Podcasting in 2025? Audio Only vs. YouTube
How many of you have the desire to start a podcast, but you find yourself stuck on the question, should I do an audio only podcast or make a podcast for YouTube? If so, you're not alone. And today, we're gonna dig into that question. Welcome to The Message Connection. I'm Azurae, and I'm so glad you're here.
Azurae:Welcome to The Message Connection, a podcast dedicated to exploring all the angles that it takes to get your message to the masses. I'm your host, Azurae Phelps, and with over twenty years of experience in the world of production, I've seen behind the scenes of everything from recording studios to the Super Bowl halftime show and everything in between. Week after week, we will dig in to the medium of podcasting as well as host conversations with entrepreneurs, business owners, coaches, artists, creatives, educators, and more to see how they got to the heart of their message and what it took to get them to the place where they were ready to share it. Let's get into it. Okay.
Azurae:Let's take it from the top. Audio versus video. As we know, humans have been listening to stories since the dawn of time. In fact, storytelling is part of our birthright as humans. And before there was ever the written word, the way that stories and information were transferred was through speaking and listening to one another.
Azurae:So this medium of podcasting is such a rich way to connect with others, to connect with your audience, to connect with clients, even to connect with yourself as a host and to bring out the best of yourself and others in the process of sharing stories and really digging in to the deep stuff of life. This happens over not in a quick, fast edit of a video, but often in an unfolding, winding conversation. I found it very interesting to hear that in the era of 2025 when Spotify and Apple Podcasts and YouTube are blowing up like crazy, there are still many people who listen to talk radio. And you might think, well, who are these people? Millions, millions of people are listening.
Azurae:They are driving. They're taking their kids places. They're on a road trip. They're running their Saturday errands and they're listening to these radio programs that have meant so much to them over the years. This is why there is absolutely still a place for audio only.
Azurae:Podcasts in particular can be listened to anywhere. You can take your device, download the episodes, and listen, take that stuff in while your hands are doing other work. Now, also with an audio podcast, you have the opportunity to engage more deeply with your listener. Of course, this can happen with video. Of course, this happens as you even watch other people have a conversation.
Azurae:But when you are having essentially the listener seat of a conversation while you're just listening, it fosters a version of intimacy and trust like you're peeking behind the curtain a bit, taking in what they're saying. You may have heard of an experiment where if someone doesn't have one of their senses, the their other senses are more heightened. The mind and the body is wild in this way. Right? So if you're not watching and listening, but you're just listening, you may even receive that information.
Azurae:Your clients may receive that information. Your audience may receive that information in a deeper and more profound way. Another reason why I would say to go all in on audio is I don't want anyone to resist sharing their message because they're letting technology and a video setup get in the way of getting their message to their audience. Many times we can make things more complicated, more difficult for ourselves because we just add too many elements before we start. And everyone has a version of that.
Azurae:Absolutely, 100%. But when it comes to podcasting in particular, you can absolutely get reps in. I like to say with a microphone and a great recording platform. If removing video from the equation means that you would share your message and get your podcast going faster, then absolutely begin. I would also just like to reiterate that part of audio storytelling we can also see as being a rich and immersive experience because the rise of audio books is wild.
Azurae:I mean, so many people are listening to stories because there is some part of us even tapping back into something from childhood, I believe, where we just want to hear someone tell us a story. So if you are also someone who enjoys taking in content that way, if you like to listen to audiobooks, if you like to listen to podcasts, then absolutely create a podcast that is audio only and get your confidence and show up in that way, serve your audience. And then if you decide to expand into video, go for it. Now, of course, I will just say from the production side of things, many of the online platforms that we use to record podcasts now, whether that's Riverside, which I'm using, or Zoom, or Zencastr, have a video element. This does not need to intimidate you, but it's available to you if you want to expand into YouTube or even use clips from the podcast conversations for social media promotion on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etcetera.
Azurae:Okay, now let's expand into YouTube if you're ready to go there. So YouTube obviously allows for visual storytelling. So this is great for tutorials, demonstrations, content that would benefit your audience with visuals. Whether that's a product detail or maybe behind the scenes footage of your business. Or what we've seen recently is the rise of actually in person interviews.
Azurae:So that's rather than two people over the internet having a conversation, but even in a studio in person. And there we are again as the consumer watching two people have a conversation, which can be very cool. You see body language. You see why they pause. And again, many people are now creating content for YouTube in a way that is YouTube first rather than audio first.
Azurae:Now, YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet, which means it has a massive user base. And this means that people are actively looking for content there. So they could be looking for you. The comment section on YouTube can be a wild experience. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the not so good.
Azurae:But you can find other channels that you might enjoy. You find interesting insights, people sharing their experience. And there's a much more interactive feeling to it than an audio only podcast. Something you might notice is that YouTube channels are an entire world as well, which means that you could step into the wardrobe and see an entire universe that you never knew existed. For example, people who build and live in tiny homes off grid.
Azurae:Or there's people like MrBeast or Dude Perfect who have made these insanely wild lives built around making YouTube videos that are crazy experiences and cool tricks and all these different things. There are makeup channels and fashion and YouTube is really the possibilities are endless with YouTube if you're dedicated and committed to creating that type of content. Now, if you are also in the world of entrepreneurship and you desire to teach or educate in a way that has product or visuals you want to use to make your point and do your education. You like text on the screen and drawings and props, then go for it. Go all in on YouTube.
Azurae:It's not going anywhere and it's an incredibly strong platform. Whether or not that is a podcast is actually the question, though. So what's the merge between doing both? If your content is more conversational, educational or intimate, and if you want to provide value without worrying about the production quality as much and all those bells and whistles, absolutely lean in on the audio format. Now here's the caveat I would share.
Azurae:As you can see with the message connection, when I've done an interview or been able to capture video, I do also publish to YouTube.
Azurae:This is because as I
Azurae:shared it as a very searchable database and a lot of people like to hang out on YouTube. So of course, I'd love for them to find my podcast. And if you want to watch instead of listen only, you're welcome to join me over at Azure Phelps in the YouTube sphere. Now, one way to do that is to take your conversations and you can hire someone on Fiverr or Upwork to create what's called a thumbnail or a 16 by nine size image that could be uploaded to your YouTube channel and be there in place of a visual element. It's the title of your conversation.
Azurae:Maybe it's an image that draws people in when it comes to what you're talking about. You can add an element of movement to that image so that people see that it's a conversation that's happening behind that image. I will link to a couple examples in the description of this podcast so that you can see what I mean. This also just means that you are, again, distributing your podcast in multiple different platforms. And if you decided to expand more deeply into video content, then you already have a YouTube channel established that has reps there and potentially a small, if not larger audience ready and waiting to hear from you and engage with the future of your content.
Azurae:One of the most wild things about living in 2025 is that for better or worse, there are no gatekeepers. A couple decades ago, when this happened in the music industry, it was a wild time. What it meant was record labels didn't have the same say or sway in who could get a record and put it out for all the world to hear. It used to be that a record label executive had to fund your project, find you, and then you had to go through those channels to distribute your music to fans. Now, do those entities and organizations still have massive distribution and massive budgets behind them?
Azurae:Absolutely, 100%. But there have been many independent artists who've been able to connect with their own fan base and build a beautiful career because they were able to cut out the middleman and access their fans directly. In many ways, this is the current power of podcasting and YouTube channels because there is no middleman. You could start today and upload your podcast to all of the listening platforms and to YouTube, if that's your preference. So in the end, what is my recommendation?
Azurae:I absolutely believe in the power of listening and connecting with your audience. So I'm gonna go in on audio. I want your audio to be awesome. I want it to sound really good. If you could only buy one thing, I would say buy a great microphone so that your listener is not distracted by sound or background noise, that they're able to connect with you intimately.
Azurae:Because it's in these conversations where trust is born and bred. And as we share our opinion and perspective on the world, and we say that with more clarity and truth, the right people will find us and then they'll share with other people when there's resonance and you will grow organically from there. Podcast listeners are engaged and loyal. They love to share what they've discovered with other people. In fact, one of my favorite things to do is actually to ask people, what podcasts are you listening to?
Azurae:Sometimes it feels a little bit like you're reading someone's diary. Do you know what I mean? Okay. So in the end, my conclusion is if you are merely beginning, as Seth Godin says, go all in on audio. Make sure you have an awesome microphone.
Azurae:Make sure that you feel really confident and set up and ready to go. You know your topics. You're ready to get into it and get those reps in on audio. The other thing about audio is that it's easy to edit with things such as Descript or even in some of the recording platforms. You can even edit with the transcript itself.
Azurae:So you don't have to have a massive background in audio engineering in order to make your podcast awesome. Of course, I highly recommend doing the best you can with whatever you can afford in the season that you're in. Because the better you can make your content, the more people it's going to reach, the more it's going to get shared, the more compelling it's going to be, and the more people you're going to draw in. There is so much content in the world these days. And sounding great is one way to stand out above the rest.
Azurae:We have about three seconds to draw people in with audio or visual, especially because of how we're being trained now with all the algorithms of these different social media platforms. So do your best to serve your audience by eliminating any distractions, having a great microphone, and making sure that your audio sounds awesome. If you want to go in on YouTube, I support you 100%. But make sure that that is something you're building on top of your audio sounding awesome and being super clear about what it is that you have to share and wanna say to the world. Whether you decide to go all in on audio or YouTube, my biggest encouragement to you is to go all in.
Azurae:Pick the platform that you know lights you up and that you'll show up for with the most consistency. Starting is always the hardest part. I'm here to support you in any way that I can. And I want you to know that you have an audience of people out there who want to hear what you have to say. Creating this content and showing up with regularity is going to foster a loyalty and connection with your audience that you had no idea was possible.
Azurae:I'm excited for you, and I can't wait to hear or see what you create. Thanks for listening to The Message Connection. We'll see you next week.
Azurae:Thanks so much for listening to The Message Connection with Azeri Phelps. If you found this episode valuable, I'd love to hear from you. Check out the show notes for details on how to stay in touch, and please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. These reviews help us reach more people who will enjoy and benefit from the show. Don't forget to subscribe to the Message Connection wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.
