Podcasting can be an excellent way to share your passion with the world, but getting started can be challenging if you don’t know where or how to host episodes. Here’s some guidance to get your podcasting journey underway.
Squarespace makes it simple and straightforward to build a site tailored for podcasting, with built-in RSS feeds and robust search engine optimization (SEO) tools.
Getting Started
Anyone with an interest, hobby, or subject they feel passionately about can create their own podcast. Starting is as easy as creating a Squarespace blog or website and adding an RSS feed for your podcast; once complete you can begin uploading MP3 files and posting episodes online for people to listen and subscribe.
Before beginning to record a podcast, it’s essential to establish the format. This involves determining how many voices will appear on your show (if any), as well as any equipment needed for its creation and management. With this knowledge in hand, deciding upon an ideal studio location and recording method will become much simpler as well as creating an effective marketing strategy for your venture.
Establish a publishing schedule so your podcast releases at regular intervals and can be found easily in search results. A regular release schedule is key to building an engaged listener base and increasing chances of being found when searching episode titles in search engines.
Once your publishing schedule is in place, it’s time to upload your podcast to iTunes Store and other podcasting apps. To do this, create a special blog page for your podcast where you’ll include elements such as an icon for each episode title as well as show notes – these elements act as metadata which has a hugely beneficial effect on search engine optimization (SEO).
For your first podcast episode blog post, navigate to Pages and select the “New Page” icon. Name the page accordingly and input your podcast title and description in the header section; in the content box input your episode’s name and summary as well as episode notes or even links back to your website if appropriate.
Once complete, click “Publish.” To connect your podcast to Apple Podcasts, navigate to the RSS feed page and paste its URL in Feed URL field; next click “Connect with Apple Podcasts” button.
Adding a Podcast to Your Site
Squarespace stands out from other blog website builders by providing podcast hosting as well as tools to easily create and manage an RSS feed for your show, making it simple and quick to create a professional-grade podcast website that features episodes, archived shows and other pertinent brand info. Plus, Squarespace features beautiful templates designed specifically to give audiences an engaging place to discover your podcast episodes!
Podcasting can be an excellent way to drive visitors back to your website and keep visitors coming back for more content. But it’s important to remember that podcasting should not replace content marketing or social media promotion efforts; rather, provide your listeners with a high-quality audio podcast experience accompanied by helpful episode show notes in order to enable them to make an informed decision about whether or not to listen to your show.
Once your podcast has been recorded and uploaded to Squarespace, the next step should be creating its page on your site. Creating it shouldn’t be complicated or time consuming – simply create a blog page named “Podcast,” then add an audio block titled “Podcast” from the dropdown menu for audio blocks on pages, filling in its appropriate fields with information such as your podcast name, episode description, download link (if appropriate), etc.
Once you’ve added your podcast, make sure that once in the pop-up window for embedding and designing it you click on the Podcasting tab as this provides additional descriptive details that search engines and third-party applications may find more easily. Also include any cover art here!
If you haven’t already, uploading your podcast to Apple Podcasts Connect is also necessary. To do this, log into Apple Podcasts with the same email address used for Squarespace website management and then click Edit Settings for each podcast in Apple Podcasts Connect; copy its new feed URL from Feedburner; then switch your RSS feed by following these instructions from “Moving a Podcast to a Different RSS Feed.”
Embedding a Podcast on Your Site
Podcasts are a fantastic marketing tool that allow businesses to produce engaging content and connect with a target audience. Their format makes podcasts accessible and effective at spreading your message – particularly mobile users! However, creating one is only the first step – embedding it on your website can be one way of making sure people find and listen to it easily!
Podcasting is an ideal form of content marketing because it provides a unique and interactive experience for your target audience. By sharing your expertise on specific subjects, podcasting allows you to build trust among them as an industry expert while being much less expensive and time consuming than other forms of digital media production. As a cost-effective strategy, podcasting makes an effective marketing investment.
Once your podcast is created, it is vitally important that it is shared on popular platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Google Play in order to maximize exposure and downloads. Podcasting can be used as an excellent promotional tool and may help boost SEO efforts by ranking higher in search results. Many hosting services also offer analytics tools which allow you to track its performance.
Integrating podcasts on websites is usually straightforward. Most podcast hosts will provide you with an embed code, making the process quick and straightforward. The code usually works like any iFrame element on a webpage – making the installation seamless!
To embed your podcast, visit your hosting platform’s dashboard and find the episode you would like to include on your site. Towards the top of each page you should see either “Share” or “Embed” buttons which once clicked will open a modal window containing an embed code for that episode.
To copy and paste an embed code into your website’s HTML to display a podcast player, right-click and select “Copy” or “Ctrl+C.” Once done, paste this embed code.
Adding a Podcast to a Blog Post
To add a podcast to your blog is straightforward and effortless. Either use an audio block directly, or upload each MP3 as an individual MP3. To do this, click “Audio” button in Squarespace Content Editor toolbar then “Upload Files,” whereby locating and uploading files that correspond with each episode before entering titles, descriptions and other details about them.
Once your podcast is uploaded, it can easily be added to any page or post by using the Audio button in Content Editor toolbar. When selecting to use an audio block instead, a popup window will provide additional customization options that enable you to personalize its appearance and functionality – including title, description and embed options, episode numbering as well as iTunes, Google Play or another podcast platform links and whether audio file download is enabled for visitors or not.
Optimizing your RSS feed is one of the most vital tasks you can perform for your podcast, as this is crucial in making sure it reaches its audience and is listed by Apple Podcasts or other platforms. Take time and care in optimizing it correctly.
Not only should you optimize the RSS feed of your podcast, but you should also integrate it with a third-party service that offers analytics for it. This will allow you to track its performance, measure it against objectives and make informed decisions regarding future strategies.
Squarespace remains an excellent platform for those who wish to host and produce their own podcast. With some hard work, you can build an amazing site that provides your listeners with captivating audio content while giving insight into your industry.
