Turn YouTube Transcripts into Newsletter Drafts using Dumpling AI and GPT-4o
Overview
If you’re tired of manually turning long YouTube videos into email-friendly newsletters, this automation will save you hours. It pulls YouTube links from a Google Sheet, fetches their transcript with Dumpling AI, summarizes and rewrites the content as a structured newsletter using GPT-4o, saves the output back to your sheet, and finally notifies you via email when the draft is ready.
This workflow is ideal for content marketers, newsletter writers, or agencies looking to streamline content repurposing from video to email.
Step-by-Step Breakdown
🔘 Step 1: Manual Trigger
Node Name: Manual Trigger: Start Workflow
What It Does:
This is a simple trigger node that lets you run the workflow manually when testing or initiating the automation.
Why It Matters:
It’s useful for testing the flow before deploying a scheduled trigger or webhook.
Step 2: Read YouTube Links from Google Sheets
Node Name: Read YouTube Links from Google Sheets
What It Does:
It connects to your Google Sheet and pulls rows that contain YouTube links. The filter is set so that it only processes rows where the blog post column is empty (i.e., not yet processed).
Sheet Requirements:
- Column A: link (YouTube video URL)
- Column B: blog post (newsletter draft output)
Why It Matters:
Ensures only new, unprocessed videos are included, so the workflow doesn’t overwrite existing drafts.
Step 3: Loop: Process Each YouTube Link
Node Name: Loop: Process Each YouTube Link
What It Does:
This loop handles each video URL one at a time using batches. It prevents errors from processing all at once and helps maintain control over API rate limits.
Why It Matters:
Enables controlled, batch-wise execution and helps you scale reliably.
Step 4: Dumpling AI – Get YouTube Transcript
Node Name: Dumpling AI: Get YouTube Transcript
What It Does:
It sends a POST request to Dumpling AI’s YouTube transcript API, passing the current YouTube link from the sheet.
Payload Example:
{
“videoUrl”: “https://youtube.com/watch?v=EXAMPLE”
}
Why It Matters:
This API extracts a clean transcript from the YouTube video so that it can be processed by GPT.
Step 5: GPT-4o – Write Newsletter Draft from Transcript
Node Name: GPT-4o: Write Newsletter Draft from Transcript
What It Does:
GPT-4o takes the transcript and turns it into a structured, email-ready newsletter. The system prompt tells GPT to:
- Summarize the key points
- Use an engaging intro
- Write short, readable paragraphs
- Add a call to action at the end
- Avoid timestamps or speaker labels
Why It Matters:
This is where the transformation happens. It takes raw transcript text and makes it readable, valuable, and ready for your newsletter.
Step 6: Log Newsletter Draft to Google Sheets
Node Name: Log Newsletter Draft to Google Sheets
What It Does:
It writes the newsletter draft (blog post) back to the Google Sheet in the same row where the video link was pulled from. Matching is done using the link column.
Why It Matters:
This creates a central place for managing all processed content and reviewing drafts before publishing.
Step 7: Send Email Notification
Node Name: Send Email Notification When Draft is Ready
What It Does:
Sends an email to a specified address (in this case: [email protected]) informing that the newsletter draft has been generated and is ready for review.
Email Subject:
Newsletter Draft Created from YouTube Transcript
Email Body:
Hello,
The newsletter based on the latest YouTube transcript has just been created successfully. You can now review, edit, or schedule it for distribution.
Please check the draft and let me know if anything needs to be adjusted before it goes live.
Why It Matters:
You get notified immediately when a new piece of content is ready without needing to check manually.
What You Need Before Running It
- A Google Sheet with link and blog post columns
- Dumpling AI API credentials (Header Auth)
- OpenAI GPT-4o credentials
- Gmail account for notifications
- A YouTube link in one of the sheet rows
Example Use Case
Let’s say you have a YouTube video titled:
“10 AI Tools to Boost Productivity in 2025”
Once this automation runs:
- Dumpling AI pulls the transcript
- GPT-4o writes a newsletter that summarizes the tips
- The newsletter draft gets saved to the sheet
- You receive an email saying your draft is ready
Done. No manual writing.
🧠 Conclusion
This workflow is a complete system for transforming video content into readable, engaging newsletters. Whether you’re a solo creator, marketing team, or agency, it reduces the time from video to content draft to minutes.
Want to expand this into blog creation or auto-scheduling in Mailchimp, Beehiiv, or ConvertKit? This setup is easy to extend.
