If you’re considering starting a podcast, YouTube offers a unique platform to host your content. With its rich ecosystem of creators and users, YouTube provides a fantastic opportunity for your podcast to be discovered by new audiences.
Additionally, the platform’s recent support for podcasts and its integration with YouTube Music mean that your podcast can be easily found and enjoyed by listeners across different platforms.
What is a Podcast on YouTube?
On YouTube, a podcast is structured as a playlist, with each podcast episode represented as a video within that playlist. Full-length episodes should be organized in the order in which they should be consumed. If your podcast has multiple seasons, they should all be included in the same playlist.
Benefits of Podcasting on YouTube
When you create a podcast on YouTube, you can enjoy several perks including:
- Inclusion in YouTube Music
- Podcast badges on watch and playlist pages
- A spotlight on youtube.com/podcasts to attract new listeners
- Official Search cards
- Easy discovery from the watch page to help listeners find your episodes
- Recommendations to new listeners with similar interests
- Improved search features to help your audience find your podcast
However, please note that some playlists may not be eligible for podcast features, even if they are designated as podcasts. This can occur if the content isn’t owned by the creator, for example.
How to Start a New Podcast on YouTube
Creating a new podcast on YouTube is simple and straightforward:
- Within YouTube Studio, click Create, and then select New podcast.
- From the pop-up, select Create a new podcast.
- Enter your podcast details, including the podcast title, description, visibility (public or private), and a square podcast thumbnail.
- Click Create to save your new podcast
Remember that each podcast episode on YouTube is represented by a video. MP3s can’t be turned into podcasts on YouTube. To create a podcast, upload or add videos to your podcast’s playlist
Adding Episodes to Your Podcast
You can add episodes to your podcast by either uploading new videos or adding existing videos:
- Within YouTube Studio, go to Content, then Podcasts.
- Select your podcast.
- Click Add videos, then either Upload videos (for new videos) or Add your existing videos (for existing videos).
- For new videos, upload the videos that you’d like to add to your podcast and enter the video details. Click Create to save changes.
- For existing videos, select the videos that you want to add to your podcast. Click Add to playlist and select your podcast from the list. Click Save to add videos to your podcast
Other Useful Features
Setting an Existing Playlist as a Podcast
If you have an existing playlist that you’d like to designate as a podcast, you can do so by:
- Within YouTube Studio, go to Content, then Playlists.
- Hover over the playlist that you want to designate as a podcast.
- Click Menu, then Set as podcast.
- Review your podcast’s details and add a square podcast thumbnail. Podcast details include title, description, and who can view your podcast on YouTube.
- Click Done to confirm your changes
Editing the Order of Episodes
To edit the order in which your episodes are consumed, reorder them within your podcast playlist:
- Within YouTube Studio, go to Content, then Podcasts.
- Click Edit on the podcast that you’d like to update.
- From the podcast details page
I’m sorry, I couldn’t find any information about a feature to automatically order podcast episodes by release date on YouTube. It appears that the default order of episodes within a podcast playlist needs to be manually set in the YouTube Studio.
Here’s how to do that:
- Within YouTube Studio, go to Content and then Podcasts.
- Click Edit on the podcast that you’d like to update.
- From the podcast details page, click on the Default video order menu and choose how you want your videos to be sorted.
- Click Save in the upper right-hand corner to confirm the changes
The following tables showcase the growth and adoption of podcasts:
Table 1: Growth of Podcast Listeners (United States)
| Year | Percentage of US Population (aged 12 and older) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 40% |
| 2018 | 44% |
| 2019 | 51% |
| 2020 | 55% |
| 2021 | 57% (estimated) |
Source: Edison Research, The Infinite Dial
Table 2: Podcast Consumption Habits (United States)
| Year | Average Number of Podcasts Listened to Per Week |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 8 (estimated) |
Source: Podcast Consumer Tracker
Table 3: Number of Podcast Shows Worldwide
| Year | Number of Active Podcasts (in millions) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 0.5 |
| 2019 | 0.8 |
| 2020 | 1.7 |
| 2021 | 2.2 (estimated) |
Source: Podcast Insights