Automate YouTube Video Promotion on X with n8n & ChatGPT

1. Opening Problem Statement

Meet Sarah, a passionate content creator who uploads a fresh YouTube video every few days. She loves engaging with her audience on X (formerly Twitter), but manually crafting promotional posts for each new video is tedious, time-consuming, and sometimes ineffective. Sarah often misses posting immediately after publishing, leading to lost views and lower channel growth. On average, she spends 30+ minutes every time drafting posts, and occasionally posts too late or with uninspired messages that don’t catch attention.

This is where automation tailored precisely to Sarah’s YouTube promotions can save hours weekly, increase timely engagement, and boost her video visibility on social media.

2. What This Automation Does

This unique n8n workflow automatically detects Sarah’s newest YouTube videos every 30 minutes and crafts an engaging post for X using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, then posts it directly on her behalf. When you run this workflow, here’s what happens:

• Every 30 minutes, the workflow triggers to check Sarah’s YouTube channel for videos published within the last 30 minutes.
• If a new video is found, it fetches detailed metadata including the video title, ID, and description.
• It sends this data to ChatGPT (GPT-3.5-turbo) with a prompt to generate a catchy post for X, capped at 140 characters and including a link to the video.
• The AI-crafted post is passed to the X node, which posts the content immediately to Sarah’s connected X account.
• Sticky Notes within the workflow remind the user to input their YouTube Channel ID and provide a helpful setup video link for ease.
• All processes are seamless, requiring no manual intervention if set up correctly, saving Sarah over an hour per week of manual work.

3. Prerequisites ⚙️

• n8n Account: You need an active n8n instance to run the workflow.
• YouTube OAuth2 Credentials 🔐: For accessing your YouTube channel and checking latest videos.
• OpenAI API Key 🔐: Required for the ChatGPT node to generate engaging post text.
• X (Twitter) OAuth2 Credentials 🔐: To allow the workflow to post Tweets on your behalf.
• YouTube Channel ID 💬: Found via your YouTube account settings required for the node configuration.

Optional: Self-hosting your n8n instance is possible for complete control and cost savings — consider hosting guides at https://buldrr.com/hostinger.

4. Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Set up the Schedule Trigger Node

Navigate to Nodes → Schedule Trigger. Configure it to run every 30 minutes as follows:

• Click “Add New Interval”.
• Select “Minutes” and enter 30.
• Save the node named Check Every 30 Min.

You should see the workflow trigger firing every half hour. This ensures fresh checks for new videos without manual intervention.

Common mistake: Forgetting to enable the node or setting an interval that’s too infrequent, missing videos.

Step 2: Configure the YouTube Node

Open the Fetch Latest Videos node and set it as follows:

• Resource: Video
• Limit: 1 (fetches only the latest video)
• Filter by “Channel ID” — enter your own channel ID (find it at YouTube Advanced Settings).
• Set “Published After” to dynamically check for videos published less than 30 minutes ago with this expression:
  = {{ new Date(new Date().getTime() - 30 * 60000).toISOString() }}
• Connect your YouTube OAuth2 credentials.

After executing, the node returns details of the newest video within 30 minutes.

Common mistake: Using incorrect channel ID or forgetting to authorize credentials.

Step 3: Prepare the OpenAI ChatGPT Node

This crucial node generates the tweet content.

• Select Generate Post for X with ChatGPT node.
• Choose GPT-3.5-Turbo model from the dropdown.
• Enter this prompt, which references the video data using expressions:

  =Write an engaging post about my latest YouTube video for X (Twitter) of no more than 140 characters in length. Link to the video at https://youtu.be/{{ $json.id.videoId }} use this title and description: {{ $json.snippet.title }} {{ $json.snippet.description }}

• Add your OpenAI API credentials.

This node converts raw video info into a captivating, short social media post, ready for publishing.

Common mistake: Forgetting to include the dynamic variables in the prompt correctly.

Step 4: Configure the X (Twitter) Node

Select the node named Post to X:

• Set the text field to:
  = {{ $json.message.content }} which dynamically pulls the AI-generated message.
• Attach your Twitter OAuth2 credentials (now X credentials).

Once triggered, this node posts the crafted Tweet automatically.

Common mistake: Not connecting the correct Twitter account or missing OAuth permissions.

Step 5: Connect the Nodes Properly

• Verify connections: Check Every 30 Min → Fetch Latest Videos → Generate Post for X with ChatGPT → Post to X
• Ensure data flows from YouTube video info → mapped into the ChatGPT prompt → output to Twitter.

Save and activate your workflow.

Step 6: Add Helpful Sticky Notes

Use the two sticky notes already included:

• One reminds to enter your YouTube Channel ID.
• One shares a helpful setup video link: https://mrc.fm/ai2x

These provide useful context for those new to n8n or the workflow.

5. Customizations ✏️

Customize Posting Interval

In the Check Every 30 Min schedule trigger node, adjust the interval to any duration you prefer (e.g., every 15 minutes or hourly) to fit your posting frequency needs.

Change YouTube Channel

Edit the Fetch Latest Videos node’s Channel ID to promote another YouTube channel you manage or collaborate with.

Modify ChatGPT Prompt

Tailor the message style by opening the Generate Post for X with ChatGPT node and editing the prompt—write in a humorous, formal, or conversational tone as you prefer.

Post to Other Socials

Add nodes for other social networks (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn) and duplicate the ChatGPT prompt node adapted with platform-specific text limits and styles. Connect them accordingly.

6. Troubleshooting 🔧

Problem: No new posts appear in X timeline

Cause: YouTube node found no videos published within last 30 minutes.

Solution: Reduce the schedule trigger interval or verify video publishing times carefully.

Problem: ChatGPT node returns errors or irrelevant posts

Cause: Malformed prompt or missing dynamic variables.

Solution: Check that the prompt in “Generate Post for X with ChatGPT” uses correct expressions exactly from incoming YouTube data fields.

Problem: X node fails to post

Cause: OAuth credentials invalid or insufficient permissions.

Solution: Re-authenticate Twitter/OAuth credentials. Confirm app permissions.

7. Pre-Production Checklist ✅

• Verify YouTube Channel ID and OAuth credentials are correct and authorized.
• Test the schedule trigger fires every 30 minutes correctly.
• Run manual workflow executions to check video fetching and AI prompt results.
• Confirm the ChatGPT node output looks like a catchy, 140-character post linking the new video.
• Ensure the X node successfully posts on a test account.
• Backup your workflow in n8n before activating.

8. Deployment Guide

Activate your workflow by toggling the status switch in n8n. Monitor executions initially using:

• The execution log screen inside n8n that shows node-by-node results.
• Your X timeline for new posts.

Adjust the schedule interval or update prompts as you gather results. For long-term use, consider logging outputs out to a database or notification for errors.

9. FAQs

Can I use a different AI model instead of GPT-3.5-turbo?

Yes, if you have API access to GPT-4 or other OpenAI models, you can select those in the ChatGPT node’s model dropdown.

Does this workflow consume many API credits?

Only one OpenAI API call per video, so cost is minimal unless you have high-volume posting.

Is my YouTube data secure?

OAuth2 credentials are stored securely by n8n and never shared externally beyond API calls.

10. Conclusion

By following this guide, you’ve automated posting your latest YouTube videos to X, saving hours each week and increasing your channel’s visibility. Using n8n’s YouTube, OpenAI, and X nodes, you crafted an AI-powered automated marketing tool tailored exactly to your needs.

Next, consider automating comments extraction from videos or cross-posting to other social networks for even more audience reach. Let this automation empower your content promotion effortlessly!

Happy automating!