This used to be difficult, but the process has become easier as technology has changed. Join me on this tour through the land of putting your podcast on Amazon and Audible, along with their chatty friend Alexa. I promise there won’t be any bad puns like Disney’s Jungle Cruise. 

Are Amazon Music and Audible the Same Thing?

On the user end, no. They’re two different storefronts with different target markets. On the back end, sort of. Audible was the leader in digital audiobooks. Amazon bought it in 2008, keeping the name and brand to keep its loyal customer base. Audible subscribers can listen to podcasts (from Amazon Music’s directory) without paying an additional fee or using their monthly credits.

For podcasters, this simply means that people who only consume audio content via their Audible or Amazon music apps will be able to hear your podcast. For Amazon and Audible, their customer base is less likely to search elsewhere for content.

What About Alexa?

Alexa is, of course, the voice assistant for Amazon. In my past experience,  I have found that when I submit a new podcast to the TuneIn directory, that podcast eventually shows up on Alexa, Amazon and Audible. Now, it appears the correct path is to submit your podcast to TuneIn so that Alexa can play it, and Amazon Music and/or Audible via their own portal. 

TuneIn is an audio streaming service that provides radio, podcasts, audiobooks, concerts, and sports broadcasts to smart things that are not phones. All Alexa devices come pre-loaded with TuneIn. Sonos and Bose speakers, Roku and  Google Home devices, Samsung smart televisions, and Tesla vehicles also have TuneIn pre-loaded. TuneIn has varying levels of membership with different benefits. For podcasters, TuneIn gets your podcast in more places where voice optimization matters. Alexa is important, and so are other smart devices. 

Do Amazon Music, Audible and Alexa Really Matter?

Buzzsprout compiles reports on the number of downloads of its podcasts and the directories they pass through. In June 2024, Amazon Music made up 0.9% of the total, and Audible made up 0.5%. This might not sound like a lot, but it’s still well over 1.3 million listens. And, that’s just Buzzsprout. Other hosting services might report different stats. Considering that this is a task you only do once, then let it run, it’s effort well worth your time.

How to Get Your Podcast on TuneIn and Alexa

Your media hosting service may have its own portal or set of instructions for submitting to TuneIn and Alexa. What I’m about to tell you may seem counterintuitive, but trust me, this really is how TuneIn submission works. 

First, make sure that your email address is in your RSS feed. Check with your media hosting service’s knowledge base, because they all have different user interfaces. Most people add this temporarily and then remove it, to avoid spam. Some hosting services, such as Buzzsprout, can add an email address temporarily and then remove it after 48 hours. 

Copy and paste your RSS feed into a note, so you have it available when you need it. 

Most media hosts provide a link to TuneIn’s submission form. This is a generic form to submit a problem ticket to TuneIn’s tech support. Remember how I said that the process is counterintuitive? I didn’t believe it either. 

Put your name in as the “requester.” For the subject, clearly and briefly tell them you’re submitting your podcast’s RSS feed to the TuneIn directory. 

Give them the name of the podcast and the RSS feed. This is being read by a human, so keep it short and sweet. TuneIn will verify ownership of the RSS feed by sending an email to the address listed in the RSS feed. When you get the email, write back saying, “Yes, that’s me, thank you.”

TuneIn says approval can take anywhere from a couple of days to two weeks. And you thought Apple Podcast Connect’s process was slow. 

Once you’re in the directory, TuneIn will send you a link to your show. Return to your media host and enter a link to your show in TuneIn using the media host’s directory interface. 

Voilá: audiences can ask to hear your show on Alexa and many other voice-activated smart things worldwide. If you’ve ever wanted to have your podcast in someone’s refrigerator, that may not be too far-fetched. 

How to Get Your Podcast On Amazon Music and Audible

The process is similar, but Amazon Music’s interface is more descriptive. 

First, go to Amazon Music for Podcasters. 

Click on the button that reads “Add or Claim your podcast.” Amazon will ask you to sign in with your login info for any Amazon service or product. This will take you to a screen where they ask for your podcast’s RSS feed.

Copy and paste your podcast’s RSS feed URL in the space available.

If your podcast isn’t already in their directory, they will verify ownership by sending an email to the address connected to your RSS feed. In the email, click on the link to verify that yes, this is your podcast.

Amazon takes you to the Amazon for Podcasters dashboard. Your podcast’s status is “pending.” Wait a day or two. In my case, my podcast was verified and available for public listening in less than an hour. Your mileage may vary. Amazon Music sends you a link to your podcast in their directory.

Will Adding My Podcast To Amazon Music Also Add My Podcast To Audible?

Audible has changed its knowledge base and customer support interface. Neither has official documentation on submitting your podcast to Audible; in fact, they avoid the question completely. The bot wouldn’t even let me type a question. But I can tell you that whenever I used the Amazon Music portal to submit my podcast to Amazon, the podcast appeared on Audible soon afterwards.

Should I Put My Podcast On Amazon Music and Audible?

Your audience is, potentially, everywhere and anywhere. So, yes, having your podcast on Amazon and Audible makes good sense. You should also submit your podcast to as many directories as possible.

Caveat emptor: Neither Amazon nor Audible will pay you for the privilege of having your podcast in their directory. While some independent podcast companies break through the glass ceiling to become paid content on Audible, most podcasts are free offerings for Audible subscribers, like croutons at a salad bar.

If you have strong feelings about monopoly-style business tactics, you might want your podcast to be something other than a perk that a corporation gives away for free to entice people to buy premium memberships. You could also say the same thing about Spotify or Apple.

When starting out, yes, definitely, get your podcast on Amazon and Audible, and every directory on the planet. You want your work to be easy to find anywhere.

Then, when your podcast has a big audience and a loyal following, you can afford to be more selective about where you make it available. You don’t have to help any billionaires launch a space rocket again.

Visual art is crucial to gaining an audience and showing your podcast at its best. But, not everyone enjoys graphic design. Hiring an artist is always good, but can be too expensive for some folks. Yes, there are always AI image generators. However, AI images tend to be incongruous and distracting from the content they’re meant to clarify. 

In this article, I’ll explain Creative Commons licenses, what these images can do for your podcast, and some simple strategies for getting the most out of them.

What Are Creative Commons Images?

Creative Commons images (or content in general) are available under a license that doesn’t require paying any money.  There may be some restrictions on use, though. These kinds of public copyright licenses let a creator: 

• keep the rights to their work and 
• specify what can or can’t be done with their work, 
• encouraging sharing, collaboration, and building on the original. 

The Creative Commons site provides detailed explanations of how Creative Commons licenses work. Following those guides shows you respect other artists and puts you in good company. 

Why Should I Use Creative Commons Images for My Podcast?

Firstly, they won’t cost you a penny. Secondly, finding them is faster (and, for some people, more fun) than making them. Most importantly, when you find Creative Commons images in libraries or archives, they add a layer of context to make your content more enjoyable for your audience. 

For example, let’s say I have a fitness podcast and want to create a unique image for my episode about swimming. Which image is more intriguing? 

One image provides a taste of historical and cultural context, sparks curiosity, and reminds me of how much fun swimming was when I was a kid. Nostalgia is a potent cocktail. The other gets the point across, but doesn’t make me smile. 

So, where can you find images that pique curiosity, stir up emotions, and don’t cost any money? 

Great Places to Find Creative Commons Images

Don’t simply search online for “Creative Commons images.” Many sites pull pictures from libraries and archives and make them available for a subscription fee. Sure, you may get one or two images for free, but like trying to read New York Times articles, that paywall will eventually come up. Besides, why not go straight to the source? You’ll get more information about what you’re using.

Many libraries, museums, and public archives know they risk seeming irrelevant in a digital age. So, they make some of their material available under Creative Commons licenses. In some cases, the images are in the public domain. Or, the creator gave the images to the archive under the condition that they be shared. Here are some examples. 

Library of Congress’ Free to Use and Reuse Sets

When the Library of Congress has digital content that “the Library believes… is either in the public domain, has no known copyright, or has been cleared by the copyright owner for public use,” it makes the content available for download. The Library of Congress Free to Use and Reuse resource also has themed sets available, which are interesting to browse. 

If you need a picture of Andy Warhol and Tennesee Williams on a boat, or a Japanese cat, the Library of Congress has you covered. Thousands of drawings, photos, posters, maps, and more are available under Creative Commons licenses. In many cases, you don’t have to credit the Library of Congress, but it would be nice if you did.

The British Library’s Collections on Flickr Commons

To increase accessibility, encourage reuse, and learn more about their collection, The British Library makes millions of public domain images available on Flickr. This vast collection goes back to the beginning of print. Painstaking pen and ink illustrations, prints, photos, maps, paintings, architectural plans, and more are available: all you have to do is download them and credit the British Library.

Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons is a collection of millions of media files, and anyone can contribute to it. The variety of Creative Commons images is breathtaking. Their monthly photo challenges ensure that the collection continues to grow while remaining diverse and relevant. You can find a photo of Hurricane Florence taken from the International Space Station or a closeup of a critically endangered Saola.

Photographers know that content creators look for images on Wikimedia Commons. So, you can find many generic images (for example, the phrase “low-carbohydrate diet” returned 36 relevant pictures of food, but 17 were photos of the same no-bake pumpkin cheesecake) as well as specific celebrity photos or images from current events. Make sure you attribute the creator of the image. Treat other artists the way you’d want to be treated. 

Creative Commons Search Portal

The Creative Commons organization’s search portal helps you search fifteen different sites from one page. Type in the search terms for what you want to find, then click the name of the database and click search. Each database has its own indexing and quality control system, so the word “mermaid” could find anything from a polished illustration from the 1700s to photos from an elementary school play. This portal takes a bit more patience, but you may strike gold.

Best Practices for Using Creative Commons Images

Before you use Creative Commons images, take note of the license agreement. Some require attribution, meaning you have to credit the artist. Others allow or prevent adapting the image, and some can’t be used for commercial purposes.

Resize the image so it fits properly. For example, if you’re using a Creative Commons image as podcast episode art, take a moment to crop and resize the image so that it’s less than 3000 pixels square. 

Credit the resource where you got the image and the artist if they’re known. You can put this in an image caption, in your show notes, or in an alt tag. Information in the image’s alt tag or description helps your SEO, too. 

In the above screenshot, you can see that WordPress provides a block for me to type in image descriptions and credits. Some social media platforms provide this option, so creators can enter text for people who use screen readers. You can also put the image credits in your show notes.

Creative Commons Images Help Your Podcast Improve the Internet

Creative Commons images don’t cost money, take little time to find and use, and add a layer of context to your content that can make it more compelling for an audience. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to use them. Follow the license instructions, give credit where appropriate, and treat other artists how you’d want to be treated.

When the Internet was in its infancy, a “rising-tide-raises-all-boats” attitude encouraged information sharing. Creative Commons licenses show that. Information deserves to be free, and Creative Commons images can help your podcast grow.

Speaking of growth, why not check out our Growth Essentials course? It has all the info you need around building an audience, packed full of tips, techniques, and strategies to keep those listen numbers growing.

• If you want to grow an audience around your podcast, you should make it as easy as possible to find, and listen to.
• That means being available everywhere people are consuming audio.
• Spotify is one of the biggest podcast listening platforms on the planet. It’s quick and easy to make your show available there.
• Here, I’ll show you how to do it via five great podcast hosting services – Transistor, Captivate, Alitu, Buzzsprout, & RSS.com
• You can also upload your podcast to Spotify using their own hosting, and I’ll discuss that.
• I’ll also show you how to access your Spotify stats, and to find out if your audience are secret Taylor Swift fans.
• Read on for the full guide…

Why List Your Podcast on Spotify?

Spotify is one of the biggest podcast listening platforms on the planet. It accounts for 34% of all downloads on podcast hosting platform Buzzsprout, second only to Apple Podcasts. By getting listed on Spotify, your show is going to become available to millions of potential listeners, in over 75 countries

And the good news is that it’s quick and easy to make your podcast available on Spotify. This guide will show you a few different ways to do it.

A quick heads up that some of our hosting provider links here are affiliates because we recommend them all highly. If you decide to sign up through one, we’d earn a small commission, though at absolutely no extra cost to yourself!

How to Upload a Podcast to Spotify Directly

Spotify has had podcast hosting built-in since it acquired Anchor. This means you don’t need to use a third-party podcast hosting provider, and as Spotify for Podcasters (Spotify’s hosting service) is free, you don’t need to spend any money, either.

A word of caution before you dive in, though, is that Spotify for Podcasters, like Anchor before it, isn’t the most reliable hosting service. I’ve seen many issues with it over the years, the latest being the case of a popular show being deleted by Spotify.

Of course, this alone isn’t the basis not to host your show there, and it’s unlikely to happen to you. As James Cridland at Podnews rightly points out, this is a rare incident, and we do hear more negative stories about Spotify’s hosting because it’s free, and so many people use it. But, he also sums up well:

Mistakes will happen. Perhaps, though, if your podcasting has become a little more serious, it’s worth paying for podcast hosting with a smaller company – for the personal touch you get, even when things go wrong.

Podnews

Spotify for Podcasters is a good way to test the waters in podcasting, though. If you stick at it and start to gain traction, you can always move your show to a dedicated hosting provider further down the line. Here’s how to set it up:

Firstly, log in to (or create an account for) the Spotify for Podcasters portal. Then, in the top left-hand dropdown menu, click ‘add or claim your podcast’

Select Don’t have a podcast yet? Start one now

You then may need to grant permission to connect your account to Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor). Once you’re in, you can create your podcast series from scratch, filling out the podcast name, description, and other essential details.

Once you’ve created your podcast, you’ll need at least once published episode to launch your show and make it available in the Spotify directory. This could be a short trailer or an episode zero.

Here’s our guide on how to record a podcast if that’s all new to you. At the time of writing, you can still record inside Spotify for Podcasters (as you could with Anchor), but they’ll be removing their recording and editing tools in June 2024. It looks like Spotify will increasingly push users towards Riverside.fm for the actual content creation, and we’ll likely see tighter integration (or an even closer relationship!?) announced in the near future.

If you host your show on Spotify for Podcasters, simply publishing one episode will make it available on Spotify. But remember to submit your RSS feed to Apple Podcasts, too.

So that’s the most direct way to publish a podcast on Spotify. But, as we’ve covered, it’s perhaps not the most optimal. If you’d rather be the customer, not the product, then paying for a dedicated hosting provider won’t break the bank, and can offer you more security, flexibility, and peace of mind.

Let’s kick on and look at how to upload a podcast to Spotify via some excellent podcast hosting services.

How to Upload a Podcast to Spotify With RSS.com

RSS.com allows you to create an account and upload up to one episode for free, but you’re better off opting for their $11.99/month annual plan. This gives you unlimited episodes, duration, monetization features and more. 

RSS.com offers automatic distribution to Spotify and other major podcast directories. Once you’ve signed up for an account and uploaded an episode, click the “Distribution” tab from your Dashboard, enable “Automatic Submission,” and then enable Spotify and any other directory you’d like your podcast automatically submitted to.

Use the promo code THEPODCASTHOST to get two free months on the standard monthly subscription.

• Sign up With RSS.com
• Read Our Full RSS.com Review

How to Upload a Podcast to Spotify With Alitu

Alitu is an all-in-one podcast-maker app. It’s one single place where you can record, edit, publish, and distribute your podcast. You get access to absolutely all of its tools and features for $38 per month (or get two free months when paying annually). This means you don’t need to pay for additional subscriptions to call recorder, audio editing, transcription, and hosting services.

Once you’ve created your podcast inside Alitu, you just need to go to Settings > Distribution. You’ll then see a ‘Copy RSS Feed’ button and an ‘Add to Spotify’ button. The latter takes you to their podcaster dashboard, and you simply claim your show by copying in your RSS feed.

• Sign up With Alitu
• How to Make a Podcast With Alitu

How to Upload a Podcast to Spotify With Captivate

Captivate‘s lowest price tier is $19 a month. You can start and run as many podcasts as you like on Captivate. Their payment tiers work by capping the overall number of monthly downloads from all your podcast episodes, combined. For the $19, that number is 30,000 downloads a month. To put things in perspective, here’s a guide on ‘typical’ download numbers for podcasts.

After signing up and creating your podcast in Captivate, you just need to click ‘Distribute’ on the main menu. Again, you’ll see a list of places you can submit your podcast to, and Spotify is one of them.

• Sign up With Captivate
• Read Our Full Captivate Review

How to Upload a Podcast to Spotify With Transistor

Transistor is another top-tier hosting platform. They offer a 14-day free trial, and their lowest-paid tier is $19 a month. They work the same way as Captivate, so you can run as many podcasts as you like. Your overall combined download limit this time would be 20,000 per month.

To get a podcast on Spotify via Transistor, sign up and create your podcast, then look for the ‘Distribution’ option in the menu on the left-hand side of the page. There, you’ll find all your submission options alongside Spotify itself.

• Sign up With Transistor
• Read Our Full Transistor Review

How to Upload a Podcast to Spotify With Buzzsprout

You can start using podcast hosting provider Buzzsprout for free, but you’re better off opting for their $ 12/month plan. That way, your episodes won’t be deleted after 90 days, and you can upload more content, too.

Once you’ve signed up and created your podcast, you simply need to click the Directories tab, and you’ll see all the places you can get listed. Again, naturally, Spotify is one of them.

• Sign up With Buzzsprout
• Read Our Full Buzzsprout Review

How to Submit or Claim Your Podcast on Spotify

I’ve covered a range of podcast hosting options here, but there are many more services on the market. No matter where you host your show, though, you’ll have an RSS feed, which you can use to submit your podcast to Spotify.

To do this, log in to the Spotify for Podcasters portal. You can do this with any Spotify user account.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll find an ‘add or claim your podcast’ option in the top left-hand corner.

Next, click ‘Get Started’.

You then just need to paste in your RSS feed – this is a unique URL for your podcast. You’ll find it in your hosting provider dashboard.

If your podcast is already listed on Spotify, you can also use this method to ‘claim’ it. This will let you see your show’s Spotify stats, demographics, and other useful info.

Spotify Verification Email

When claiming an existing show in Spotify, they’ll contact you via the email address associated with your podcast hosting account. That’ll give you instructions on how to verify and confirm everything.

Spotify Users Podcast (& Music) Stats

Once you’ve claimed your podcast in Spotify, you can despair in the fact you’ve discovered yet another place to obsessively check stats. Remember, these are only stats from Spotify, and not other listening platforms like Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, etc.

You’ll even get to see the guilty listening pleasures of your audience in the ‘Artists they’re listening to’ section. This is based on the most streamed artists of the past 28 days. I had someone called Billy Eyelash as my audience’s top pick. I’ve no idea, either…

There are demographic stats, which might come in handy for your media kit. You can also look at episode stats to see completion and listener drop-off rates. These can give you a useful sample in identifying segments of your show that hold attention and the bits that have your listener reaching for the skip forward button.

Sharing Your Spotify Links

You can grab a direct link to your Spotify podcast listing once you’re listed there.

You can do this in both the Spotify desktop and mobile apps.

To get your show’s link in the desktop app, click the little ‘more’ button (the circle with three dots in it) to the left of the ‘Play’ and ‘Follow’ buttons. Then click ‘Copy Show Link’.

In the mobile app, the ‘more’ button is up in the very top-right corner of the screen. Again, it appears as three dots. Click it, then click ‘Share’, and then ‘Copy Link’.

Add these links to the subscribe page on your podcast website – make it easy for your listeners to find your show anywhere audio is consumed.

Bonus tip: You might even want to create a public Spotify playlist with your best episodes.

Reach a New Audience on Spotify

Millions of people are listening to podcasts on Spotify right now. If you’ve launched your podcast, it’s well worth being available there.

If you’ve not started your podcast yet, our podcast launch course can get you there quickly, leaving no stone unturned. In Launch Essentials, Colin walks you through the entire process, from defining your target audience and choosing a format to equipment and software.

And if you’re looking for somewhere to host your new podcast so you can push it out to places like Spotify, be sure to check out Alitu. Not only is Alitu a podcast hosting provider, but it also has every other feature needed to run a podcast. These include call recording, editing, text-based editing, auto noise reduction, volume levelling, and AI-generated transcription and shownotes. Check it out with a week’s free trial and see for yourself!

Not only does the majority of podcast listening happen there, but a trillion other podcast apps piggyback on Apple. This means that once your show is available in Apple Podcasts, it’s available in a plethora of other places, too.

So it goes without saying that you want to put your podcast on Apple Podcasts. But that doesn’t mean you upload your content there directly.

Here are the two crucial first steps:

1. Create your podcast by signing up to a podcast hosting provider.
2. Publish at least one episode (even if it’s a podcast trailer or episode zero)

Once you’re at this stage, you’ll be ready to put your podcast on Apple Podcasts. But if you feel like this is already getting a bit ahead of you, we deal with all of the foundational stuff in our pillar ‘How to Start a Podcast’ guide.

If you’re ready to go, though, then let’s get that show of yours into the Big Apple…

How to Get Your Podcast on Apple Podcasts / iTunes

So, to the core question, how do we put your podcast on Apple Podcasts? The starting point is to log into your podcast hosting account and grab a unique URL called your RSS feed.

1. How to Find your Podcast RSS Feed URL

Podcast hosting providers make it quick and easy to find your RSS feed because podcast distribution is their bread and butter.

Here are a few examples:

How to find your Podcast RSS Feed in Captivate.fm

In the main dashboard, you’ll find “Copy RSS Feed” under your podcast’s name.

How to find your Podcast RSS Feed in Alitu

Go to the Podcast Distribution tab, then click “Copy RSS Feed”

How to find your Podcast RSS Feed in Transistor.fm

Go to the Distribution tab, then copy your RSS feed.

How to find your Podcast RSS Feed in RedCircle

On your podcast’s homepage, you’ll find “RSS Feed” (with a ‘Copy’ button) below your show description.

If you host your show elsewhere, the process will be pretty similar to the four shown here!

2. Check Your Podcast Settings in Your Hosting Account

There are a few settings that you must have in place before you submit your podcast to Apple. Make sure you’ve filled in every one of the following:

• Title: the name of your podcast
• Description: a short summary of your show, focussing on why people should listen
• Category: most hosts allow up to three categories in which you can appear – you can see all Apple Podcasts categories here and why they’re important
• Artwork: make sure you have podcast artwork uploaded within your podcast host – learn how to create great podcast artwork here
• Explicit: state whether your show is for adults only or not
• Copyright: show who owns the copyright to the show
• Website: what’s the home website for the show – include the URL

You’ll find other settings in many hosting platforms, but these are the essentials.

3. Create an Account / Login to Apple Podcasts Connect

You can create a new Apple account or log in with an existing one here at Apple Podcasts Connect. Podcasts Connect is the portal for managing your show on Apple.

4. Submit your Podcast to Apple Podcasts

Now, time to submit your podcast!

Once logged into Podcasts Connect, click the plus icon, top left, as shown.

Next, you’ll be prompted to select a show type. Choose “Add a show with an RSS feed”. The other option is to set up paid subscriptions on Apple Podcasts, which is a different thing entirely.

You’ll then be asked for your RSS feed address. If you’ve followed step one, above, you’ll have that covered already!

Just pop in your RSS feed URL and hit ‘Add’.

The screenshot below is what you’ll typically see once Apple has analysed your feed. This is Apple checking with your hosting account that all of your settings line up.

If you get any ‘feed invalid’ errors, don’t worry – Apple will tell you what you need to fix.

If you see an error, just pop back to your podcast hosting account to fix the dodgy setting and save it. Then, come back to Apple Podcasts Connect and try again. You can keep doing this until you get the green light.

If you have real trouble with this, the best first stop is your podcast hosting provider’s support team. They’ll be able to help you with any larger validation issues.

Once you DO get the green light, click ‘Publish’. And you’re done! Apple will confirm that they’ve received your submission, and they’ll add you when it has been reviewed.

How Long Does It Take To Get into Apple Podcasts?

This process used to be slower than coastal erosion. You’d excitedly submit your podcast feeling like you had all that momentum behind you, and then it could take up to a week to actually see the thing in iTunes/Apple Podcasts.

Anecdotally, I’ve found it to be much quicker these days, and haven’t had to wait more than 24 hours for a long time. You’ll likely wait even less than that, unless it’s during the Apple Podcasts staff’s holiday periods in November and December.

We have a full guide on how long it takes to appear in Apple Podcasts if you’d love a more nuanced answer to that question.

Do You Get Download Stats in Apple Podcasts?

Yes, you get download stats and follower metrics inside Apple Podcasts. There are also some other tools and features inside Apple Podcast Connect that can be useful for growing your show. It’s worth noting that Apple can only give you data from listening that happens on their own platform – it’s a big sample size, but it isn’t the whole story. For your overall download numbers, you’d want to look inside your hosting account’s analytics section.

Does iTunes Still Exist? (And Is My Podcast in iTunes?)

iTunes still technically exists, though it’s been divided up into different apps such as Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts. Some folks might still have the iTunes desktop app on their computer. In any case, your podcast will be available there if it’s available in Apple Podcasts, so you don’t need to worry (or think at all) about it.

Where Else Should I Submit My Podcast?

When your podcast is listed in Apple Podcasts, it’ll pop up in loads of other apps, too, which saves a ton of time. The other notable place you need to make a point of submitting to is Spotify. You can also put your podcast on YouTube these days, too.

Is Apple Podcasts Submission a One Time Only Process?

Per podcast, yes. You only need to do this once. Each new episode you upload will appear in Apple Podcasts automatically from now on. Obviously, if you start another podcast series entirely, though, you’d need to go through this process again.

Some folks get confused about the terminology because you’ll hear individual episodes refered to as “podcasts”. But “a podcast” is the overall series, made up of multiple episodes.

In theory, you’ll never need to log into Apple Podcasts Connect again after submitting your show. But remember, you can get some pretty decent analytics in there, so it’s worth checking now and then.

Need More Help Getting Your Podcast Off the Ground?

As you can see, getting your podcast into Apple Podcasts is actually quite easy. Though many aspiring podcasters see this as a barrier, it’s one that’s overcome quickly and easily.

The trickier part of podcasting is really the consistency. You need to stick at it for a period of time, putting out quality content on a regular basis, even if you initially feel like nobody is listening.

Keeping on going can be even harder if you struggle with the tech side of things – recording, editing, and production can quickly feel overwhelming and way too time-consuming.

If you can relate to this, then be sure to check out our podcast maker tool Alitu. Inside one single login and subscription, you’ll find everything you need to make your podcast, including features like cover art generation, text-based editing, and AI-generated shownotes. Alitu is a podcast hosting provider, too, so you can submit your show to Apple Podcasts, as shown in the “find your RSS feed” section of this guide.

You can get a free trial with Alitu, so be sure to sign up and test it out for yourself!

Now, you might already be rolling your eyes at the image of some middle-aged guy who’s been podcasting since 1934 smugly opening his “well, actually…” keynote speech. But, believe it or not, there was a valid reason for this argument, beyond obscure technical semantics.

In any case, podcasts on YouTube are now “official”, and it’s likely you’ve landed here because you’d like to join the party.

So, how do you put a podcast on YouTube?

First up, there are a few things to consider.

Have You Launched Your Podcast Yet?

Does your podcast already exist? That’s the first big important question here.

If not, then the best place to begin is our free, step-by-step guide on how to start a podcast. That’ll walk you through the entire process of getting your show up and running.

Topic and content aside, though, a key factor behind your podcast is where it actually lives online. A central hub where you create your show, and upload your episodes. This is where podcast hosting providers come in.

Once you’ve signed up with a podcast hosting provider, created your show, and uploaded your first episode, then you can think about pushing out your content to additional platforms, such as YouTube.

Can I Host My Podcast on YouTube?

You can put a podcast on YouTube, but it shouldn’t be your sole podcasting platform. If you uploaded your episodes there and nowhere else, you couldn’t get your show listed in apps like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the million other places podcasts are consumed. Again, sign up for a proper podcast hosting account if you haven’t already done so.

And now that we’re all good on that front, let’s get that podcast on YouTube…

How to Put Your Podcast on YouTube – (Even If It’s Audio-Only)

You don’t need to record video to be part of podcasts on YouTube. The minimum you’ll need here is a YouTube account. Go to the YouTube Studio section and click the ‘create’ button in the top right corner. Then, select ‘New Podcast’. You’ll see three options:

1. Create a New Podcast on YouTube

Here, you’ll be asked to add the podcast title, description, and then visibility (public, private, or unlisted). Remember, “podcast title” here means the overall name of your show (Eg, The Joe Rogan Experience) and not the name of an individual episode or video.

You’ll also need to upload your podcast cover art.

Once the podcast is created, you can choose to tag any videos you upload as episodes for this podcast series.

2. Set an Existing Playlist as a Podcast on YouTube

If you have an existing playlist and you’d like YouTube to officially recognise it as a podcast, then choose this option. It’ll ask you which playlist (if you have more than one), and then you’ll fill out the details the same as the previous section on “Create a New Podcast”.

3. Submit RSS Feed on YouTube

An RSS feed is a unique URL created by your podcast hosting provider. This option lets you paste in your RSS feed, meaning YouTube has a link to your main hosting platform. From now on, every episode you upload there will automatically be published on YouTube, too. A word of caution here – Podcasts on YouTube are pulled via a “one-way ingestion” method. Here’s why that matters…

What is “One-Way RSS Ingestion” on YouTube?

All it means is that any edits you make to your episode (title, show notes, or the audio file itself) within your hosting account after its publication will not automatically update on YouTube, just like they would on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.

If you do make changes to any published content, you’ll need to log into your YouTube account and repeat these changes manually over there. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a bit clunky, and it’s something to be aware of.

A final note on this section is to check if your hosting provider has its own dedicated “publish to YouTube” tool in your account’s Distribution menu. If it does, set the link up this way rather than submitting your RSS feed directly to YouTube. You’ll likely find it’s a bit more intuitive.

/rel

How is Audio Published on YouTube?

Although technically “videos”, audio on YouTube tends to be static image (usually of your cover art) or audiogram-style. An audiogram is a static image with some dynamic elements like closed captions or a moving waveform.

How your audio will look will depend on how you’ve set your podcast on YouTube up.

• If it’s automated to be pulled from your hosting account, using YouTube’s “submit RSS” feature, then it’ll be static images.
• If your hosting provider has a ‘distribute to YouTube’ tool, then it may be a static image or a dynamic audiogram.
• If you upload to YouTube manually, then you can create whatever kind of video you want. Here are some handy AI tools for making video clips, which might interest you if you want more control over the visuals.

If you’re using Alitu to record and edit your podcast, there’s a quick and easy ‘export as video’ option. It’ll create your episode as an audiogram-style video, too. Then, you can upload it to YouTube and add it to your podcast series.

3 (More) Types of YouTube Podcast Content

Full audio episodes with static or audiogram backgrounds aren’t your only two options for podcasts on YouTube. Here are three more that might work well for you.

Full Podcast Episode as Video Content #1

There are a lot of good tools out there to record high-quality video alongside your audio. If you run an interview or co-hosted show, these tools will record everyone’s video, and they often have decent editing and layout tools to piece them together in a presentable manner, too.

“Talking head” episodes are fine, though they don’t exactly make for exciting viewing, so you can use multiple cameras and mix up the different angles and shots if you want to get fancy. Check out Manycam if you’re looking for a great video tool packed with plenty of options and features.

And if you want to add an extra layer of polish and professionalism to your videos, VEED’s video editor has lots of options and flexibility, too.

Create Micro Content From Your Episodes #2

This is where you put your podcast on YouTube in a more bite-sized and searchable form. It’s the most effective option for discovering new listeners or viewers but also the most time-consuming.

An example of this could be our own podcast, Podcraft. One of our episodes was all about the best podcast mics on the market. We could take a 1- 2 min segment from this episode to discuss why we think the Samson Q2U is the best microphone for podcasting, then, we could upload it as a self-contained YouTube video with a searchable title.

This video will point back to the full episode, and podcast as a whole. But it would work well as stand-alone content that answers one single question, performs well in search, and is very shareable.

In the past, you needed some level of video editing skills to make these short videos. Nowadays, there are a few AI tools for making video clips. Like anything AI-generated, the results can be hit or miss. But if you like the idea of this approach, it’s a low barrier for experimentation.

Turn Your Podcast Into a Cartoon #3

Yes, this is really an option. You can take a short clip from an episode and have it animated into a little cartoon. Who doesn’t like the thought of that? Check out our full post on audio animation for more details, as well as our own case study examples!

Do I Get Podcast Download Stats on YouTube?

A podcast episode on YouTube – like any other YouTube video – will have “views” stats. At the time of writing, these views won’t show up in your main hosting provider stats, so you’ll need to add them together manually if you’d like to keep track of your total listens. It’s another clunky quirk of podcasts on YouTube.

So, What Was the “Podcasts on YouTube” Debate All About?

Interested in that, eh? Well, let me fetch my pipe and slippers…

Alright, here’s the ultra-succinct version. Before YouTube “officially” supported podcasts, calling a YouTube channel a podcast could’ve caused confusion. That’s mainly because most podcast fans expect podcasts to be available everywhere podcasts are found (i.e., Apple, Spotify, and beyond).

Although the majority of people know what podcasts are, the medium still has a lot of growing to do. Education is a big part of that, and if potential new listeners think podcasts are restricted to one single platform (like YouTube) then it can hamper that growth. That’s why the definition of “what is a podcast?” matters, even if it initially seems like technological naval gazing!

Summary: How to Put a Podcast on YouTube

So there you have it, podcasts on YouTube, the what, the why, and the how. Here are my key takeaways:

• Use a dedicated hosting platform to run your show, first and foremost
• If you’re new to podcasting, focus on audio first and foremost
• Use your hosting provider’s “distribute to YouTube” tool, if they have one
• If not, link your RSS feed to YouTube inside YouTube studio, and “create” your podcast there
• Once you find your feet and settle into a workflow, consider recording video versions of your episodes
• You can upload these as full episodes, or chop them up to create micro-content

You don’t need me to tell you that YouTube is a behemoth of a platform, and it’s a no-brainer to publish your podcast there. Whether or not it’ll have any major impact on your reach remains to be seen. But even if your numbers are small, that’s still more people getting your content. And what podcaster doesn’t want that?

On a final note, be sure to check out ‘podcast-maker’ tool Alitu if you’re looking to streamline your workflow and save on multiple subscriptions and logins. Not only can Alitu auto-generate audiogram-style videos of your episodes for YouTube, but it also does a whole host of other things, too. These include simple but intuitive editing tools and text-based editing, automatic production of stuff like volume levels and noise reduction, and auto-generated transcription. You can even upload and publish your podcast in Alitu. Sign up for a free trial today.

What Is an RSS Feed for Podcasts?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Syndication means the transfer of content from one organization to another. For example, when a TV sitcom’s reruns go into syndication, the original production company lets another network control the back catalog of episodes, and show them to their audiences.

RSS is a web feed (a piece of code) that transfers content from the media host (where the file is stored) to an app or a directory where people can consume it. For example, digital editions of newspapers and magazines send new articles to newsreader apps, where people can read or listen to them. With podcasts, an episode is stored on a media host (also known as a podcast hosting provider) and travels via RSS to a podcast directory (a listening app or platform).  Here’s what it looks like in Buzzsprout:

How Do I Get an RSS Feed for My Podcast?

You might already be panicking about having to hand-code one of these RSS feed thingies, but there’s no need to worry. Your RSS feed will be created for you automatically when you sign up for a podcast hosting service and enter your show’s details.

Do Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts Use an RSS Feed? 

Yes. When you’re ready to publish, you don’t upload the podcast episode directly to a directory, like Apple Podcasts or Google. Instead, you upload it to your podcast hosting service, where the episode is stored. The RSS feed brings the podcast episode from the media host to podcast apps or directories (such as Apple, Spotify, The Podcast Index, and so on), where audiences can find and listen to them.

When you upload your podcast to a media host, your RSS feed is the URL you submit to directories.

An Analogy to Understand Podcast RSS: The Train, The Route, and The Station

Let’s say that your podcast is a train. The episodes are the individual train cars packed with cool people and ideas. The RSS feed is the railroad track route on which the train travels. The station is the directory where people meet the train. 

Someone clicks on a link in a directory, such as Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. This requests your episode. The train (your podcast) chugs along from the railyard (the hosting service) along the route (the podcast feed) to the train station (the directory), where its friends (the podcast’s audience) are waiting to greet them. They don’t need to know anything about the train tracks, how it works, or where it came from. All they know is that there’s stuff on that train they want (your podcast’s content).

So, Dr. Analogy, what’s the engine, then? That’s the beauty of the RSS feed. There’s no engine; the tracks bring the train to the station. The audience clicks on a link to request the episode, and the tracks bring the train to the station. 

The RSS feed is a standardized, computer-readable format for consistency. This way, the train can use that route every single time, without getting lost or derailed. Because the route is standardized, the people waiting at the station know the train will arrive. 

A conveyor belt is probably a better analogy, or a monorail. Monorails are cool.

What Are The Steps To Use an RSS Feed URL?

1. Set up your show in your podcast hosting service. The podcast hosting service generates a piece of code, which is your RSS feed.
2. Publish at least one episode. This is where an Episode Zero or a podcast trailer helps.
3. Copy that RSS feed code and take it to directory websites (such as the Apple Podcasts Connect portal).
4. Follow the directory’s instructions, enter the RSS feed URL, and you’re all set. 

Here’s an example from inside the Alitu interface. Alitu is a podcast hosting platform, as well as a place to easily record and edit your show.

Check out our guide to the Best Podcast Directories for an in-depth look at this.

You can also use an RSS feed to:

• Make audiograms on Headliner, to promote your show
• Make a podcast website using Podpage
• Use (some) AI tools to generate promotional assets for your show, such as show notes, blog, or social media posts

…and, in the future, probably more.

Spotify for Podcasters, RSS, and Video Podcasts

If you want to use a RSS feed for podcasting and combine video with your audio podcast, there are a few considerations.

A lot less apps and directories support playing video podcasts than they do audio podcasts. The “big dog” of podcast players, Apple, has supported video since 2005, but it’s not so easy to navigate. You also end up with two different versions of your podcast (the video one and the audio one), which arguably, splits your audience.

Spotify (next in line to the Throne) has become a very popular place to consume video podcasts. Spotify’s app helps podcasters upload video episodes to their RSS feed, but they’re not without their quirks, either. Video podcasts on Spotify are only available on Spotify – nowhere else.

So if you want to upload a video podcast and make it available via RSS to anywhere that supports it (except Spotify), you can use Podbean as your hosting provider. Or, you can make a “Spotify-Exclusive” video podcast using Spotify for Podcasters.

To be honest, though, most podcasters who do video just run a companion YouTube channel and upload there. With video podcasting, there’s no real optimal answer just yet – despite the fact that RSS makes it technically very easy to support.

What About YouTube for Podcasters?

YouTube doesn’t currently use RSS. They recommend you upload video files in YouTube Studio and create a playlist. YouTube’s Support resources say, “In the future, we plan to offer support for creators to upload audio podcasts through RSS feeds.”

If you want to have your podcast on YouTube, go for it! I heartily applaud your decision. It’s important, now more than ever, to diversify your podcast distribution and make sure it’s available wherever people consume content. 

But, I recommend you also upload it to a media host and distribute it via RSS. Typically, people who search for podcasts to listen to are more likely to use a podcast directory, and search by topic, or browse categories. If you only have your podcast on YouTube, it won’t be available in any podcast directories.

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Why Are RSS Feeds Essential for Podcasting?

RSS feeds are stable, standardized routes that information can use to travel where people need it. The feed’s owner controls it, not a hosting service or directory. Posting your content within only one company’s system (such as “exclusive” podcasts, or within a social media platform) is limiting. Your podcast might be subject to the whims of the platform owner. If they pull up stakes and disappear one day, your content won’t reach its audience anymore. Plus, when podcasters control their RSS feed, they control how they monetize their content. Acast CEO Ross Adams wrote,

“RSS and the open ecosystem promote innovation… Your bond with your listeners is the most important relationship in all of podcasting — and it needs care and respect. You’ve no doubt nurtured it for years already, working hard to build your audience and keep them coming back every time you publish a new episode. Your RSS feed allows you to own that relationship.

“5 Reasons Why All Podcasters Need RSS,” Ross Adams

So, Do I Own My RSS Feed?

Probably. Almost all podcast hosting providers will help you move your RSS feed to another host without any issues. You’d just create your new account, and both platforms will work with you to handle the transfer. Changing podcast host is all done behind the scenes, and your content will be totally unaffected in all the apps and directories it’s available. This is yet another big plus of RSS for podcasters!

RSS is a URL, and So Much More

The humble RSS feed, that no one ever sees, is a uniform resource locator. It indicates a stable web feed, where information travels between creators and their audience. It’s a beautiful thing. You’ll see it in your media host, and you might see it if you subscribe to a private podcast. More often than not, it works for you invisibly.

Podcasting is both a science and an art form. It’s not difficult to learn, but it can be a challenge to keep on going. Earlier on, I mentioned Alitu as a podcast hosting option to create your own RSS feed. Alitu is more than a media host, though; it’s a fully-fledged ‘podcast maker’ tool with recording, editing, and production tools designed to be simple and fast. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast, try it out for free and see what you think.

Editor’s Note

This post was originally written in 2020. Since then, I’ve (anecdotally) found that it’s a lot quicker to see new content appearing in Apple Podcasts. Recently, I submitted a new podcast and it was available within the hour. New episodes seem to appear within the hour, too. I wonder if Spotify’s lightning-quick approvals have prompted Apple to up their game on this front?

As I say, this is anecdotal. I’d still allow for as much leeway as possible if you’re doing something time-sensitive. But you might be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your new podcast shows up!

What’s the Quick Answer?

• For new podcast episodes, around an hour. Sometimes quicker, occasionally longer. There’s a bonus caveat to this.
• For entirely new podcasts, around 2-3 working days. Sometimes quicker, occasionally longer.

There are a few ifs, buts, and other pieces of vital info here, though. If you’re still in any doubt, please read on.

What Do We Mean by “a Podcast”?

Many podcasters refer to their individual episodes as “podcasts”, but this can cause a bit of confusion. “A podcast” is actually the overall series, including all of the episodes.

If your podcast is new and has never been in iTunes/Apple Podcasts before, then you need to submit the show to be listed there. This is a one-time-only process. Once you see your podcast listed in iTunes/Apple Podcasts, all your episodes (both old and new) will appear in there automatically. As an added bonus, this makes your show available in a plethora of other listening apps too.

How Long Does It Take for a Completely New Podcast to Appear in Apple Podcasts/iTunes?

If you’re just starting out with your podcast, you need to sign up for a hosting provider. This is where you’d create the show, and begin uploading your content.

When you have your first episode ready (which can be a promo trailer, or Episode Zero), you can then submit your podcast to Apple.

Once you’ve done that, your show could be approved there within 24 hours. However, the standard time for this is around 3-5 working days. Apple checks each submission manually, so there’s no set-in-stone time frame here.

During the winter holiday periods of late November, late December, and early January, this can be a lot slower. If you wanted to launch a new podcast and begin putting out episodes from the 1st of January, you’d ideally want to get the show listed in Apple Podcasts by mid-November.

Use Apple Podcasts Connect to monitor the status of your submission. Keep an eye out in your inbox for an ‘approved’ or ‘rejected’ email.

In our post about podcasts “disappearing” from Apple/iTunes, you’ll see the reasons why a podcast might be rejected, and how to avoid that happening to you.

You can also validate your feed to make sure it all checks out. This can help identify potential problems that could lead to your show being rejected by Apple and other platforms.

How Long Does It Take for a New Podcast Episode to Appear in Apple Podcasts/iTunes?

It usually takes an hour or so for new podcast episodes to appear in Apple Podcasts. However, followers will generally have the episode in their queue shortly after publishing. This is another reason why asking your listeners to hit follow is one of the best Calls to Action you can use in your episodes. Your follower count also helps push you up the search rankings and charts.

Does It Still Take 24 Hours for New Episodes to Show Up?

Back in early 2020, there was a lot of frustration with Apple Podcasts’ unambitious “within 24 hours” timeframe. Here’s an email sent out to podcasters around that time. It still has some useful info about what to do if your podcast doesn’t appear in a reasonable time. However, it seems unlikely you’ll be waiting that long in 2023 – unless there are actually issues with your feed.

Apple routinely checks each podcast RSS feed to detect new episodes as well as metadata or artwork changes. Our system will display these changes on Apple Podcasts within 24 hours after detecting them.

You don’t need to perform additional actions — simply confirm the new episode or content updates are successfully published on your hosting provider’s platform.

After 24 hours, if your new episode or content updates don’t appear on Apple Podcasts, sign in to Podcasts Connect and follow these steps:

1. Click My Podcasts.
2. Check the Status section to confirm your show is Active. If your show is in a Failed Validation status, troubleshoot the issue and resubmit your feed.
3. Check the time and date when your show was last refreshed.
4. For artwork changes, make sure the new image file:
   • Has a different name than the previous one.
   • Meets the artwork requirements.
5. If you’ve confirmed the above items, and it’s been more than 24 hours since your podcast was last refreshed, select Refresh Feed. Podcasts Connect will schedule an update. Please allow up to 24 hours for this process to complete.
6. Note: Don’t refresh your show with every new episode or RSS feed edit.

How Long for a Podcast to Show Up in Spotify?

Spotify is Apple’s biggest competitor in the podcasting world. I’ve often seen new episodes and entirely new shows appear there just minutes after being submitted. This is probably the main reason why Apple has had to up its game recently. In any case, you should make sure your show is available on both platforms for maximum reach. Here’s how to submit a podcast to Spotify.

Summary: How Long Does It Take for a Podcast to Appear in Apple Podcasts/iTunes?

So if your podcast is completely new, allow for 3-5 days between publishing that first episode, and seeing the show listed and available in Apple Podcasts. It will probably be much quicker, but nothing is guaranteed.

As for new episodes, I’m seeing less than an hour for those, these days. And even quicker if you are following the podcast.

For all other updates, changes, and tweaks to your show (new cover art or an updated podcast description), I’d still allow for 24 hours for those to show up. Again, it may be quicker.

And avoid wasting your time monitoring these things each week. It all works smoothly 99.9% of the time, and if something does break, you’ll soon hear about it.

Your podcast will benefit the most from your working on creating great content for your audience and promoting the episodes you’ve already published. Let the automated stuff take care of itself!

Podnews reports that TikTok has “recently registered a trademark for TikTok Music which includes the provision for podcast content,”  Along with the fact that podcast host Audiomeans noticed TikTok is scraping their feeds. Back in March, we reported that TikTok had a job listing for “Podcast Content Operation.”

ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, also owns Resso, a streaming app that includes podcasts from Libsyn. 

So as yet another platform gets in on the podcast action, we’re forced to wonder: how does this help TikTok? And more importantly, how does it help podcasters?

TikTok: The Latest Social Media App to Entry the Fray

The move by TikTok follows other popular social media and content services, like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook (even if Facebook’s attempt was short-lived). In a way, it makes sense. The desire for feature parity is a tale as old as social networks themselves. 

After Snapchat came out, Facebook and Instagram successfully implemented similar temporary video features. Twitter and LinkedIn tried but were less successful.

How This Helps TikTok

You might be thinking, “TikTok is a video platform. How can they benefit from podcasting?”

People have short attention spans. TikTok might know this better than any other social platform. Their move into audio-only content could show a deeper understanding of that. Audio doesn’t require one’s full attention like video does.

That said, video podcasting is increasingly popular. Many podcasts are video first, secondarily releasing the audio in a podcast feed. 

This allows them to have clips and shorter videos to share across social media. TikTok has likely noticed this trend and decided to lean into it.

But ultimately, the reason is simple. All social networks want the same thing: our undivided attention. If they can get all the content we could ever want to consume in one place, they have us. 

If I scroll through short videos on TikTok, see one linked to a podcast, and can listen to that podcast inside of TikTok, it’s a huge win for them.

What This Means for Podcasters Moving Forward

That’s what’s in it for TikTok. What’s in it for podcasters? Discovery.

TikTok is one of, if not the, best social network for discovering new content. The videos they recommend to people are finely tuned by a very smart algorithm (perhaps a little too smart). As an elder millennial who’s used to seeing content only from the people I chose to follow, TikTok scared and confused me.

I couldn’t quite figure out how to see the content I wanted to see, but they somehow kept surfacing content that kept me fully engaged. I just got suspicious that they knew way too much about me, and was suspect about how they’d use the data.

However, that data is exactly why TikTok is the best-positioned social network for surfacing new content because discovery is always how the platform worked. As Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter try to make their timelines more TikTok-like, they face backlash from users who want to see a reverse-chronological list of posts from the people they follow. 

As podcasters, discovery is one of the hardest aspects of our job. There isn’t a “YouTube for podcasts” that does a great job of surfacing hyper-targeted episodes or shows for folks…especially with less popular shows. 

Consider the recommendations in Apple Podcasts for my relatively new show, Make Money Podcasting: 

I doubt any of those shows have trouble finding listeners. 

Podchaser does offer lesser-known podcasts under their “Similar” tab for the same show: 

…but Podchaser isn’t a listening app. 

With TikTok, we could see something YouTube-Esq, where, while you listen to an episode, similar episodes are automatically queued up. 

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What You Should do Today

If you’re a podcaster thinking, “that’s great, but what should I do now,” the answer is probably not too much. There is convincing evidence that TikTok will have a podcast feature, but no official announcement yet. 

My recommendation is to make sure your podcast has a valid RSS feed and is in every other podcast directory. If you haven’t started doing some video content, experiment! I recommend creating audiograms or other short videos to tease your full episodes. Make sure to end with a strong call to action to, “catch the whole episode at,” at then the episode’s webpage.

And definitely keep an eye on the space. I’m personally not a TikTok user, but if it’s as simple as submitting an RSS feed for inclusion in a music or podcast app, I’ll be first in line.

Podcast search engine Listen Notes hopes to cut costs for podcasters everywhere by announcing that later in 2022 they’re launching a service called Listen Host. Listen Host will provide free, unlimited hosting to podcasts. 

Let’s take a closer look at what it offers, how it works, and answer the all-important question: “what’s the catch?”

Listen Host Features

There are two features that Listen Host touts the most:

1. The ability to upload unlimited shows and episodes. That means unlimited storage and downloads.
2. The ability to use a custom domain for your RSS feed.

Each of these features kind of has a caveat. The first is that episode file sizes have a limit of 250MB. If you’re thinking, “that seems really big,” it is. Even at 128kbps encoding, you can have an episode well over 2.5 hours. I only mention it here because that technically is a limit…though probably not one you’ll need to worry about. 

About That Custom Domain

The other caveat is the custom domain. One might read that feature as you “can” use a custom domain. But you have to use a custom domain. Listen Host will not provide a generic URL for you to use. 

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This may be a barrier for entry to people who don’t know how to buy a domain, or more likely, people who don’t want to mess with a DNS (I’m a web developer of 20+ years, and I still get nervous touching the DNS sometimes). 

They do list a number of benefits for using a custom domain — chiefly that if you ever need to move hosts, you won’t need to update your feed. 

Depending on how they create the URL structure, this may or may not be true. For example, if their service uses customdomain.com/feed.rss, and the service your moving too uses customdomain.com/podcast.rss, you’ll still need to update your old feed to point to the new one. 

This is pure speculation, but in the FAQs, they talk a little bit too much about switching services. It’s probably nothing, but it raised a small flag for me.

What’s the Catch? 

There’s an adage online that if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. So you might be wondering…free podcast hosting? What’s the catch? 

It turns out they’ve anticipated this question and have that exact verbiage on the website. 

To Listen Notes’ credit, they appear transparent about the free hosting. First, they say they’ll fund the free hosting (which is low-cost to them) with their commercial offerings. You will likely need a Listen Notes account to sign up, bringing you into their entire ecosystem. 

I could also imagine that files hosted on their servers will be easier and faster to index for their search engine. 

They also plainly state that the core hosting will be free, but they may add more advanced features at a cost. 

For example, the first version of Listen Host is rolling out without analytics, which means you won’t have download or demographic information. They encourage users to integrate with a third-party analytics service like Podtrac if they want stats. 

Analytics (or advanced analytics) is a perfect candidate for the “premium feature” moniker. If you’re just looking for a place to host audio files, then you can do that free of charge. But if you need first-party download data for sponsorship or other key performance indicators (KPIs), it’s worth paying for.

Similarly, they list private/member RSS feeds — something missing from many podcast hosting solutions — as well as a feature where listeners can send you some money for your efforts. These two could help Listen Host differentiate from most other hosting solutions. 

Looking for a Streamlined Hosting Alternative

While free hosting is great for hobbyists or testing the waters, if you’re going to stake your business on your podcast, you should pay for it. This applies to any tool or service crucial to your income. 

Listen Host could be a fantastic option when you need the cheapest alternative. But you may run into workflow issues if you have big files or don’t want to rely solely on your custom domain and a DNS. 

A most streamlined alternative might be our own product, Alitu. On top of recording and editing features, it just rolled out podcast hosting, which you as part of any plan. When you combine all of Alitu’s features, the hosting is basically free anyway!

Recent stats show YouTube becoming a formidable podcasting platform. Edison Research has discovered 55% of Super Listeners — those who consume at least 5 hours of podcasts per week — use YouTube to listen to at least some podcasts.

With that revelation, it makes sense that YouTube would want to lean into podcasting. So let’s look at how this initial version of YouTube Podcasts works and what it means for podcasters. 

YouTube’s Plans Leaked in March

Back in March, PodNews obtained a leaked presentation outlining YouTube’s podcast plans. The new Podcasts section is consistent with what is in that document. 

But YouTube’s actions over the last few years revealed a bigger focus on audio-only, from a dedicated music app to the ability to continue listening to videos even when you do have the mobile app open. 

How YouTube Podcasts Works

If YouTube Podcasts is available for you, you can go to youtube.com/podcasts. In the app, go to “Explore,” and press the “Podcasts” tile.

There, you’ll see popular episodes, playlists, and creators, as well as recommendations based on your subscriptions and history. You’ll also see a list of common podcast categories: Comedy, True Crime, Sports, Music, and TV & Film. 

What YouTube Considers a Podcast

Looking at the selection, there also seems to be a mix of podcasts (like The Pat McAfee Show and The Lex Friedman Show), as well as anything that “looks” like a podcast. These are generally longer-form talking head videos. 

One example is NBC Nightly News. The most recent full broadcast is the first recommended “podcast episode” in the screenshot above. 

Another is a popular pop culture channel: SuperCarlinBrothers and their “J vs. Ben” series under TV and Film. While it certainly looks like a podcast, there are crucial video components, and it’s definitely a video-first series. 

The truth is that the definition of “a podcast” has changed in recent years, and YouTube appears to be taking some liberties with what they feel is good audio-only content. 

But that still leaves those of us who are audio-only or audio-first wondering: what can we do?

How Can You Leverage YouTube Podcasts?

Back in June on the Creator Insiders channel, Podcast Partner Manager Erica posted some tips for how to present your podcast on YouTube. Here’s what she recommends: 

1. Use a static image (like your cover art) with the audio if it’s audio-only
2. Create a public playlist of all full episodes that is the exact name of your podcast
3. Have one playlist of full episodes for each show
4. Order your episodes as your want people to consume them
5. Add the podcast description as the playlist’s description

I would also recommend recording video when you can from here on out. Many podcast recording platforms support recording video. Even if you don’t use it (or it doesn’t make sense), you still have the option.

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Converting Your Current Episodes 

There are a few great apps to help you get your podcast into a video format. If you’re a Mac user, check out FusionCast, which was purpose-built for this exact reason: turning audio into a video with a static image. 

If you’re on a PC, Descript is a little more work but will allow you to overlay an image to audio and export it. 

There are also a few automated tools, like Repurpose.io. 

What Does This Mean for Podcasters?

At this point, it’s hard to say what YouTube Podcasts will be or their plans for the immediate future. The long-term is a different story. 

We can see from that leaked presentation that YouTube plans to leverage two things it’s very good at for podcasters: monetization and analytics. 

If your podcast is on YouTube, there could be an opportunity to monetize through ads, memberships, or their “Super” features, which allow direct donations. For podcasters who have trouble monetizing through other methods, this could be a big boon. 

It is worth noting that at the time of writing, YouTube does have a minimum requirement to monetize your channel. You’ll need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. It’s unknown if they’ll relax those requirements for podcasts. 

Another way podcasters will benefit from YouTube is its best-in-class analytics. Because there’s no centralized system, podcasters generally have to rely on 3rd party services like Chartable. The other option is to go to each native platform to review analytics. Until recently, Apple Podcasts’ analytics were unavailable. 

With YouTube being a popular platform for consuming podcasts, it could provide valuable data for podcasters to improve and grow their shows. 

What’s Next?

This is the first of many steps YouTube is taking to plant its foot squarely in podcasting, and it’s no coincidence the rollout is happening the same week as Podcast Movement. YouTube’s Conor Kavanagh said that the destination URL is meant “to help highlight podcast content and to help users discover new content,” and to “let us know if you have any questions.” Look for more information after Podcast Movement, as Kai Chuk, YouTube’s Head of Podcasting, will present Finding Success on YouTube, on Thursday the 25th.