How To Stream A Live Podcast On Youtube

Creating a live podcast is an effective strategy for broadening your audience and increasing engagement. With platforms like YouTube enabling seamless live streaming, you can interact with listeners in real time, building a sense of community and enhancing your show’s visibility.

Streaming special episodes live can attract new listeners while retaining existing fans, offering an authentic and interactive experience that pre-recorded episodes can’t match.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you easily launch a live podcast on YouTube, ensuring your stream goes smoothly and your audience stays engaged throughout. Let’s dive into the tips that will help you succeed.

Key Takeaways

• 🎙 Both OBS and Restream offer the flexibility to stream across multiple platforms simultaneously, expanding your reach.
• 💡 Live podcasts foster urgency and exclusivity, encouraging listeners to join for unique insights and Q&A sessions.
• 📊 Use YouTube analytics to understand viewer behavior and refine your live podcast strategy for audience growth.

Why Live Podcast?

Here’s a countdown of the top six reasons why live podcasting should be part of your strategy:

Real-Time Engagement

Live podcasting offers direct interaction with your audience through live chat and Q&As. This genuine connection fosters loyalty and a strong sense of community.

Exclusive Content

You create a sense of urgency by offering behind-the-scenes looks or unique insights exclusive to live sessions, rewarding your most dedicated listeners.

Audience Expansion

Live streaming attracts new listeners by harnessing social media algorithms that prioritize live content, helping your show gain visibility and attract a wider audience.

➡️ Podcasting vs Streaming: What’s the Difference?

Immediate Feedback

Receive real-time reactions, enabling you to adjust messaging and content strategies based on direct input from viewers.

Monetization Potential

Leverage live features like Super Chat and direct sponsorships, enabling listeners to support you while engaging with your show.

Increased Credibility

Going live humanizes your brand, helping listeners see the genuine personality behind the podcast and building trust.

The Setup You Need For Live Podcasts On YouTube

You can also make use of natural lighting if that’s practical. However, you will need software or a service that helps you live stream on YouTube. We’ll get to that later on in this guide. 

Youtube Live Podcast Process

Set up your YouTube channel 

You will require a YouTube channel for your podcast before you can live stream an episode on it.

When choosing a name and images for your YouTube channel, it’s good practice to ensure that it matches your current branding.

Choose your live streaming method

You can use software to help you Livestream your podcast, such as Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), but there are easier alternatives. An example is a service like Restream, which has the convenient feature of letting you live stream your podcast from your browser.

If you have guests on your live podcast, you can send them a link so they can join the live stream, which makes it convenient for anyone to get set up.

How to use Restream

• Create an account (a free account will enable you to live stream a podcast). 
• Log into your account and go to the “Destinations” page. 
• Choose a channel to live stream to, in this case, YouTube. 
• Go to “Live studio,” where you’ll be asked to allow Restream access to your camera and microphone.

How to use OBS

OBS allows you to livestream to multiple platforms simultaneously, which is a bonus. Here’s how to connect it to your YouTube channel and stream your podcast live.

1. Open OBS on your desktop, click “Tools, then click “Autoconfiguration wizard.” 
2. Select “Optimize for streaming.” Click “Next.” 
3. Choose the canvas resolution you want, then click “Next.” 
4. Choose YouTube as the service to connect to, then make sure you’ve selected the “Estimate bitrate with bandwidth test” option. Click “Next.” OBS will check the server and your internet speed. 
5. When the test results show up, click “Apply settings.” 
6. In another tab on your computer, open YouTube and log into your account. 
7. Go to your channel. Click on “Create” and then select “Go live.” 
8. Set your visibility to “Private” so you can check your live stream before showing it to your audience.
9. Go back to OBS. Click the “Start streaming” button so you’ll see a preview of your stream in the YouTube window. A message will come up asking you to set up a broadcast before you can stream, so click “Manage broadcast.” 
10. On YouTube, choose your live stream. Select the broadcast (which is your podcast). 
11. After you’ve checked all the settings, you can set your YouTube privacy to public. 

1. Log into your YouTube account. 
2. Go to “Creator studio.” 
3. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a “Live streaming” drop-down menu. Click on it. 
4. You’ll see different options come up. Click on the “Events” option. 
5. Go to “Schedule a new event.” 
6. Fill out the basic info about your event, such as its date and time. 
7. Fill out the description box of your stream to give listeners information about it. 
8. In “Advanced settings,” enable “Live chat” and choose the live stream category, such as “Gaming.” 
9. Click the “Create event” button on the top right of the screen. 
10. Here you’ll be able to choose a thumbnail for your Livestream. 
11. You will also have to choose the stream key. Copy the stream key so you can go to your OBS settings and input it there, then click on the “Stream” tab. 
12. In OBS, you should select YouTube as your service, and paste your stream key in the “stream key” field. Click “Apply.” This essentially connects OBS to YouTube.
13. Back on YouTube, go to the “View on watch page” button so you can preview what your live stream will be like. 
14. When you’re ready, click “Start streaming” on YouTube. 

Benefits Of Live Podcasting On YouTube

There are many advantages of live podcasting on YouTube. These include the following:

• You get to engage with your listeners. You’ll be able to interact with your listeners, learn more about them, and feel closer to them. 
• Personal Connection: Viewers relate more deeply to you because they can see your face and gestures, transforming your podcast from just a voice into a relatable, authentic personality.
• You boost interest in your podcast. By live streaming your podcast on YouTube, you’ll be able to reach new listeners, therefore growing your audience. In 2024, YouTube Live remains a leading platform for live-streaming e-commerce in the U.S., preferred by 39% of viewers aged 35-54 and 37% of those aged 18-34. The global live-streaming market is expected to surpass $3.2 billion by 2027​ (and nearly a third of internet users watch at least one live stream weekly​ (JW Player).
• YouTube-Specific Tools: YouTube offers special features like Super Chat and Channel Memberships that enable listeners to support you directly while adding unique incentives to engage with your content.

FAQs

Final Thoughts 

If you’ve got a podcast and you love chatting to your loyal listeners, consider doing a live podcast on YouTube. This can increase your engagement.

In this article, we’ve featured two ways to livestream your podcast via YouTube: with the use of OBS and Restream, so it’s simple and easy to do.

Resources:

• Statista.com