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Summary

Podcast Summary: Chief Audience Officer - Episode 228

Release Date: July 4, 2025
Host: Kev Michael
Title: Leveraging YouTube to Accelerate Podcast Growth Without Wasting Money

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Introduction to the Episode

In Episode 228 of Chief Audience Officer, host Kev Michael delves into a pivotal strategy for podcasters seeking to expand their audience using YouTube. Recognizing that many podcasters struggle to translate their content success across platforms, Kev offers actionable insights to circumvent common pitfalls, especially concerning paid advertising on YouTube.

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The YouTube Conundrum for Podcasters

[00:00]
Kev opens the discussion by addressing a prevalent challenge: podcasters attempting to grow their audience on YouTube but finding the platform's dynamics perplexing. He acknowledges the unique aspects of YouTube—its algorithms, titles, and thumbnails—that differentiate it significantly from traditional podcast platforms.

Notable Quote:
"The titles, the thumbnails, the algorithms—it’s a lot to manage." – Kev Michael [00:13]

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The Draw of YouTube for Podcast Growth

Kev highlights that YouTube currently stands as the most significant avenue for podcast audience expansion. He emphasizes the platform's inherent benefits:

• Monetization: Built-in revenue streams.
• Evergreen Discoverability: Content remains accessible and searchable over time.
• Short-Form Content Integration: Seamless incorporation of shorter clips within longer episodes.
• SEO Advantages: Superior search engine optimization compared to other platforms.

[00:20]
Leveraging these advantages, Kev introduces his Grow the Show accelerator program, a 12-week cohort tailored for podcasters eager to harness YouTube's potential effectively.

Notable Quote:
"This cohort is launching with beta pricing, making it the most accessible this program has been in years." – Kev Michael [01:25]

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Common Pitfalls: The Paid Ads Trap

A significant portion of the episode addresses the misconception that paid advertising on YouTube is a surefire way to grow a podcast audience. Kev shares observations from his consultations with podcasters:

• Inconsistent Viewership: Most episodes garner minimal views (50-200), while one or two random episodes spike to 10,000 or even 100,000 views, often due to ill-fated ad campaigns.

[01:54]
Kev illustrates how podcasters mistakenly rely on paid ads to compensate for underperforming content, leading to wasted budgets without meaningful audience growth.

Notable Quote:
"You just threw money at YouTube, and maybe my audience would grow faster." – Podcaster (Guest) [01:57]

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Understanding the YouTube Algorithm

Kev demystifies the YouTube algorithm, explaining that it doesn't favor arbitrary content but instead promotes videos that resonate with viewers. He uses an analogy to clarify:

[02:30]
"Imagine showing a funny video to a friend, and they don't laugh. You hesitate to show it to others. Similarly, the algorithm reacts negatively if viewers don't engage positively with your content."

Key Points:

• Quality Over Quantity: Merely increasing view counts through ads doesn't guarantee engagement or growth.
• Engagement Metrics: Likes, comments, watch time, and subscriptions are crucial indicators the algorithm uses to promote content.

Notable Quote:
"The algorithm loves you if you give it videos that people love." – Kev Michael [09:15]

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Best Practices for Organic Growth

Kev outlines strategies to create content that naturally attracts and retains viewers:

1. Compelling Titles and Thumbnails: These elements significantly impact click-through rates and initial engagement.
2. Valuable Content: Ensure each video delivers on its promise, providing genuine value to the audience.
3. Consistent Quality: Regularly produce high-quality episodes to build and maintain viewer trust.
4. Engage with the Audience: Encourage comments and interactions to boost engagement metrics.

[10:45]
He stresses that before considering paid ads, podcasters must master these foundational elements to ensure their content performs well organically.

Notable Quote:
"Don't even think about putting paid spend behind your show until your show is performing on its own." – Kev Michael [14:00]

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When to Use Paid Advertising

While cautioning against premature investment in ads, Kev acknowledges that paid advertising can be a powerful tool when used correctly. He advises:

• Identify Top-Performing Content: Focus ad spend on episodes that already show strong organic performance.
• Drive Leads and Sales: Utilize ads to funnel viewers towards lead magnets or products, ensuring measurable business growth.

[13:20]
By targeting ads on content that already engages viewers effectively, podcasters can amplify their reach without the risk of wasting resources.

Notable Quote:
"The algorithm wants nothing more than to show people your videos; it is there to help you." – Kev Michael [14:10]

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Conclusion and Call to Action

Kev wraps up the episode by reiterating the importance of organic content mastery before leveraging paid advertising. He invites listeners to join his Grow the Show accelerator to receive personalized guidance in optimizing their YouTube strategies.

[14:30]
He emphasizes the scarcity of spots due to the hands-on nature of the program and encourages immediate application to secure a place.

Notable Quote:
"Please don't waste your money on YouTube ads." – Kev Michael [14:45]

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Key Takeaways

1. Master YouTube Basics: Focus on creating compelling titles, thumbnails, and high-quality content to naturally attract and engage viewers.
2. Avoid the Paid Ads Trap: Refrain from investing in YouTube ads until your content consistently performs well organically.
3. Leverage Successful Content: When considering paid ads, apply them to episodes that already demonstrate strong viewer engagement and potential for conversion.
4. Seek Expert Guidance: Programs like Grow the Show can provide the necessary support and strategies to effectively grow your podcast on YouTube.

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By adhering to these principles, podcasters can navigate the complexities of YouTube, fostering genuine audience growth and driving measurable business success.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, real quick, before we start, odds are you are a podcasting business owner who's been struggling to grow your podcast and you know that YouTube is the next big opportunity, but you haven't been able to crack the code. If that's true, you're not alone.

[B]

For many podcasters, YouTube feels like a.

[A]

Totally different beast because it is. The titles, the thumbnails, the algorithms.

[B]

It is a lot.

[A]

But here's the thing. Right now, the biggest podcast audience growth is happening on YouTube. The platform offers baked in monetization, evergreen discoverability, short form content built right in, and SEO benefits that no other platform can match. That's why this July, I'm launching the next round of the Grow the Show accelerator. And this version is completely focused on YouTube. If you've already launched a podcast and you're serious about growing your audience and your revenue on YouTube, this 12 week cohort is built just for you. Inside, we're going to work on improving your show. We're going to master YouTube growth strategies like titles, thumbnails, SEO, and we're going to convert more viewers of your podcast into customers of your business. Now, I am rebuilding all of my training material from scratch, and I'm going to be personally giving every cohort member feedback on what they publish every single week for the 12 weeks. So because of that, spots are going to be limited. That said, this cohort is launching with beta pricing, which means that it is the most accessible this program has been in years and probably ever will be again.

[B]

So if that sounds like what you.

[A]

Need right now, apply to the Grow the Show accelerator via the link in the show notes.

[B]

You just answer a couple questions and.

[A]

If you qualify, we'll reach out and we'll set up a time for you and me to chat where I can share more details. Once again, just apply via the link in the show notes to the Grow the Show accelerator. I would love to have you aboard for this new intimate cohort that I'm launching. And I'd love to help you grow and monetize your podcast on YouTube. All right, let's get to it.

[B]

Most podcasters who try to grow their show on YouTube with paid ads end.

[A]

Up doing one thing really well.

[B]

Burning money. They think that if their show isn't taking off, they can just pay YouTube to put it in front of more people and then their audience will grow. But what actually happens is they pay to show a video Nobody likes to 100,000 more people who also don't like it. And then they wonder why their show isn't Growing. But imagine if instead of wasting thousands running YouTube ads that do nothing, you had a way to grow your podcast on YouTube. That's like buying the Skip the Line FastPass. My name is Kev Michael, and this is chief Audience Officer, where it is my job to help you build an audience of buyers today. In this quick hit episode, I'm going to share a little hack that business owners are using to grow their podcasts faster on YouTube. Let's dive into it. So there's this thing that has been happening recently as I've gotten on calls with podcasters who want to grow their audience. And what happens is, before the call begins, I look at their YouTube channel and I notice something weird. Most of their episodes have zero to 200 views. You know, like 50, maybe 100 views per episode, and they've got maybe 500 or 1,000 subscribers. But then one or two completely random episodes of their show has, like 10,000 or even a hundred thousand views. So the first couple times this happened, I, like, got on the call and I was like, hey, like, you have this video that really blew up. Like, what happened? Why do you think that is? And they're like, oh, yeah, we just ran some ads behind that. That's all. We just ran ads to that video. What's funny is they'd be like, yeah, and it was a total waste of money. Like, it's so annoying that YouTube just takes our money like that. And the first couple times I heard that, I was like, wow, that is annoying. But then eventually, as I dove further into YouTube and, you know, spoke to some friends who have been able to grow shows on YouTube and have utilized paid ads to help with that, I now understand what's going on. And so now when I look at a YouTube channel, I can see immediately if that podcaster has put paid ad spend behind certain episodes. Because the dead giveaway is that they'll have this random episode that has exploded. And here's what I look for. How many comments does the episode with tons and tons of views have? Usually when they run ads to an episode and it didn't work for them, it'll have, like 100,000 views and then like, two comments. So that's the dead giveaway. So I'm making this today to help you avoid the trap that these people fell into, which is, oh, let me just throw money at YouTube and maybe my audience will grow faster. Here's what you need to understand. The YouTube algorithm cannot be hacked. The online algorithms are so much smarter than you and me and your media buyer. And in some cases smarter than the people who programmed it. So just throwing money behind your content is not going to do anything but waste your money. And here's why. The reason why your videos on YouTube are not getting reach is because they're not good. They don't have great titles, they don't have great thumbnails, and the video itself doesn't capture attention, make a promise and keep and over deliver ideally on that promise. That is why it is that simple. And what I found is that most people are putting their stuff on YouTube and they're not getting views. And they think that their problem is that they haven't learned how to gain the algorithm and that, you know, they're just. It's not their fault, their content is good. It's just the YouTube algorithm hates them. And that's not true at all. The YouTube algorithm loves you if you give it videos that people love. Because here's how the algorithm works. When you upload a video, you're basically handing that video to the YouTube algorithm. You're giving it a title, a thumbnail and a video, and you say, here you go, please show this to people. And the algorithm says, oh goody, a new video. Let me show this to people. I think I know who would like this. I have 50 people in mind who I think would love this video. And the algorithm then runs to those 50 people and shows your video to those 50 people. Now, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the YouTube algorithm here for a moment. Bear with me. Have you ever been hanging out with a friend and you remembered a funny YouTube video and you said, oh my gosh, you gotta watch this video. And so you pull it up on your phone and you show it to them. You're like, here, watch this, it's funny. And you're showing it to them. You've got it on your phone and they're watching it and they're not laughing and they're just watching it and they're just kind of giving you the. And you're like, oh my God, I played this video up so much and you just like get this pit in your stomach and you're like, ah, that's it, it's not that funny. Or the worst part is when the person who's watching the video taps on the screen to see how much time is left in the video. Brutal, right? How crappy do you feel when you show a video to somebody and you thought they'd love the video and they don't? Are you gonna show that video to Anybody else ever again, you're probably a little less likely. Cause you're like, oh, I hated that. That's how the YouTube algorithm feels. It doesn't feel, but that's what's happening. You post a video that's crappy, the YouTube algorithm shows it to 50 people. Those 50 people are like, ah. And they skip it. And the algorithm goes, oh, that sucked. Let me never show this video to anybody ever again. And it buries it. And your video stays at 50 views, but for the rest of eternity. Unless you're one of those business owners that's like, let me just shortcut this. And let me just run some paid ads behind my video, because I know my content's good. I just gotta figure out the algorithm. And so what you're doing there is. You're like, hey, algorithm, you know how you showed that video to 50 people and they really hated it, and you hated yourself for suggesting it to them? Well, here's a thousand bucks. Go show it to 100,000 more people. And the algorithm says, all right. And it does it. And 100,000 people watch your video, and nothing happens. They don't comment, they skip it. They don't subscribe, they don't pay attention. And you're like, what the heck? YouTube is a scam. It's not a scam. It's. You paid YouTube to show a bad video to a hundred thousand people. That's what YouTube did. So that is the paid spend trap. So if you're somebody who's been considering, well, maybe I'll just, like, run some paid ads so I can grow my show. Here's what you need to understand. Your show is not growing because it's just not good enough yet. Your titles aren't good enough. Your thumbnails aren't good enough. Your intros aren't good enough. And your show might just not be interesting enough. But here's the good news. You can fix that. You can learn how to make it better. And my message for you is, don't even think about putting paid spend behind your show until your show is performing on its own. And that's the secret here. The people who I've seen leverage paid ads on YouTube to grow a podcast even faster and actually get the results that they want. Where they're genuinely growing their audience is when they put paid ad spend behind their episodes that are already performing well organically. So they publish an episode on its own, it gets more views than the rest of their videos. And it may keep getting views. It may keep getting reach. I have several videos from years ago that still get views every single day compared to other videos that don't because they've stopped. You want to put the paid ad spend behind the videos that are still getting views. And really, especially if you have videos that drive leads and sales, because if you do it right, you have episodes that drive people to consume lead magnets. So if you have people opting into your lead magnets from the video, then that's what you put paid ads behind. So in summation, you may or may not have been considering running paid ads to your podcast. Don't do it at all on social media, so don't touch meta ads to try to grow your podcast. But if you're publishing on YouTube, keep paid ad spend in your back pocket for when you crack the skill of publishing YouTube videos that actually the algorithm brings people to. Because the algorithm wants nothing more than to show people your videos, it is there to help you. The thing is, you have to learn how to give it good stuff that people like. You have to arm it with videos where when the algorithm shows it to people, people are like, man, you got any more of those? And the algorithm's like, you betcha. And then they show more of your videos all over the place and. And you get more subscribers and you feel really cool because you have a huge audience. Okay, so the key takeaway from this is do not spend a dime on YouTube ads until you have a piece of content that already wins organically. Then test the way to your heart's content. Now, I am going to be covering this in more detail in my new YouTube growth cohort. So if you haven't heard about that, I am launching that next week at the time of this recording. So definitely use the link in the show notes to grab a time to speak. Next week is the deadline. We've only got a few more spots. Would love to see you in there. If not totally fine, too. Just please don't waste your money on YouTube ads. All right, my name is Kev Michael. I'll see you in the next one.