Clips & editing for creators
YouTube is where a lot of people now watch and listen to podcasts. Getting your show there takes an afternoon. Getting people to watch it is the real work. Here's how podcasts on YouTube work, the three ways to publish, and what helps a show grow once it's live.
A YouTube podcast is a playlist of full episodes that you mark as a podcast in YouTube Studio. You can create a new podcast, turn an existing playlist into one, or submit your RSS feed, which is available in the US and many other countries. Video beats a static image if you want to grow. Then the growth levers are simple: titles and thumbnails people click, chapters, and several Shorts from every episode that send new viewers to the full show.
In February 2025, YouTube said more than 1 billion people watch podcasts on the platform every month. Edison Research has ranked YouTube as the most used podcast platform in the US. Unlike most podcast apps, YouTube actively recommends shows to people who have never heard of them. The catch: you compete with every other video, not just other podcasts.
There's no special podcast file. Every episode is a regular video, and the show is a playlist with podcast features turned on. That gets you a few things:
Per YouTube's help pages, only full episodes belong in the podcast playlist, in the order people should hear them. Clips, compilations and other people's content don't. The show needs a square cover; YouTube recommends 1280 × 1280 pixels.
| Option | Best for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Create a new podcast in YouTube Studio | new shows and video podcasts | full video episodes with every YouTube feature |
| Set an existing playlist as a podcast | episodes already on your channel | the same videos, now labeled as a podcast |
| Submit your RSS feed | audio-only shows with a podcast host | each episode as a video with your cover as a still image |
From YouTube Help, as of October 2026. Menu names in YouTube Studio change from time to time.
In YouTube Studio, choose Create, then New podcast, then submit your RSS feed. YouTube sends a code to the email address in your feed to verify you own it; if you don't know that address, ask your host. You then pick which episodes to import. They arrive as private videos first, so review them before you publish. New episodes from the feed are added from then on.
Know the limits. Every episode becomes a still image with your cover art. You can't swap the audio of an imported episode; re-uploading from the feed creates a new video. Pre-recorded ad spots aren't allowed in podcast content on YouTube, and host-read sponsorships must be declared as paid promotion. YouTube also doesn't send your show to other podcast apps.
RSS is the fastest way to be on YouTube. It's rarely the way to grow there. People open YouTube to watch something. Faces, reactions and a thumbnail with a real person give you a much better shot at clicks and watch time than a still image.
A common path: start with RSS, then switch to video episodes once you've found your format. What you need to record is in our guide to starting a video podcast.
On YouTube, your episode sits next to every other video. Nobody clicks "Episode 37". Write the title around the most interesting idea or story in the episode and move the episode number to the end. The thumbnail needs one clear face, a few big words at most, and has to read at phone size. Every episode needs its own landscape thumbnail; the square cover is only for the show.
Chapters let viewers jump to the part they care about and show the topics before anyone hits play. You add them with timestamps in the description. According to YouTube Help, the first timestamp must be 00:00, you need at least three in ascending order, and each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. Write chapter names like small headlines: "18:20 Why we almost sold the company" beats "Part 3".
Full episodes mostly reach people who already know you. Shorts reach people who don't. YouTube counts vertical or square videos up to three minutes as Shorts; for podcast clips, 30 to 60 seconds is usually right.
In our experience, a 60-minute episode often holds 5 to 10 good clips. The same clips work on TikTok and Reels; see podcast clips for TikTok.
YouTube Studio shows how long people stay, where they drop off and where they came from. If many leave in the first two minutes, your opening is too slow. If one chapter holds attention far better than the rest, that's a topic for the next episode and a few more Shorts.
We edit your episode for YouTube with cuts, chapter markers and a caption file, and pick the moments for Shorts with a person, an idea and a payoff. You approve every clip before it goes out. One edited episode with 5 clips is $105; to try us first, the podcast pilot is $29 for 1 episode and 3 clips. These are founder prices, locked for 6 months from your start. See our podcast editing service. All prices excl. 19 % VAT.
Upload your episodes as videos and put them in a playlist that you set as a podcast in YouTube Studio, or create a new podcast there directly. Add a square cover of 1280 × 1280 pixels and a clear show description. Audio-only shows can submit their RSS feed instead.
Yes, in the US and many other countries. Submit your feed in YouTube Studio and verify it with the code sent to the email address in the feed. YouTube turns each episode into a video with your cover as a still image and adds new episodes from the feed.
No, a static image is allowed. If you want YouTube to grow your show, video usually works much better: faces keep people watching, make better thumbnails, and only video gives you good Shorts.
Write titles around the most interesting idea, use a thumbnail with a face, add chapters, open with your best moment and post several Shorts from every episode that link to the full show. Stick to a fixed schedule and give it months.
No. Only full episodes belong in the podcast playlist. Put Shorts in their own playlist and link each one to its full episode as the related video.
See also: Podcast editing service · Podcast clipping service · Start a video podcast · Podcast clips for TikTok · Podcast editing cost · All packages
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