So you’re familiar with the concept of podcasting, but you’re probably wondering… how do I actually get this content out there on every podcast platform? I have the answers! Join me every Monday in August for a new episode all about podcasting!
In this episode, I’m sharing what you need to look for in a podcast hosting platform and which one I recommend to all of my clients!
Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com, plus you’ll also find resources, show notes, and more for the Clocking In Podcast.
There are a lot of things that people do not think about when they are choosing to start a podcast. The first of those things is how to get their podcast distributed to all of the popular players. To do that, you need a podcast hosting platform.
If you’re brand-new to podcasting, let me give you a little background. A Podcast hosting platform helps you distribute your podcast to all of the podcast players.
Without one, your podcast won’t live on all of the popular players like Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, etc. There are so many options out there for your podcast hosting platform, and I’ve worked with most of them.
I want to walk you through three things to look for in your podcast hosting platform along with a little highlight of the one I personally use.
3 Things to Look for In a Podcast Player
- Design – Internal and External
- Distribution
- Price
Design
When it comes to the design of your podcast player, you are going to look at both the internal and the external design.
For the internal, you are going to want something that is easy to use and navigate, along with easy-to-read analytics.
For the external design, you are going to want a podcast player that is beautifully aligned with your website. My favorite players are easily embedded into a site wherever I want to see them.
Distribution
Distribution is how you get your podcast onto every podcast platform out there, like Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and so many others. While your podcast hosting platform allows you to upload your episodes to one place for distribution, you’ll still need to submit your podcast’s RSS feed to the outlets or players. Your RSS feed comes directly from your hosting platform.
Price
As a new podcaster, you’re likely starting out with a few out-of-pocket expenses. It’s tough to monetize your podcast before you get started, but if you’re given the opportunity it is worth it. I’ve found that many new podcasters will look for the cheapest solution. While I completely understand that, it’s important to know what you’re paying for in your hosting platform.
I pay around $180 a year for my podcast hosting platform so that I have unlimited uploads, and expanded analytics to see stats and insights on my podcast.
Platforms I Recommend
Now it’s time to talk about the podcast hosting platforms that are out there. The two I recommend most are Libsyn and Acast.
Libsyn is an industry standard, but it’s not the one I use. I personally fell in love with Acast because of its design and simple interface. So let’s talk a little more about Acast and why I love it.
I’ll walk through the three items I’ve been discussing and how the benefits of Acast have led me to choose it.
The design of Acast is the #1 reason that I chose it as my podcast hosting platform and recommend it to all of my clients.
Acast has the prettiest podcast players out there, along with an easily embedded playlist of all of your episodes to link to on your podcast’s homepage of your website. Additionally, the backend is the easiest to use in my opinion. From a seamless interface to uploading And scheduling your show, to the easy-to-read analytics it is by far the cleanest and simplest podcast hosting platform I’ve used.
I’ve also worked with the industry standards like blueberry and Libsyn, both of which are fine players and hosting platforms but lack so much ease of use that acast has given me.
Another reason that I decided to go with acast was their customer service. While this wasn’t something that I mentioned earlier in the episode, it falls into the distribution category. Many podcast players will not pull your episode for whatever reason, therefore you have to figure out why. In many of the big-name players that we call industry-standard and the podcasting industry, you just don’t get that personal touch of customer service. I have absolutely loved my interactions with the acast team and have felt this way even before acast bought out Pippa, which was the name of this company before.
Along the lines of distribution, acast does take care of handling all of the distribution of your podcast to every platform once it’s set up on Apple and Spotify. Apple offers specific instructions on their site for submitting your show in just a few simple steps. For Spotify, you can either use the old-school way of connecting it by submitting your RSS feed so it is connected to your account, or you just turn it on on the back end and they’ll handle it for you. I do still recommend submitting your show to important players manually and this is something I do for all of my launch clients.
At the time of writing this, it is August 2021. Acast has a few pricing options available, the first of which is the free version where you get basic analytics and a basic podcast website. The plan that I prefer is the influencer plan, which is $15 per month if you were on the annual plan or $25 month to month… I highly recommend the annual as most podcast hosts plan to have their podcasts for at least the next year. They also have a higher plan that I personally don’t have any clients on yet, so I don’t recommend starting there. I highly recommend taking a look at each plan to see what works best for you.
I really hope this is helped to understand how podcast hosting works and how to choose the best podcast hosting platform for you. If you’re ready to launch your podcast, you can get started with acast today. Use the code HayleeGaffin when you sign up for the Influencer Plan and you’ll get a $25 Amazon gift card when you choose the annual billing.
Catch The Show Notes
What is a Podcast Hosting Platform? (1:50)
Three Things to Consider When Choosing Your Podcast Hosting Platform 2:35)
Why I Love Acast as a Podcast Hosting Platform (4:55)
Links
Acast*
gaffincreative.com
*Affiliate links may be included above. However, I only share resources with you that I personally use and love! With your subscription to an annual membership of Acast, you and I will receive a $25 gift card from Acast
Review the Transcript:
Happy August! We’re inducting August as the unofficial podcast month here on Clocking In! To kick off this series of podcast-related episodes, I’m answering one of the most common questions I get asked about podcasting—how do I get my podcast on players like Apple Podcast App, Spotify, and more!
Hey friends, thank you so much for listening to today’s episode! I’m so glad you’re here and hopefully, you’re as excited about a month of podcast episodes as I am!
If you’re listening to today’s episode, it’s probably one of a few reasons.
- You’re a friend that feels obligated to listen (and i appreciate it)
- You’re just wondering how the podcasting realm works!
- You’re looking to start your own podcast
If you’re here because of the third reason, you’re here for the right reasons and this episode is for you.
There are a lot of things that people do not think about when they are choosing to start a podcast. The first of those things is how to get their podcast distributed to all of the popular players. To do that, you need a podcast hosting platform.
If you’re brand-new to podcasting, let me give you little background. A Podcast hosting platform helps you distribute your podcast to all of the podcast players.
Without one, your podcast won’t live on all of the popular players like Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.
There are so many options out there for your podcast hosting platform, and I’ve worked with most of them.
In today’s episode I want to walk you through three things to look for in your podcast hosting platform along with a little highlight of the one I personally use.
3 Things to Look for In a Podcast Player
- Design – Internal and external
- Distribution
- Price
Design:
When it comes to the design of your podcast player, you are going to look at both the internal and the external design.
For the internal you are going to want something that is easy to use and navigate, along with easy-to-read analytics.
For the external design, you are going to want a podcast player that beautifully aligned with yourWwebsite. My favorite players are easily embedded into a site wherever I want to see them.
Distribution: Distribution is how you get your podcast onto every podcast platform out there, like apple, spotify, stitcher, google play, and so many others. While your podcast hosting platform allows you to upload your episodes to one place for distribution, you’ll still need to submit your podcast’s RSS feed to the outlets or players. Your RSS feed comes directly from your hosting platform.
Price:
As a new podcaster, you’re likely starting out with a few out of pocket expenses. It’s tough to monetize your podcast before you get started, but if you’re given the opportunity it is worth it. I’ve found that many new podcasters will look for the cheapest solution. While I completely understand that, it’s important to know what you’re paying for in your hosting platform.
I pay around $180 a year for my podcast hosting platform so that I have unlimited uploads, and expanded analytics to see stats and insights on my podcast.
Now it’s time to talk about the podcast hosting platforms that are out there. The two I recommend most are Libsyn and Acast.
Libsyn is pretty industry standard, but it’ss not the one I use. I personally fell in love with Acast because of it’s design and simple interface. So let’s talk a little more about Acast and why i love it.
I’ll walk through the three items I’ve been discussing and how the benefits of Acast have led me to choosing it.
The design of Acast is the #1 reason that I chose it as my podcast hosting platform and recommend it to all of my clients.
Acast has the prettiest podcast players out there, along with an easily embedded playlist of all of your episodes to link to on your podcasts homepage of your website. Additionally the backend is the easiest to use in my opinion. From a seamless interface to uploading And scheduling your show, to the easy-to-read analytics it is by far the cleanest and simplest podcast hosting platform I’ve used.
I’ve also worked with the industry standards like blueberry and Libsyn, both of which are fine players and hosting platforms but lacks so much ease-of-use that acast has given me.
Another reason that I decided to go with acast was their customer service. While this wasn’t something that I mentioned earlier in the episode, it falls into the distribution category. Many podcast players will not pull your episode for whatever reason, therefore you have to figure out why. In many of the big-name players that we call industry-standard and the podcasting industry, you just don’t get that personal touch of customer service. I have absolutely loved my interactions with the acast team and have felt this way even before acast bought out Pippa, which was the name of this company before. Along the lines of distribution acast does take care of handling all of the distribution of your podcast to every platform once it’s set up on Apple and Spotify. For Apple, they offer specific instructions on their site for submitting your show in just a few simple steps. For Spotify, You can either use the old school way a connecting it by submitting your RSS feed so it connected to your account, or you just turn it on on the back end and they’ll handle it for you. I do still recommend submitting your show to important players manually and this is something I do for all of my launch clients.
At the time of recording this it is August 2021. A cast has a few pricing options available, the first of which is the free version where you get basic analytics and basic podcast website. The plan that I prefer is the influencer plan, which is $15 per month if you were on the annual plan or $25 month to month… I highly recommend the annual as most podcast hosts plan to have their podcasts for at least the next year. They also have a higher plan that I personally don’t have any clients on yet, so I don’t recommend starting there. I highly recommend taking a look at each plan to see what works best for you.
I really hope this is helped to understand how podcasts hosting works and how to choose the best podcasts hosting platform for you. If you’re ready to launch your podcast, you can get started with a cast today. Use the code HayleeGaffin when you sign up for the Influencer Plan and you’ll get a $25 Amazon gift card when you choose the annual billing.
Today I’m cheering for my latest podcast client’s launch.. Trena Little just launched the video reframed podcast today where she shares all about using video for your business! Head over to trenalittle.com or search for the video reframed podcast on your favorite podcast player! And yes, she is also using Acast!
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