So, you’ve got your podcast recorded and ready to be delivered to the people. But how does a podcast get from a file on your computer to the podcatchers of worldwide listeners?
Finding a Podcast Host
You’ll need a place to host your podcast. These services will help you include metadata on your podcast - which is all the extra information about your podcast that isn’t the title, including things like creators, episode number, etc. You should also be able to upload things like your podcast art and logo to your host. The other important function of a host is generating an RSS Feed, which is a link that you’ll be sending to various podcatchers in order for them to be distributed. Here are just a few of the podcast hosts that are out there:
Each option has different strengths and price points, but I would encourage you to take a look for yourself to decide what might be the best fit.
An additional benefit of many of these hosts is that they will provide you with some level of analytics data, so you can learn a little bit more about your audience. Many podcatchers also offer this information, but your host is the most useful place to get the data from, as it will aggregate data from across all the different Podcatchers you’ve submitted to.
But What Are Podcatchers?
A Podcatcher is the platform itself that your audience will be listening to your podcast on. iTunes/Apple Podcasts is the most well known of these, but the field of Podcatchers is continuing to diversify. However, your podcast won’t automatically appear on these platforms - you’ll have to go through a submission process, the length of which varies widely by platform. However, many of the smaller apps simply use the iTunes podcast library, so that is a great place to start. I’ve included below some of the most popular platforms for podcasts and linked to their submission pages.
Overcast - Uses iTunes library
The primary piece of information you will need for these submissions is your podcast feed URL, which is a link to the RSS Feed you’ve created in the above process with your host. Once you’ve completed the submission process, all you need to do is wait! For platforms with a longer process like iTunes or Spotfy, you should eventually receive an email confirming that your podcast has been accepted, and you should see your podcast on those platforms shortly thereafter!
Congratulations on completing your first podcast!