In fact, if you'd like to subscribe to the email list for THIS podcast, you can at JAGinDetroit.com/subscribe.

Thanks for listening, and for following and subscribing.  Lata!