Getting your podcast out there

Photo by Alphacolor on Unsplash

Once you’ve recorded and edited your brand new podcast, you need to host it somewhere to share it with the world.

Popular options for hosts are Libsyn, Podbean and Blubrry. These platforms hold the files and metadata that you create, and publish them on an RSS feed. Although it is tempting to host your podcast on your own website, it’s best to outsource this job - if an episode goes viral, and you get thousands of listeners streaming your content, you don’t want to crash your site!

In order for your podcast to be searchable in Apple Podcasts, you need to submit your RSS feed to be added to their library. Apple’s guidance on this can be found here.

It is essential to follow the Apple Podcasts standards when submitting your podcast. Apple’s podcast library is where the majority of podcatchers find their podcasts. The initial submission to Apple requires an Apple ID. (You can use your own personal one if you have an iTunes account, or create one specially for your podcast) It can take up to 72 hours for your submission to be accepted and your podcast to appear on Apple Podcasts. Some podcasters prefer to release a trailer for this initial submission, but you can use your first episode if you prefer.

Apple aren’t the be all and end all where podcasts are concerned - there are plenty of other podcatching apps that you’ll want to submit your podcast to. The main ones that I would recommend are Spotify, Google Podcasts and Stitcher. Here’s a handy guide to them and others that you might want to submit to.

Subsequent episodes can be submitted to your RSS feed, via your host, and will then be picked up by Apple and other podcatchers automatically. Try to release on the same day of the week for the convenience of your listeners. Most hosts let you schedule releases for a particular day, so you don’t need to publish them live.