The Minimalist Way to Start Your YouTube Podcast (For Solopreneurs, Coaches & Spiritual Creators)

Without the fluff—what’s the number one reason solopreneurs never launch their podcast?It’s not understanding production.

On top of that, there’s so much to consider: strategy, your setup, video editing, and how to publish your show so it’s actually optimized for YouTube.

If you’ve found this post because you’re desperately trying to start your YouTube podcast without getting overwhelmed—good news. You’re in the right place. I’m basically allergic to anything overly complex (especially when it comes to YouTube). I like to keep things simple and minimalist.

So today, I’m walking you through the step-by-step process of how to produce your own YouTube video podcast—without the burnout.

Step 1: Know Your Goal, Clarify Your Offer, and Build a Strategy

This first step is actually three things wrapped into one.

Start by asking: what is your goal for your online presence? Do you want to grow your community? Build a new income stream? Make more sales?

Your goal is directly tied to your offer. If your dream is to make income online without being tied to your time, then your offer shouldn’t be one-on-one services. It should be something that scales with your value—like a course, a digital product, or a membership.

If your goal is growth or community-building, then maybe your offer looks more like a free workshop, lead magnet, or email series that helps people connect with you first.

If you’re unsure what kind of offer aligns with your goal, drop a comment below—tell me your goal, and I’ll give you my recommendation for what type of offer makes the most sense for you.

Building Your Strategy

Here’s where things start to get fun (and where most people overcomplicate things).I base every content strategy on two key frameworks:

• Problem & Solution Pillars

• Buyer Stages (Awareness → Consideration → Conversion)

Because at its core, your content should tell a story—your story—and connect authentically with the people who need your work most.

Start by identifying your solution.What is the core solution your business provides? You probably have 1–3 at most. Write them down.

Now, list the problems that lead people to your solution. For example, my solution is helping solopreneurs produce their own podcasts. The problems tied to that include lack of visibility, low sales, or no clear marketing strategy.

Once you have your problems and solutions listed, you can start building storylines around them. Each video or podcast episode becomes a bridge—from the “problem” (point A) to your “solution” (point B).

If your problem is lack of visibility and your solution is DIY podcast production, that’s your storyline.

Now think about 4–5 pieces of content that could walk your audience from A to B over a month. Then, match those pieces to the buyer stages:

• 2 pieces for Problem Awareness

• 2 pieces for Consideration

• 1 piece for Conversion

That’s your month of content right there—simple, strategic, and sustainable.

Step 2: Plan Your Episode

Planning is really just strategy in action.

Start by identifying the goal of your episode. What do you want this specific video or podcast to achieve? That goal will shape your title, thumbnail, and intro.

Then craft your hook.Say the boldest or most unexpected thing about your topic right at the start. Ask a thought-provoking question. Share a surprising fact. The goal is to grab attention and make your viewer think, “Wait, I need to hear this.”

After your hook, introduce yourself and your channel. This is where you share who you are and why you’re the best person to talk about this subject—whether it’s your experience, your perspective, or your passion.

Then, before you dive into your main points, do a quick mini call-to-action. Something as simple as:

“Hey, by the way, I work with solopreneurs one-on-one to help them produce their podcast. If you’re interested, you can check out the link below.”

Keep it short and natural—then move right into your topic.

For the main content, aim for 3–5 bullet points per video. These are your anchor points. You can script them out in full if you’re just starting, or jot quick notes if you’re comfortable speaking naturally.

And at the end, connect the topic back to your offer—then guide them to the next video in your series that builds on this one.

Step 3: Create

This part is simple.

You don’t need fancy gear. You can film with your phone in a calm, peaceful setting. The goal is to feel grounded, excited, and clear.

Lighting? Don’t overthink it. Natural light works beautifully. Add a lamp or a backlight if you want some depth, but nobody’s leaving your video because of lighting.

Audio, on the other hand, does matter. If you want good sound without buying expensive gear, use Descript’s Studio Sound feature. It can make your voice sound mic-quality, even without an actual mic. If you want one anyway, grab a simple USB mic on Amazon for under $30.

Step 4: Edit

I use and recommend Descript for editing—always.

Descript automatically transcribes your video, so you can literally delete words or silence to cut your footage. It’s a total time-saver.

You can add minimal text overlays in Canva (like your name or topic) if you want, but you don’t need complex animations or flashy graphics. Many successful creators are now embracing the anti-edit, anti-script method.

Keep it authentic, simple, and focused on your message.

Step 5: Publish

Now it’s time to share your work with the world.

Start by crafting a thumbnail and refining your title with keywords. Your description doesn’t need to be long—just make sure your important links are at the top.

Bonus tip: pin a comment with those same links. It’s easier for mobile viewers to access than your description.

And if you want to save serious time on publishing tasks like writing your video summaries, titles, or tags—I’ve created custom ChatGPT prompts that turn your transcript into all of that in minutes.

Want to Learn the Full System?

This process comes directly from my Solo Podcast Producer Blueprint, a hybrid course and group consulting program that walks you through my entire production workflow—start to finish.

If you’re ready to create your own YouTube podcast, grow your visibility, and build a freedom-based lifestyle doing what you love, get on the waitlist here: https://www.essencepresentsproduction.com/the-solo-pod-producer-course

And if you’re already producing your podcast but wondering why your views or sales aren’t reflecting your effort—watch this video next. I’ll teach you about the invisible barriers that most beginner podcasters face (and how to break through them).

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one.