Syncing your YouTube account with Substack allows you to automatically upload your Substack videos to your YouTube channel for broader distribution. This guide explains how to connect your accounts and publish videos directly to YouTube from Substack.

This guide covers:

• Connecting your Substack and YouTube accounts
• Publishing a video post

Before you begin:

• Make sure you've already created a YouTube channel.
• For videos longer than 15 minutes, verify your YouTube channel to avoid upload failures. Verify Your YouTube Channel
• The YouTube account connects to your Substack profile, not a specific publication. For publications with multiple video contributors, consider using a shared YouTube account.

Connecting Your Accounts

1. Connect your accounts through the dashboard banner or the "Connected accounts" section in your publication's Settings.

2. Grant Substack the necessary permissions.

Note: To disconnect your YouTube account, go to the "Connected accounts" section in your publication's Settings and select "Disconnect." Videos already uploaded to YouTube will remain there (unless manually deleted). Deleting a Substack video post will not remove the auto-uploaded version from YouTube.

Publishing a Video

Free Video Posts:

1. When publishing a "Video post," the "Auto-upload it to YouTube" box is checked by default. You can uncheck this for individual posts.

2. Customize the YouTube title, description, and privacy settings in the post's publish settings.

Note: Videos default to private visibility, but you can change this to unlisted or public. A Substack watermark (logo and publication URL) is added to the upper-left corner by default. Uncheck the "Include Substack watermark" box to remove it.

3. Check the upload status in the Share center or the Latest post section on Home after publishing.

Tip: If the upload fails, a "failed" status with a retry button will appear.

4. After publishing to YouTube, make further edits in YouTube Studio.

Free Previews of Paid Video Posts:

Only the free preview portion of a paid video post will be uploaded to YouTube. A link to the full paid post on Substack is automatically added to the YouTube video description. Learn more about free previews.