Outline:
Complementary tools
If you are among 81% of current podcasters, you will probably be publishing an episode every two weeks at the latest. Many people are afraid to even hit publish, but once you get over that fear, impostor syndrome, or any other obstacle, you have to learn how to make publishing part of your routine.
Our dedicated audio creation tool, Rumble Studio, is the stepping stone to launching your podcast successfully and we want to make sure you are doing it right. We succeed when our clients succeed so we want to help you in this vital part of the process. Since our platform doesn’t allow you to directly publish your content at present (but we are working on it!), we will show you how to publish your podcast on other platforms and offer our example as guidance.
Step 1: Prepare your content beforehand
Before exporting your audio file(s) onto a podcast host like Omny Studio, Anchor, or Buzzsprout, you should prepare all the complementary content that goes into the podcast episode.
Include the following elements for each episode:
- Title: a catchy headline without being too clickbait. You should always deliver on what you promised your reader in the title.
- Summary: a one-line description of your content where people quickly learn what the episode is about.
- Artwork: preferably one that’s aesthetically pleasing and self-explanatory.
- Show notes: a description of what happened during the episode, the guest biography, and any additional resources mentioned during the show.
- Tags: keywords that relate to your content so that people find your episode more easily when they search for related terms.
Once you’ve taken care of these features you can create an account on your favorite host platform where it will ask you to enter all this information. Remember, you will export and download your audio file(s) to your computer from Rumble Studio and upload it to one of these platforms.
Once you upload your audio to a podcast host you will get an RSS feed URL. This is a formatted text file that has all the relevant information about your show. This file generated by your podcast host is then submitted to a podcast provider like Apple Podcast, Spotify, or Google Podcasts but it’s up to you to select which of these platforms will have access to your content.
If all this looks like rocket science to you just know that the platform you upload your content to does this for you. Just consider that by doing this process behind the scenes, the platform creates a public link to your show that anyone can view and have access to.
Keep in mind that it’s useful to have a podcast host not only to publish your content but also to learn more about your audience with download analytics, be able to share your content on social media, and be able to submit your episodes to multiple podcast platforms.
Step 2: Choose the podcast host that suits your needs
While we work on setting up our own podcast host, here are some affordable options that we’d recommend choosing from:
- Omny Studio: we suggest you try this host if you’re looking for a business podcasting solution. It has team collaboration features, advanced permission controls, and a wide range of functions that will come in handy for your business. Even if it’s more expensive than other providers, it’s worth your while.
- Buzzsprout: if you’re just starting your podcast journey you can start with this affordable option. There’s a free plan that has a good starter pack (e.g. 90 day limit on each file) and you can eventually transition into a paid plan when you get a handle on it.
- Transistor: this podcast host is intended for private use where just a select group of people have access to the content. It has a variety of features for businesses and you can focus on content for a small tailored audience.
- Anchor: when your budget is tight consider this option which is completely free. It’s integrated with Spotify and you can easily get started in the world of podcasting. However, it comes with a different type of cost which makes it less suitable for businesses. You don't own your feed URL or your Apple Podcasts account, and Anchor has the right to redistribute your content elsewhere.
These options cover a wide range of needs whether it’s for a business (OmnyStudio), for a novice (Anchor), you have a tight budget (Buzzsprout), or you value privacy above all else (Transistor).
Step 3: Fill in the information on the podcast host platform
Once you’ve created an account on your podcast host, you will now add the audio file(s) and the additional information before publishing the episode.
Let’s put an example. At Rumble Studio we use Omny Studio to publish our own podcast called Audio Leads. We’ll click on “Create a new program” where we upload our audio file and additional content for the show. We’ll be asked to create the following:
- A name for the podcast (“Audio Leads” in our case).
- Select a category (“Business”).
- Add a publisher (our company “Rumble Studio”).
- Add a description (“Interviews with leaders in the podcast space ranging from entrepreneurs to experienced companies”).
- Upload the artwork (where we have custom-designed art for each episode)
- Insert the social links (e.g. https://www.rumble.studio/)
Once we’ve created the first program or show, we’ll create a new playlist to generate that RSS feed we mentioned earlier. It will take the information we already provided before and if you want to change anything this is the time to do so. Once we set our playlist to “public” we save all the changes and proceed to add the content.
Here’s where you’ll add your first episode as an mp3 file. While you wait you can edit the episode’s title, description, and tags, and decide whether you want to publish it right away or keep it private or unlisted until you set your release date. Once you’ve saved all the changes you’ll have your first content on your playlist. But there’s still one more step before it’s published!
Step 4: Submit your episode to a podcast platform
You now have to choose on which platforms you would like to have your show.
For instance, if you want to submit your episode to iTunes you have to show them your RSS feed, that text file we mentioned earlier that has all the details about your podcast. Go to “details” on your recently created playlist, copy the link under “Podcast RSS feed” and click on “Submit to iTunes” which will open a new tab on your device.
You’ll log in with your Apple ID and once inside iTunes Connect paste the link you copied earlier, below the RSS Feed headline, and click “validate”. Check that all the information is there and whenever you’re ready click “submit”.
In a few days, you’ll get a response from iTunes about whether your episode has been approved or denied. And that’s it!
Summary
Whether you publish your content once a week or every two weeks, the process should become an easy routine for any content creator. Even if we don’t currently support publishing your content through our platform, we offer a step-by-step process to get your episode(s) online in no time. We show you through our own podcast how to publish your content in hopes it will soon become a normal process of your content creation journey.
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