Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - Apple Podcasts: 6 Things You Need to Know in 2019

Episode Date: May 30, 2019

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) took place this week and we heard some exciting announcements from Apple, including that iTunes will be replaced by Apple Podcasts on Mac and podcast search and discoverability is about to get a lot better on Apple Podcasts.   On this episode of Podcasting Step by Step, I’ll share six things you need to know about Apple Podcasts, plus a little bonus.   Visit sarahmikutel.com for more articles on how to podcast. Ready to start podcasting? Download my free guide: “8 Mistakes New Podcasters Make and How to Fix Them.” Looking for a podcast media host? Use my Libsyn affiliate code POSTCARD to get the rest of this month for free and next month free.   I’m your podcast coach, Sarah Mikutel. Did you know that I also host the Postcard Academy travel podcast? Check it out if you’re the ‘experiences not things’ kind of person who believes travel goes deeper than a fantastic meal (though that is pretty great). Every week, I interview people who packed up everything to start a new adventure in another part of the world. You’ll learn how they did it and get their best insider food and culture tips.   Thank you so much for listening to Podcasting Step by Step. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Have you been wanting to start a podcast for a while now, but something's holding you back? Maybe it's fear of putting yourself out there or confusion about the technology. I'm Sarah Mikital and on podcasting step by step, I'll break down how to podcast with a little loving motivation to give you the skills and the confidence you need to finally launch that show of your dreams. Let's get started. The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, WWDC, took place the social. week and we heard some exciting announcements from Apple. So there's been quite a bit of grumbling

that Apple hasn't been doing enough to support podcasters. Though, to be fair, podcasting wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for Apple. And most podcasts listening is still being done through Apple Podcasts, through the app itself or through a podcast player that pulls from its directory. So yes, Spotify has been making headlines. It is making huge strides when it comes to podcasting, and lots of money is being poured into this space from all sorts of different avenues. But Apple Podcasts will be a primary player in this space for the foreseeable future. And so on this episode of podcasting step by step, I will share six things that you need to know about Apple Podcasts, plus a little bonus. To start off, iTunes will be replaced by

Apple Podcasts on Mac. So on Mac computers, iTunes is being broken up into Apple Podcasts, Apple TV and Apple Music apps. And this will probably happen in September when people can upgrade to Catalina, which is the new operating system for Mac. Windows users will still have iTunes for now. Not sure what the future holds, but for now, Windows users will still have iTunes. And for quite a while, there has been confusion about what is the difference between Apple Podcasts and iTunes. So since 2017, Apple Podcasts has referred to the app on the iTunes. phone that manages podcasts and nothing else. But iTunes has referred to the desktop app. And right now, the desktop app includes podcasts and other content like films. But this is changing, as I just mentioned,

you don't have to worry about this. If your show is in iTunes, it's going to show up in Apple Podcasts on the desktop when that comes out. I mentioned in a previous episode that Apple Podcasts iTunes is not a podcast media host like Libson. So Apple Podcasts is just a directory and it pulls from your RSS feed from your media hosts. So this transition is going to be seamless. Another exciting announcement that we heard is that discoverability is about to get so much better on Apple Podcasts. So in the past, when people were searching for podcast content, the only things that were searchable in Apple Podcasts were show title, show author, and then episode titles, and episode author. So nothing else, nothing, no description that you had in your show notes. But now Apple has announced that Apple Podcasts will allow listeners to discover shows based on audio transcripts, topics, and people. And this is such fantastic news, because it means that podcasters who are creating the most valuable content, are going to be rewarded. And there might be the risk that some creators will try to

keyword stuff what they say and just throw in a bunch of words just to get picked up in a transcript. But I think that will probably sound inauthentic and they'll lose listeners that way. Apple Podcasts has also added some new categories. So they're adding, subtracting, renaming different podcasts categories. I will link to what these new categories are on Sarah Micatel. But right now you don't have to do anything. The podcast media hosts are updating their systems and I'm sure they will let you know when and if any action is needed on your part. The category changes are going to go live on Apple Podcasts later this year. On my media host, which is Libson, I can choose up to three categories for my podcast. Apple Podcasts now wants you to focus on one.

you should still choose three because Google Podcasts and perhaps other directories are still going to use that information, but just make sure that the category that you want recognized by Apple Podcasts is your first one. Last year, Dan Meisner from Pacific Content put out an article on the most crowded podcast categories, which were music, Christianity, and comedy. So if your show straddles more than one topic, you might want to consider going with the less popular category. And if it makes sense, choose a subcategory as your primary category. For example, for my travel podcast, my primary category is places and travel, which falls under the broader category, society and culture, which is itself a subcategory of all Apple podcasts.

Filling down to the most accurate category will help Apple recommend your show to people who listen to similar shows. And it can also help you rank on Apple's podcast, There are charts for each level of category, and you can potentially rank in three charts at once. For example, astronomy is a subcategory of science, which also falls under all podcasts, so three charts, potential to rank on all of them at once. But really, chart ranking is just a vanity thing. I don't know anyone who's been in new and noteworthy or been in the top 10 of any chart, who has had it make any long-term difference to their podcasts,

growth. So people learn about podcasts through word of mouth, searching for podcasts, listening to other podcasts, which is why it's so important to try to guest on other podcasts. Not too many people are checking out new and noteworthy for their new shows on a regular basis. And by the way, chart rankings are different for every country. So if you have a basketball podcast in the top 10 in Australia, it doesn't mean it's going to show up anywhere in Sweden or any other country. And speaking of not showing up, why haven't my Apple podcast reviews showed up? This isn't necessarily anything new, but it is a question that I get a lot. Have you ever had someone tell you that they left you a review in Apple Podcasts, but it is nowhere to be found?

Well, when people leave reviews on Apple Podcasts, one, they're not going to show up right away, and you might not see them at all. Reviews will only show up in the country where a reviewers, Apple podcast account is based. So if your show is based in the U.S. and somebody with a U.K. account leaves your review, you're not going to see that in your U.S. Apple Podcasts account. There is a different version of iTunes slash Apple Podcasts for more than 150 countries. And so if you want to see all of your reviews from every country in one place for your show, you can go to the website, My Podcast Reviews, or just switch your country location. for iTunes slash Apple Podcasts.

When people rate and review your podcast, it doesn't help push you up the charts. And as I just mentioned, that doesn't really matter that much anyway. But ratings and reviews provide social proof that you're putting out content worth listening to. So if you want to review a podcast in the Apple Podcast app or if you want to tell somebody else how to do it,

here's how. One, find the show, open it, scroll down to ratings and reviews, tap on write a review, and that'll give you the chance to create a headline and write your review, tap the amount of stars that you want to give, and then click send. And you can now edit your review after sending. If you want to change the name that appears along with your review, in iTunes slash Apple Podcasts, I'll keep saying that for now, go to account, view my account, then you'll have to log in, and on the page with your account info, scroll down, and you can edit your

nickname. If you want to tell people how to leave a review for your show, you can visit the show notes for this episode. Go to sarahmicatel.com to get the instructions that I mentioned here, and you can just copy and paste them and use them however you want. So how ratings and reviews works isn't new, but it is something that you should know. And one other thing that you should know when creating content going into Apple Podcasts, is it okay to swear on my podcast? If you swear in your show and you don't mark it as explicit. You can get kicked out of Apple Podcasts. You can label your show as explicit at the show level and also at the episode level. Some countries do not allow any explicit content. So if you or a guess swear on just one episode, even if you mark only that episode as

explicit, your whole show is going to get blocked in that country, including India, which has a love podcast listeners. If you don't want that to happen, you can, one, not swear on your show, you can edit it out, you can bleep them out. Another question to consider is, does your audience want you to swear? Are they listening to the show with their kids? You should be authentic and true to your creative self. So if swearing is your thing, then go for it. Just know the consequences and label your show accordingly. And if you don't really care about swearing, then don't it and you can benefit by having your show in all the countries. And here's a little bonus fun fact for you. Where does the name podcast come from? Well, podcast is a mashup of the words iPod and broadcast.

Yes, the iPod. And apparently they are still making these, which I think is pretty cool. So I'm always threatening to go on a digital detox. And I think the iPod would be perfect because then I can have all my podcast and I don't have to be distracted by all these other apps. But anyway, podcasting was invented in 2004 by former MTV DJ Adam Curry, who was my biggest MTV crush. And so he created a podcast called The Daily Source Code that was originally targeted at podcast developers. He was like really into the technology. And his podcast just grew and grew and the podcasting community grew. from there, and in 2005, Apple started supporting podcasts in iTunes. And now, today, we have Apple Podcasts. So that's my little roundup of what's going on with Apple Podcasts at the moment.

Podcasting is moving so fast that anything could change at any moment. But I will give you a heads up when those things happen. If you are ready to start podcasting and are looking for a great podcast media host, you can use my affiliate code for Libson, which is post. postcard to get the rest of the current month off for free and the next month for free. I love those guys. I use them for both of my podcasts and I think they are the best. So once again, you can use the code postcard to get a great discount. That's all for now. Have a beautiful week and talk to you soon. Thank you for listening to podcasting step by step. You are now one step closer to launching that podcast you've been dreaming about. But I want to get you even closer. I created a

free guidebook for you with actionable worksheets called 8 mistakes new podcasters make and how to fix them. To find that, head on over to sarah micahatel.com slash fix. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarah micatel.com slash blank no more.