![Should You Do Video? [Day 23 30 Days of Podcast Notes]](https://images.beamly.com/fetch/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.rss.com%2Fstreamlined-podcaster%2Fpodcast_cover_20260916_122857_a7aaeae9723ee3f8a0758f9d13809543.jpg?w=365)
I used to ask what value video adds for your audience. I was wrong about that one — YouTube settled it, and people are plainly willing to watch two heads talk. So the real question is what video is worth to you, and whether that beats the added cost. The strongest argument is that YouTube is the only algorithmic discovery podcasters have; Spotify says it recommends shows, but I don't see it surfacing small ones the way a video can suddenly find its audience. The money cost has collapsed, so what's left is your time. For me that trade is worth it because I expect clients to find me there. Yours might not be.
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Disclosure: this episode description was generated with AI.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Hey everybody and welcome to day 23 of 30 days
00:00:03 --> 00:00:07 of podcast notes. We are quickly approaching
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 the end of this series before we do the October
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 retrospective of course. Over the last few days
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 I've been talking about what podcasting looks
00:00:15 --> 00:00:16 like today. I talked about the mission statement
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 of your show gear and tools. Today I want to
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 answer the question of should you have video
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 for your podcast? This has been a moving target
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 for a long time. I know people who have been
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 doing video for a very long time. I know people
00:00:29 --> 00:00:33 who started at as video and just decided to release
00:00:33 --> 00:00:37 Their show in podcast form uh, john boy media
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 is a good example of this like they Started a
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 podcast on youtube a lot of their episodes are
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 basically just like Re -uploads of their live
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 streams with ads inserted that works for them
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 the first question is The first question and
00:00:51 --> 00:00:55 i'll say the first question used to be What value
00:00:55 --> 00:01:00 does video add to your show? But I think that's
00:01:00 --> 00:01:04 tough now because YouTube and the YouTube audience
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 has proved that people are just willing to watch
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 people talk. I was really bullish on this was
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 not the case just a few years ago. That people
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 don't want to watch a side -by -side panel of
00:01:15 --> 00:01:20 talking heads. I was wrong about that. And so
00:01:20 --> 00:01:24 the question is really no longer what value does
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 video bring to your audience? Because I think
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 there is an appetite for that with audience.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 It's really what value does video bring for you
00:01:33 --> 00:01:38 and does that value outweigh the additional cost?
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 So what value does video bring for podcasters?
00:01:42 --> 00:01:47 Well, YouTube is really the only algorithmic
00:01:47 --> 00:01:52 discovery that podcasters have. Spotify will
00:01:52 --> 00:01:56 say they recommend shows, but I really don't
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 think that they're recommending smaller podcasts
00:01:58 --> 00:02:03 in the same way that a video from someone who's
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 inconsistent on YouTube can take off if it hits
00:02:05 --> 00:02:09 with the right audience. So at the very least,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:14 having video for your podcast on YouTube is a
00:02:14 --> 00:02:20 tiny bet that could pay big dividends. And that's
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 really good, right? Because you have a clear
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 call to action to say, subscribe to this channel.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:28 Or if you prefer audio only, you can subscribe
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 wherever you listen to podcasts, right? And so
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 maybe YouTube can be the discovery engine to
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 get you more subscribers in podcast apps. And
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 I do switch between some, right? I will start
00:02:39 --> 00:02:43 a podcast at my computer on YouTube and then
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 switch to Pocket Casts later if I just want to
00:02:46 --> 00:02:50 listen. And so... I think that there's a lot
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 of value there. The question is, is it gonna
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 cost you a lot more money to do video? And again,
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 I don't think so. Based on the gear, right, you
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 have a phone with a camera and a microphone.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 So you can record on your phone. With the tools,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 all of the tools I recommended for editing yesterday,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:11 with the exception of Audacity and GarageBand,
00:03:11 --> 00:03:18 the two free ones, they... they account for video
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 editing. And so you can do the same sort of editing
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 for brevity and clarity for video as well as
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 audio. And that's really my approach. You know,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 I'm not gonna sit here and say like my videos
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 have taken off. Maybe if I had an actual video
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 editor who added some extra graphics or if I
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 took the time to add some extra graphics, they
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 would do better, but I also probably think I
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 just haven't found the thing YouTube thinks I
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 talk about best yet. And so I think with a podcast,
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 with a talking head, if you're going to edit
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 for brevity and clarity, there are apps that
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 will allow you to edit the video and audio. The
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 other side of it is your podcast host, right?
00:04:02 --> 00:04:03 So yesterday I talked about, I recommended RSS
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 .com. We have a video plan now. That video plan
00:04:06 --> 00:04:10 costs money. And so now you're thinking about,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:15 okay, do I have, do I Sign up for a podcast host
00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 that's going to charge me more to make the process
00:04:19 --> 00:04:23 seamless as far as sending my video to YouTube
00:04:23 --> 00:04:28 and Apple podcasts. Or am I going to spend time
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 uploading into places? And that's really the
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 question that you should answer. Is the time
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 investment for doing the video worth it to me?
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 For me, I think it is. I obviously have a lot
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 of systems in place to help me do this easily.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 And I've made a bet that YouTube is the place
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 where clients will discover me even more than
00:04:51 --> 00:04:55 podcasts, like my podcast on Apple Podcasts and
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 all of those other directories. So for me, it's
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 worth it. Maybe for you it's not. Maybe you get
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 your clients somewhere else or it's all word
00:05:02 --> 00:05:06 of mouth or it's in person. And that's really
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 the question that you need to answer for yourself.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:14 Is the time, because the cost, the cost monetarily
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 has gone down dramatically. So now is it worth
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 your time? That's only something that you can
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 answer. If you want help answering that, that
00:05:21 --> 00:05:25 is something I can help you do. And so you can
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 join my mailing list over at streamlines .fm
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 slash join and I can help you answer that question.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 But that's it for this episode of 30 days of
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 podcast notes on the Streamline podcaster. I
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 hope you enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to subscribe
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 wherever you listen. Leave a rating and review
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 an Apple podcast that helps people discover the
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 show. And like I said, join the mailing list,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 especially if you're a solo business owner who
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 has a podcast that supports their business and
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 you don't want to spend all of your time creating
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 content. That's it for this episode of the Streamline
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 Podcaster. Thanks so much for listening and I
00:05:58 --> 00:05:59 will see you tomorrow.