Should a local newsletter have a podcast or video section?

We have a section called Podcast Spotlight. Readers see the YouTube thumbnail right in the email, and they click on it to actually watch.

How long should a local video or podcast be?

Short. That's the real value.

"There are people who do what we just said, and it's 20 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever. You should just make it quick, make it fun, and that's it."

How short depends on the show. For a weekly morning-show style episode about what's happening in town, I've suggested 10 to 15 minutes. For a quick video reacting to the newsletter, I'd keep it under five. A local business spotlight doesn't need to be an hour-long interview. Training your audience to expect something quick is the point.

How often should it come out?

Once a week, at least for a while and possibly forever. Weekly keeps you from overwhelming yourself, and it will take a while to get traction either way.

What do you talk about?

Your newsletter. You already made the content. You just have to talk about it.

• React as a resident. It's Easter week, what are you up to this weekend? Which event looks the most fun? What did you think of the new restaurant that just opened?
• No script.
• Don't make it about the newsletter. Don't talk about how much work it took or how you came up with it. You're a resident who knows what's going on in town because of this newsletter.
• Bring on a local. Podcast this week: the owner of a popular restaurant in town goes over their favorite things about the town.

For one team on my podcast, I suggested two shows on the same channel: one about real estate and one that isn't.

Will the first episodes be bad?

Probably. The first one will likely suck because everyone is nervous. By episode four, five or six you'll be relaxed and not care, and it'll be much better.

How do you put a video in an email?

You don't embed it. You show the thumbnail as an image and link it to the video. The click takes them to YouTube.

Put it toward the bottom of every email, so readers get used to seeing "watch the video of us" in every issue.

Why is a newsletter the right home for a local podcast?

Because the hard part of a local podcast is getting an audience. A newsletter solves that. A newsletter with 10,000 readers, and eventually 20,000 plus, can push people to the show every week. Then we cut clips of the podcast and put them on Instagram.

The newsletter is the foundation, but it can't be the only thing. A podcast, Instagram and the website combined, for multiple years, is how you start having a big influence on a town.

I think of a daily local audio feed as the audio version of Meta ads. With Meta ads we target people in the area, and they're hyper-engaged because they live there. A local audio show reaches the same people. Newsletters replace the newspaper; a local show replaces the AM or FM morning show. You take the old thing and spin it.

Two guests on my podcast added their own angles:

• Paul Gewuerz, who produces daily local audio news with AI narration for publishers, says people who already read a local newsletter are likely to listen, a daily habit five or six times a week makes the show sticky, and local podcasts can fetch 50 to 75 CPM versus 30 to 35 industry-wide.
• Alex, who runs a local newsletter in Mt. Juliet, said the main goal of their video show is making the owners known faces, so an AI-written competitor would be less appealing.

Those are their numbers and goals, not mine.

Should the podcast lead your website?

No. I reviewed one local media site that looked like a podcast site. No offense to the podcast, but I'd guess maybe 2% as many people care about it compared to what's actually happening in town. Lead the homepage with local news and give the podcast its own section.

Do I need good equipment?

No. For video, the answer for most people is don't even think about it, just jump on and start talking. Rough production can make you seem more human. Make it short, make it fun, put it in the newsletter.

I also think the opportunity in short local video is incredible at least through 2026, and gets harder around 2027. More on starting a show in whether to start a podcast or guest on others, or listen to mine on the podcast page.