How to make podcast sharing-friendly with a website
Sharing a podcast online is messy, with hundreds of platforms and no clear way to link to the player each listener uses.
If you're sharing on social media, you'll either have to share multiple links or share the most popular platform. Apple Podcast and Spotify are the two largest platforms, but they're not the only ones out there. You have Overcast, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Castro, Castbox, RadioPublic, and many many more.
Either way, when you share a new episode, you're asking a large portion of your audience or potential audience to expend energy to find your show or new episode.
When a listener doesn't have a link, they often turn to Google your podcast. Before we go further, I recommend you Google your podcast. You should look at what shows up on the first page. In many cases, that is Apple Podcast and other platforms like Stitcher, Spotify, and other platforms. Again, listeners have to expend energy looking for the right place to subscribe or a link to download the podcast.
If your listeners are motived or on their phone, they'll quickly search within their podcast player for your episode. This is the best case. Not everyone will do this, but those who do are amazing!
Consider having a website for your podcast.
Having a website for your podcast is important. Only 55% of people have listened to a podcast in the United States. This doesn't mean everyone has a podcast player on their phone or actively looking for new podcasts. While podcasting is growing year over year, much of the discovery starts online with Search.
Having a podcast website makes sharing and discovery of your show a thousand times easier. You cannot rely on the podcast player stores to showcase your app or to top the charts. You have to not only market your show but ensure its discoverable online.
There is 45% of the U.S. who hasn't listened to a podcast before. Even though 75% of Americans know what a podcast is, it doesn't mean a majority of them understand how the medium works. Cater to the users who are just learning.
How can a website help?
A user sees a Tweet or Facebook update, and they go to Google. If you don't have a website, you're letting other platforms control the relationship between you and the listeners.
Having a website also has other benefits:
- Control SEO - a podcast website allows you to have Google index the show notes. This means more listeners may discover your show just based on simple searches. Much of discovery online and with podcasting still happens through Search, largely Google Search.
- Control Audience Relationship - having a website means listeners know where to get updates and find links to social media or support sites. You're also able to add newsletters to collect listener's emails.
- Look Professional - with a website, you'll have a custom domain, something like podcastshow.com. This boosts confidence with listeners and helps validate your podcast.
- Grow your audience - using a website means you can link to dozens of platforms. Adding these links allows listeners to quickly subscribe to the podcast player they like the most!
- Monetize your podcast - push listeners with your website to support you via Anchor Support, Patreon, or even just with a donate button. As your podcast grows, you don't have to monetize with ads or sponsorships only - think of how the audience can support.
Most Importantly Sharing is Easy!
Having a website means sharing one link. You can share you're podcastwebsite.com and know that everyone is covered. Every listener, no matter the device or platform, can access the website. They can then self select which podcast player they use if you display all the top players. This allows them to subscribe when they're ready.
Allowing anyone to listen to episodes when on the website increases chances that someone wants to subscribe. It also allows listeners who don't have a podcast app handy or prefer to listen while on a computer. Increasing the chances someone will listen to your show!
How can IronMic help?
IronMic enables podcasts to set up a fully managed podcast website in less time to record an episode. IronMic automatically pulls all of your podcast episodes from your RSS feed and stays in-sync with new episodes. New shows appear within minutes of publishing new episodes.
We work with any and all podcast hosting providers. As long as your show can be listed on Apple Podcasts or has an RSS, we can generate a site for your show!
Preview your podcast website in minutes at IronMic.FM.