Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - How Do I Get into iTunes? (You Need a Podcast Media Host)

Episode Date: May 16, 2019

How do you get your podcast into iTunes and Apple Podcasts? You need a podcast media host. On episode 11 of Podcasting Step by Step, I explain what a podcast media host is, why you need one, how your media host gets you into iTunes/Apple Podcasts and other podcast directories, and I share my discount code for my favorite podcast media host, Libsyn. For links to everything I discuss, head on over to sarahfmikutel.com    Get up to two months of media hosting for free To get up to two months of podcast media hosting for free, sign up for a Libsyn plan using my promo code POSTCARD.   Here’s how to get the most bang for your buck: When you sign up with the code POSTCARD, you’ll get the rest of the current month free plus the next month. Libysn bills on the first of the month, so to get the most out of the discount, sign up on the 1st. If you sign up on the 15th, you’ll only get a month-and-a-half free, and if you sign up at the end of the month, you’ll only be getting the next month free. Suggestion: sign up for the highest tier to explore Libsyn’s stats. You can always downgrade right before your free trial ends. But don’t switch in the middle of your trial. For some reason, that switch triggers an end to your freebie and the beginning of your subscription plan.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. When I first started listening to podcasts in 2004, they hadn't even been added to iTunes. yet. Streaming wasn't a huge thing. Netflix was still a DVD service, but I loved the idea of on-demand programming, especially as a student. I really liked the idea of listening to something

on my own time and not having to miss out because I was in class or with friends. On the media, it was my first podcast that I listened to in case you're curious. Somehow I figured out how to use a complicated service called, I think it was called juice. There was a lemon on it. But anyway, it all just seemed so complex and magical to me. How were these podcasts getting to me? A little over a year later in 2005, iTunes added podcast to their directory, making life so much easier for us podcast listeners. And then in 2007, we got the iPhone. And then in 2012, Apple released a standalone podcast listening app for iPhone and iPad. So thanks in large part to Apple, podcast has grown tremendously over the last 15 years. But how do you get your podcast into iTunes

and Apple Podcasts? Well, first you need a podcast media host. And on this episode of podcasting step by step, I will explain what a podcast media host is, why you need one, how your media host gets you into iTunes and other podcast directory. and I will share a discount code to my favorite podcast media host, Lipson. Actually, I will just tell you right now, my affiliate code is postcard, so you can get up to two months off of your podcast media host plan with Lipson if you use that code. And I will share more information about that later in the show.

I will also share direct links to everything that I reference in this episode on sarahmicatel.com. A podcast media host stores your audio files and sends them out into the world when people requests them either by subscribing to your show and or downloading individual episodes. So how does this work? Well, when you upload and publish a new episode to your podcast media host, your new content will get picked up by the podcast directories that you submitted to like iTunes. That's right, iTunes is only a directory. You don't upload your shows there.

Once the directories refresh with your new content, podcast listening apps, my favorite one is overcast. They are going to pull that new content and deliver it to your subscribers. And this all happens via RSS feed. So what's an RSS feed? Well, have you ever subscribed to somebody's blog? It works the same way. You are creating a syndicated show that people subscribe to. When you sign up with a podcast media hosts like Lipson, which is the host that I use for both of my

podcast. They are going to create an RSS feed for you, and RSS stands for really simple syndication. I believe it originally stood for RichSite Summary. It really doesn't matter to me. All I know is that my media host is going to take care of this for me, and I don't have to worry about it. If you have a website for your podcast, and you should, you may have the option to use your website to host your podcast, but I wouldn't do this. You could run into bandwidth problems that will slow down your site and cause download issues for your listeners. And with 700,000 podcasts out there, you don't want to give people any reason to walk away from your show. Plus, website hosts are not podcast experts. And you really want a team of people who know what they're doing

if you have any problems. So here are some benefits a good podcast media host will offer. Number one for me is what I just mentioned. Support from people who understand. Support from people who understand podcasting and can help you with questions and tech challenges. A good podcast media host is also going to be able to provide statistics about your show. They'll have premium content options like maybe creating an app for your show, a podcast player for your website. They will have a basic website that you can use if you don't want to set up your own on Squarespace or something like WordPress. Not all podcast media hosts offer those benefits. Lipson.com. and I have been very happy with them.

Their plans start at $5 a month. I'm on the $20 a month plan, which gives you more statistics like download numbers and where people are listening. There are some free hosts out there like Anchor, but I think paying for hosting with an experienced host company is absolutely worth it because of the support they offer, but also we should pay for the things we value

so that these companies can stick around and keep serving us in the future. I have heard several stories of free media hosts going out of business because they weren't making any money because they weren't charging people anything. Now, Spotify has acquired Anchor for millions, so who knows what will happen there. Maybe things will turn out great. There are several good podcast host companies out there. But for me, Libson is the way to go. They've been really good to me.

And that's who I recommend. Now, once you pick your podcast media host and sign up for a plan, you're going to have to register your show. This means you're going to have to add some information before you start uploading any audio files. And this is information like your podcast title, your artwork. So your logo is going to need to be between 1400 by 1400 and 3,000 by 3,000 pixels. If you want to make sure that your artwork is the right size, you can use a tool like Canva.

I use this service to create almost all of my podcast images. They have a very generous free tier. I like them so much that I pay for their service and I'm on their pro tier. You're also going to need to add your show description, your website link, whether your show is serial or episodic. So episodic shows generally are ordered so the newest content comes out on top, whereas serial shows they are telling a story and people generally want to start from the beginning. You're also going to have to add the author, who is you, most like. and the copyright, so that can be your name and the year. After you set up your show with the basic information, you'll need to configure your RSS feed. If you go with Lipson, you're going to

choose the classic feed and fill out the iTunes information like iTunes categories, the iTunes summary, the language of your podcast, whether it's explicit or not, and your author tag. And in the show notes for this episode, I will link to the iTunes category options. that you can choose. Fun fact, religion, music, and comedy are the most popular categories. I will also link to the full specifications for your artwork. So if you don't meet the requirements for iTunes, they are going to reject your show and you will have to re-summit. Most podcasts, at least in the U.S., are still being consumed via Apple Podcasts and iTunes, so you want to make sure that you are in that directory. Plus, other podcast players are going to pull your content

from iTunes. So you want to make sure you're there. Also, little side note, as of 2019, iTunes and Apple Podcasts both still exist. And there is confusion about what the difference is. And it's difficult to talk about them actually. So what are these things? Okay, Apple Podcasts refers to the podcast app that's automatically included with your iPhone. So Apple Podcasts, that is for iOS devices. iTunes refers to the desktop app, which includes podcasts, but also other content like films. So right now on desktop, there's not a standalone podcast app that could change at any time. But for now, podcasts are still in iTunes on the desktop. Once you input and save all your information,

Libson will generate an RSS feed URL. Copy and paste your RSS feed URL and keep it in a safe place. So spreadsheet or a document or some sort of project management tool like AirTen table or Asana, keep your RSS feed with other information that's important to your podcast that you can access whenever you need it. Once you have your RSS feed, you can upload your first episode. And this generally should be a trailer, also known as an episode zero. So you're going to upload the audio for your trailer and then add some details like the episode title and subtitle and description.

This is the information that's going to show up in the podcast players. If you're using Libson to optimize for iTunes, there's another section that you can fill out separately for iTunes. So the iTunes title is searchable. So make sure that your title is something people will be searching for. The iTunes summary is just a line or two summary for iTunes. It's not the full description of your episode and you're not going to put links here. You'll mark whether the episode is a full episode or a trailer or a bonus. So for this first one, it's probably going to be a trailer. And then you've got season number. If you plan to do seasons, episode number ratings, so whether it's explicit or clean or not set, and if it's not set, then it's

assumed that it's clean. And then the iTunes author, which is you. If you have the time or inclination, you can create episode specific art to show up in your podcast players. For me, this is not really worth the time, so I don't create episode specific art. And Lipson just pulls my show's logo instead. and then save and hit publish. And it's only after you hit publish on an episode that you can submit your show to iTunes. This is because you need to have a show to submit.

You can't just submit an empty feed. Apple wants to make sure that you've got a legit show. And to submit to iTunes, you are going to submit your RSS feed to Podcasts Connect. And to do this, you're going to need an Apple ID. If you don't have one, I will share a link in the show notes where you can find out how to create that. And then when you're ready, you're going to submit your RSS feed to PodcastConnect.apple.com.

So that's where you go for that. You log on, you add your RSS feed, and then you're going to validate to check that everything looks okay. If it doesn't, it's likely the size of your artwork that's tripping you up. So go back and fix that and then validate until your status looks good to go. should see a green dot and the words prepared for submission and then submit. You'll get an email saying whether your show is approved or not. It can take a week or two for approval and then another week for your show to be indexed and to start showing up in the directories. After you're approved, you don't need to resubmit anything to Podcast Connect. iTunes and Apple Podcasts will pull all your new

content from your podcast media host. You will have to manually submit to get added to some other directories like Stitcher and Tune In, and I can share links on where to go for that. A host like Lipson will make it easy for you to get added to other places like Spotify. Right now, Google Podcasts is adding shows by scraping RSS feeds, so if you can't find yours, contact your podcast media host for help. Summing all of this up, when you publish a new episode to your podcast media host, the directories will refresh with your new content and make sure it gets to your subscribers. Aside from your mic, your podcast media host is your most important

podcasting essential. I have been very happy with Libson. In fact, I liked them so much that I asked to join their affiliate program. That means that I can offer you a discount to get up to two months off of podcast media hosting for free. Just use the promo code, Postcard when you sign up. And in in case you're wondering what postcard is all about, Postcard Academy is my other podcast. Here's how to get the most bang for your buck. When you sign up with the code postcard, you are going to get the rest of the current month for free, plus the next month for free. Lipson bills on the first of the month, so to get the most out of the discount, sign up on the first. If you sign up on the 15th, you'll only be getting a month and a half free.

And if you sign up at the end of the month, you'll only be getting the next month free. I mean, that's still a pretty fantastic deal. but if you can get two months, then go for it. I would also recommend signing up for the highest tier so you can explore lives in statistics. You can always downgrade right before your pretrial ends, but don't switch in the middle of your trial. For some reason, that switch triggers payment and will end your pre-bee. So sign up on the first of the month and pick the highest tier so you can get all the good stuff. And you can always switch later if you want to.

That's all for now. I hope you got a lot of value out of this episode. Next week, I will be interviewing Podcast Hall of Famer Elsie Escobar, co-founder of she podcasts. I love the integrity and heart that Elsie puts into everything that she does, and I cannot wait to share this episode with you. Subscribe to a podcasting step-by-step so you don't miss it. 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 eight 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 sarahmicatel.com slash blank no more.