Write a YouTube show description from your episode transcripts

What goes in a YouTube show's details?

YouTube's page says to set your show's details and click Done when you create a new show, but it does not list required fields, a character count or a genre list. So treat the description as free text and write it for the viewer.

The page does ask for a consistent story or topic, so the description should say in a sentence or two which of the three your show is.

Drafting from transcripts

Run each episode through Sume video inspect with transcribe set to true. Public rate is $0.01 per audio minute, and the call returns text, words and, with segmentation mode sentence, sentence segments with no gaps. Pass duration_seconds as a hint of up to 600 seconds; without it, Sume reserves one minute.

Read the transcripts together. The recurring subject, the recurring phrase and the recurring promise are what the description should state. The transcript is your own wording, so it also catches claims you would not want to repeat.

• Set language_code if you know it, such as en or ko.
• A clip with no audio is refused: probe has_audio first.
• Import the clip to media.sume.com before calling.

Writing the description

Lead with the subject, name the host or characters, and say how often episodes come out, only if you will keep to it. Avoid numbers you cannot stand behind, and keep episode numbers out, since they change when episodes are edited or deleted.

Add a second sentence for a viewer who lands on a single episode from the feed: what the show is and where to start. Serial shows should say so.

Review before you publish

Transcripts can contain errors in names and brand words. Read every proper noun against the script. The same check applies to artwork text, where a misspelled title on the banner is easy to miss, so zoom to full size before uploading.

Finally, reread the description a month in. If the show has drifted from the topic you promised, change the description or change the show. YouTube's own standard asks for a consistent story or topic, and a description that no longer matches the episodes is the first thing a new viewer will notice.