Getting Started

Creating Your First Article

Learn how to convert your first YouTube video into a formatted article in just a few minutes.

Overview

This guide walks you through turning a single YouTube video into a finished article using the Generate Article flow. You will paste a video URL, choose a writing style, and optionally customize the output.

You can start from the:

  • Dashboard  Quick Start  Generate Article, or
  • Left sidebar in the app  Generate Article

1. Open the Generate Article page

  1. Sign in to your VidToArticle account.
  2. In the left sidebar, click Generate Article.
  3. You will see the Generate Article form with fields for YouTube URL, article style, language, and optional custom instructions.

2. Paste your YouTube URL

  1. Copy the full URL of the YouTube video you want to convert.
  2. Paste it into the YouTube URL field (for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...).
  3. Make sure the video is public or unlisted. Private videos or region-locked content may fail to process.

If the URL is invalid or the video cannot be accessed, the request will fail and you will see an error message.

3. Choose a writing style

  1. Open the Article Style dropdown.
  2. Select one of the available styles, such as:
    • News (professional & balanced)
    • Casual Blog (friendly & conversational)
    • Listicle (numbered list format)
    • Or one of the Pro styles like Bombastic, Tabloid, Technical, or Academic
  3. Free plans include a subset of styles; additional tones are available on paid tiers.

You can change the style and re-generate later if you want a different tone.

4. Pick an output language (optional)

  1. Open the Output Language dropdown.
  2. Choose your preferred language. English (en) is the default.
  3. When you select a different language, VidToArticle will generate the article in that language while still using the original video as the source.

5. Add custom instructions (Pro feature)

If your subscription tier supports it:

  1. Enter any extra guidance into Custom Instructions (for example: Explain for beginners and avoid jargon).
  2. These instructions are applied on top of the chosen writing style.

On the free tier, this field is disabled and prompts you to upgrade if you need more control.

6. Generate the article

  1. Click Generate Article.
  2. The app will:
    • Fetch the transcript for the video.
    • Stream the generated article content in real time.
    • Show a Generating... status with live word count.
  3. You can follow progress as text streams into the preview area.

Typical generation time is 30120 seconds, depending on video length and capacity.

7. Review the result

When generation completes, you will see:

  • The article title, video information, style, and word count.
  • The full article rendered as markdown via the VidToArticle viewer.

You can now:

  • Read and skim using headings and sections.
  • Confirm that tone and structure match your expectations.

If the article looks wrong (for example, you chose the wrong style), you can re-run generation with a different style or with updated custom instructions.

8. Download or publish

From the result view you can:

  • Download the article as Markdown or PDF (depending on your plan).
  • Use the article in your CMS, email platform, or anywhere markdown is supported.

If you have WordPress connected via the VidToArticle Publisher plugin, separate flows allow you to publish or sync content directly to your site.

9. Where the article is saved

Every generated article is stored in your account and available later under My Articles:

  1. Open the app sidebar and click My Articles.
  2. Use search or filters to find the article by title, video title, or style.
  3. Open it to re-read, download again, or delete it.

Your first article is now complete. Next, read Understanding Writing Styles to choose the best tone for your audience.