Video Transcript
Okay, so we have created our website. We’ve created a podcast, we’ve created a feed that we can submit to the world, but we need to actually get that feed to the world. We need to get those episodes out there. So what we’re gonna talk about in this final of the four videos in this module is about submitting to the different podcast platforms.
And the first thing I will say is that there are a huge number of them around the world, lots and lots of them. They all work though, on the same principle. We provide that RSS feed. Remember that URL I keep talking about that link that contains all your information and they all basically need you to submit that link to them, fill in a few more details to validate your identity, and then they put it on their platform.
Now, we could spend the next probably a couple of days just going through submitting to these platforms, but because they all work in a similar way, I’m gonna just run through a couple of the big ones. And once you’ve seen that, you will know how to do it to basically all the different platforms. They might have a button in a different place, but the principle will all be the same.
So the first thing we need for all of them is our RSS feed. Remember this one again? So we’re gonna go back to our Settings > General. We’ve been here a few times, Writing, and we go down here to our podcasting section, and it’s this link. This link has everything about our podcast in it, all the links, track images, our audio, and all this sort of stuff.
This is what those podcast platforms need. Now we can actually test this to see, um, uh, to make sure that our feed is, is looking good. So what I’m gonna do on my Mac here is I’m gonna use the podcast app, which is in the Mac, and I can actually add this in without submitting formally a podcast. I can add it into the app to see how it’s gonna look.
So let’s do that now and we can get an idea about what it’s gonna look like. So I’ve loaded up my podcast app, and then at the top I’m gonna go to file, add a Show by URL. You’ll see the link at the top of your screen when you do this, and I am gonna paste in my feed, of course, which has got all my information into it.
And then I’m gonna click follow and you will see that’s read my feed and it’s added all the details into it. So if I click on that, you now see there are my episodes and I can listen to them if I want to. And that’s exactly how it’s gonna look on Apple, on iTunes and on uh, apple Podcasts. So that’s all looking good.
I’m pretty happy with that one. So we know the feed is working well, so that’s good. The next thing we wanna do then is to start submitting our podcast to the different directories. And let’s start off with Apple, as we’ve talked about that before. Now Apple are having a few, they’ve had a big rewrite of their system recently and they’ve had quite a lot of problems and quite a lot of bugs with them that they need to iron out still at the time of recording this. So if you have any problems with that, it could well be that they’re still doing that cuz they’ve still got bugs weeks after they set this up. But let’s have a look at how this works in principle.
Let’s go to Podcast Connect and I’ve put all the links to this below this video here. So once you’ve logged in, if you haven’t got Apple ID, you’re gonna need to create one. And once you get in there, you can see that little plus button up here next to the podcast. And I click on that and I’m gonna say that I want a new show.
Now I can create a new channel. They’ve added this new feature, a bunch of new features to, um, apple Podcasts where you can create channels. You can also take money as well through the platform too, but let’s just look at the simple way of doing it. So we’re gonna add an existing RSS feed, and we are going to paste in our feed there like so.
And if that’s all good, I’m gonna click add, it’s now gonna check if it’s happy with all that information.
So it looks like it is still processing the show details. It’s still trying to find more information in there. So it’s current. You can see it’s drawn in all that information. It’s given me my Apple Show ID as well. It’s the basic information that we provided to it, like leisure and hobbies that we’ve already done, and we can also say how frequent it’s gonna come out.
So is it gonna be weekly? No Set schedule might be more appropriate for this demo site. And it’s asking us to provide a few more details as well. And then once it is happy and it’s read all that information, it’s happy with it, I can submit that for a review. And Apple will then have a look at that over the next few days and then they’ll decide whether to put it on the platform or not.
It’s not often, I think they reject it, um, but it can take a few days for it to appear. So I can submit for review there. So let’s move on to the next one, which is gonna be Google Podcast. Now Google podcasts are slightly different. Now due to their search power, they are scanning the internet for podcasts now and for feeds.
So in a way, you don’t need to submit a feed to them anymore, but like with a website. If you don’t tell them about your existence, it can take ages to get indexed. So it is better to actually go in there and actually submit a podcast. So let’s click on start now here. And once again, they’re asking for our RSS feed.
Next up, it’s gonna check our feed. Check that it’s all okay. That looks pretty happy with that. It’s drawn in everything there. Click, next step, it’s gonna ask to send a verification code. I can go through that and again, I’m just following through those steps to submit it to Google this time. The advantages to say is that that’s gonna tell Google about it and also it’s gonna tell Google about our feed as well and which fee we want to use cuz Google has in the past made a few mistakes and picked the wrong feed. So by doing this, we’re just helping to make sure that is it all gonna work properly.
And finally, let’s go to Spotify. And again, it’s exactly the same principle again, we’re gonna add or claim our podcast. See, it’s asking for our RSS feed again. It’s gonna tell us about our stats. So get started and I’m gonna put in my feed again, like so.
It’s gonna read it. Oh, in fact, actually it says it’s already on Spotify. Cause actually I submitted it before. But you see, it’s as simple as I validated the feed. I click next, I follow through the steps and it’s gonna add it through to the platform at Spotify as well. So this whole principle works for all the different platforms. They need that RSS feed, they need that URL to read to get all the information, and they are constantly changing these platforms. So just follow the links through and it will add it onto there for you.
One other thing to mention as well is that if you’re thinking, oh gosh, well I’ve gotta go and submit it to all these different platforms, don’t worry too much because a lot of apps, for example, will use iTunes own, uh, directory to get information about podcasts. So if you put it onto these core ones, the big ones, not only are you covering a lot of the world’s podcast listeners, but also the other platforms tend to read these ones too. So you kind of almost submitting to the other ones. It’s not a guaranteed, but if you get on those big ones, you’re gonna be reaching the most number of people.
Now the final thing I wanna show you is the podcast widget. Now, widgets appear in different areas depending on what theme you’re using, but let me show you how to add one just in case this helps out your design.
So I’m gonna go to appearance and customize. This takes us through to the WordPress customizer, and this is particularly useful on the older style themes when they had specific widget areas in places that were preset. And if I choose widgets here and then add a widget. And I can select the podcast widget and add that in.
Now that’s gonna appear in the footer on my site, and you can see that it has added that already, my podcast from my show. And I can add in a title if I want to. Podcast, let’s just call it something very generic for the moment. But the other thing I can do with this is that there’s a link underneath which says Subscribe via iTunes, and what I need for this is very simple. I just get that ID number there. And pasted in to here, like so, and when I use that site now and when my podcast has been approved by Apple, when someone comes under my site and they go down there to subscribe via iTunes, that link will take you straight through to Apple, so that they can subscribe to it there. It’s just the same as like we set up those blocks earlier, the subscribe links with those buttons that you could link up to the different platforms, but this is just another way of adding it, particularly to the older style themes where they had these fixed areas on there.
Well, well done for going through all this stuff. One of the things about this is that when we talk about it, it can feel quite technical, but you saw the way I took things through there step by step and each little part of it. And a lot of this is about experimentation. Getting a feel of what you like, the look of.
Certainly submitting to the podcast platforms, it’s quite easy. Once you’ve done a couple of them, it becomes really obvious. You just follow through the steps and submit that URL. Setting up your website. You’ll get a feel for it as you start adding in your blog post blocks or your podcast player blocks and getting a feel of where things look good.
And as I say, have a look at other websites in your niche to see how you think it might appeal to your particular niche. As I said, if you’re struggling with anything, then reach out on the podcasting community and ask your questions in there. If you’re a wordpress.com customer, then reach out to support as well.
We’re really happy to help you out here.
Resources
- Validating a feed – There are all sorts of ways of “checking” a feed before you submit it. Try Cast Feed Validator or Podbase
- Submit to Apple Podcasts – WordPress.com
- Submit to Google Play – WordPress.com
- Submit to Spotify – WordPress.com
- Submit to Amazon Podcasters
- Submit to iHeartRadio
- Podcast Widget – WordPress.com
Learning Action
- Submit your podcast to one or more podcast directories.
- Once your podcast has been approved by Apple, add a podcast widget to one of your site’s widget areas using Apple Podcast’s ID number.
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