Despite popular thinking that a video podcast is simply the video version of an audio podcast, there are a few important differences between an audio vs. video podcast that are important for you to understand when considering which format you might use for your show. 

I’ve witnessed dozens of experts go the route of an audio podcast, only to regret it because they weren’t fully aware of the opportunities that a video podcast would have given them. And I’ve also shared with a few people that a video podcast isn’t necessary for their specific needs and goals. 

Here, I’ll break down the most important differences between the two formats so you can get a sense of when an audio vs. video podcast might be best for your business and goals. 

The Biggest Differences Between an Audio Vs. Video Podcast

A video podcast is not simply the video recording of an audio podcast.

A video podcast is video content that’s positioned as a show where all of the episodes are connected to a compelling premise and intentionally crafted to perform on YouTube and also on podcast apps. 

To be effective, not only does your show’s premise, structure, and topics have to be compelling and aligned with your business’s unique selling proposition and goals, but each episode also has to be conceptualized, outlined, published, and promoted specifically for the formats and platforms it’s being distributed on.

Let’s take a look at how this makes a video podcast different than the audio podcast format we all know and love.  

Discoverability of Audio vs. Video Podcasts 

One of the biggest challenges with an audio-only podcast that frustrates so many hosts is the little amount of discoverability — meaning it’s difficult for new right-fit people to find your show and get hooked in. 

On the podcast players, there’s a bit of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) opportunity, but it’s nowhere near as robust as Google and YouTube. 

This makes it much more challenging for your show to come up in the search when someone is typing in topics they’re interested in listening to, and thus, more difficult for them to connect with you.

Because of this, many audio podcast hosts find it difficult to grow their show unless they already have another audience growth strategy in place for their business that consistently and sustainably attracts new, right-fit people into their online community. 

That’s why audio podcasts are generally considered as an effective nurturing tool for connecting deeper with the existing audience that you grow through other strategies. 

Unfortunately, when many business owners start a podcast, they think that the podcast is going to become the audience growth strategy for them and then are disappointed to learn that’s not the case. 

A video podcast, when done strategically, puts much more emphasis on leveraging SEO on YouTube so they can attract new people into their audience month after month.

I guide my clients on how to outline their episodes to work well with YouTube, like crafting a compelling hook and leveraging YouTube features to their benefit. Plus my team and I also do keyword research and optimize their episode title, description, tags, thumbnail, and more to create the best opportunity for their show to thrive on YouTube. 

This intentionality makes it possible for our clients to generate recurring traffic (and leads), every month on YouTube, allowing both their show and their online community to grow with right-fit people. 

Leverage of Video Podcasts 

A video podcast is the most leveraged format of content. 

Each episode can be optimized for YouTube, repurposed into an audio episode, and transcribed and formatted for an article version. Our clients receive SEO-optimized video, written, and audio content to cover the three biggest SEO opportunities. While audio podcasts can be transformed into written content, they can’t ever tap into the SEO content on YouTube. (and yes, we’ve seen those AI softwares that say they can turn your audio into video content, but I promise, it’s not worth your time). 

Video podcasts episodes also allow you to take Captivating Clips that are 30-60 seconds long to use on short-form video platforms like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook Reels, which we provide to our clients as part of their video podcast management package. 

With the rise of short-form video on social media platforms, audio-only shows also miss out on the opportunity to leverage their podcast content across their channels to grow their listenership and also to extend the reach of their message.

Not only do the short-form video clips support the growth of your show by hooking people into episodes through 30-60 snippets, but it also allows you to have a consistent stream of video content to publish on your social media channels without having to record additional content for those platforms, making yout social strategy even more effective. 

No other format can be leveraged across all platforms and channels this way.

This allows experts and thought leaders to extend their reach and spread their ideas without having to create content from scratch for every single platform.

This is why the leading thought leaders across all industries have moved to a video podcast, including Jay Shetty, Mel Robbins, Andrew Huberman, and so many others. 

Opportunities to Monetize 

While most of the clients I work with are business owners that sell books, courses, memberships or premium programs and their video podcast episodes support their leads and sales, there is an opportunity to create revenue streams from your content itself in both the audio and video podcast format. 

With an audio podcast, you can leverage your show to create another revenue stream with sponsorships. This is where you’re finding a relevant brand or another business owner who pays you a fee to run an ad in one or more episodes. 

While you can start with small sponsorships — typically around 500 to 1,000 downloads per episode — you have to find these sponsors, pitch them, come to an agreed contract and term, and then record the ads, so there is a bit more labor involved.

With a video podcast, you can also find sponsors in the same way.

But here’s an added bonus — YouTube makes it possible for you to turn on ads once you hit a certain number of subscribers and watch time. Simply by turning this feature on, YouTube will run ads at the beginning, middle, or end of your episode (depending on the settings you select). 

This means that you can start making money for sharing your ideas and marketing your business without needing to find and pitch sponsors or create ads yourself. 

While that might start out as a simple $25 per month, when you’re publishing content consistently for your show, it can grow to hundreds and even thousands (or if you’re in it for the long-term like video podcasters Marie Forleo, Jay Shetty, Ramit Sethi, Mel Robins, hundred of thousands of dollars per month from these ads alone). 

One of the very first clients I supported with YouTube before I worked with the video podcast format hasn’t published a video in 3 years, yet makes $800-$1,500 per month from the videos we created together. 

Having the option for ads to cover a part or all of your expenses without needing to do any extra work is something only the video podcast format can offer. 

Episode Planning and Creation

The last biggest difference is how the episodes are planned and created. Because we want a video podcast to perform well on YouTube to attract right-fit people back into your community, we pay much more attention to search engine optimization and what performs well on YouTube when planning and creating each episode. 

Most audio podcasts don’t take SEO into consideration at all, or if they do, they really focus just on the title. 

When creating video podcast episodes, we’re looking for how we can best optimize the video both for discoverability and also for watch time — meaning the amount of time someone actually spends on that episode as that can impact how well your video ranks on YouTube and also simply determine whether or not someone stays in your community because the content is effective.

Determining Whether Audio Podcast or a Video Podcast Is Right For You 

1. Consider Your Primary Goal 

The first thing to consider when deciding whether an audio podcast vs. a video podcast is for your business is to think about your business goal.  

As mentioned earlier, a video podcast, when done strategically, can support both attracting new people into your community and also nurturing them into clients, whereas an audio podcast is best suited for nurturing your existing community. 

If you’re looking for a way to consistently attract new right-fit people into your community, a video podcast would likely be more effective for you. 

2. Feel if it Aligns With Your Brand Vision and Aspirations 

Not every business needs to build a community and scale its visibility. 

You can have a very successful business without publishing a single piece of content.

However, I find that those who are most attracted to video podcasts and also best suited for them are those who have scalable offers and who also want to build an engaged community that helps them spread their ideas and work further. 

For many of my clients, they view their video podcast as a way to attract and nurture the right-fit people to become a customer and also grow their community to open opportunities for other aspirations, like speaking on larger stages, publishing a book, or creating a product-line-related to their expertise. 

Ramit Sethi, the author of “I Will Teach You To Be Rich,” is a great example of this. He has built a community around his money-making concepts that have allowed him to grow a multi-million dollar course and coaching business, sell millions of copies of his book and become a NY Times bestseller, and now have a Netflix series with the same likeness. 

He had a vision to not only enroll people into his courses but to also build a community around his ideas so he would be able to open the doors to opportunities that are only available to those leading movements. 

For you, it might look like hosting in-person events, publishing a book, filling retreats, or becoming a keynote speaker. Building a community around your ideas can support your big vision so you always have the right-fit people to invite into your next big thing. 

Ready to Start a Video Podcast? 

Inside Video Podcast Production, you’ll focus on creating one highly effective video podcast episode per week that deepens your audience’s connection with the work you do and how you do it. 

You’ll then be able to leverage that piece of content in multiple ways to create more aligned sales, visibility opportunities, and new income streams. 

We provide the curriculum, coaching, and done-for-you support to help you make that happen.

Learn more and apply for video podcast management here.