You can now easily get a properly-configured feed for an Alexa Flash Briefing using your Podbean account. There’s no need to do anything special or go to any extra efforts, we’ve set it all up for you!
Simply go to “Settings”–>”Feed/iTunes”–>”Advanced” in your Podbean account. Scroll down and you will see “Last1 Feed”. This feed has been configured to only contain your last (most recent) episode, as required for Alexa Flash Briefings (or any other need you may find).
The Podbean Podcasting App’s Audio Recorder Function Offers a Range of New Effects and Post-Production Tools
Wilmington, DE – January 24, 2019– The Podbean app features an audio recorder function, allowing podcasters to record and publish audio podcasts right from their iPhone or Android devices. The newly-released version of the app provides a robust suite of recording and editing features for the podcaster to create even better audio.
The latest version of the Podbean audio recorder provides a rich library of free background music in various styles and moods that podcasters can use in their recordings. It also offers special effect sounds, tone adjustment, and echo effects to mimic different surroundings. After recording, podcasters can use the editing features to cut the audio, merge two recordings or split recordings. Podcasters can also import background music and other audio files, as well as export their recorded audio to easily use other professional editing tools or repurpose content.
“As we all do more on our mobile phones, we’re encountering more podcasters who want to be able to record and publish on the go,” said David Xu, Podbean’s CEO. “We released the audio recorder in the app in 2016 and have continued working to make it more functional for podcasters producing mobile audio. This is the first in a series of upgrades to the recording and post-production features in the Podbean app.”
For an overview of features, visit Podbean’s audio recorder page. You can download the Podbean app free from the App Store or Google Play. Podbean is seeking feedback to continue improving and enhancing the audio recorder for podcasters. Contact Podbean Support to provide feedback or get help.
There are a million ways to promote your podcast. Some are effective, while others might be a waste of time (and money). Join us as we give you eight ways on how you can promote your podcast.
1. Submit your podcast to various platforms (directories and apps).
The more places your show can be heard, the better, as you want to make it as easy as possible for listeners to find your podcast wherever they go. Start with Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Google Play and Spotify. From there, you can check out numerous other directories and apps, though many podcast apps pull from Apple Podcasts.
2. Create a website for your podcast.
You should have a podcast website, whether one provided by your podcast host or one you create on your own. This serves as the hub for your podcast and you can provide additional information and ways to connect with listeners. By building content here, you can practice search engine optimization to be found easily to promote your podcast If you decide to create a website from scratch, make sure your web host is the best in the market and ensures the highest quality.
3. Make good episode descriptions.
Focus on making good episode descriptions with keywords that will help potential listeners find you. Think about podcast/episode titles as well (Apple podcasts are monitoring for the keyword “stuffing” so don’t artificially do this, but make titles clear and appropriate for what they’re about/what people might search).
4. Promote/share on social media.
Create social media accounts (if you haven’t already) and build your social media community. Focus on creating community and sharing, not just posting your own things/self-promoting. Find like-minded people/communities on social media, follow them and engage. Share your episodes on social media.
Instead of just recording the audio version, record a video or turn it into an “audiogram”. This could attract new attention from people who prefer videos or primarily use sites like YouTube. You can make this even easier by choosing a podcast hosting platform that already has an auto-share to YouTube function (such as Podbean).
6. Leverage the influence of guests.
Inviting guests on your podcast can help broaden your audience since the fans of the guest will often listen to the podcast and may turn into regular listeners. Influential guests help build awareness for your podcast. Seek out guests and create a solid pitch for why they should come on the show. Also, make it convenient for them, treat them with respect and make it easy for them to share the show.
You can also be a guest on other podcasts. It’s a great way for new listeners to get to know you and to build a network with other podcasters.
7. Advertise on popular podcast apps.
Podcast apps can help you grow your podcast audience by reaching passionate podcast listeners right in their favorite podcast app so that they can subscribe/download your show right away. Podbean app has banner ad spots so that people see your ads on front and center right after opening the app.
8. Cross-promote.
Cross-promotion within other podcasts is effective. You’ll likely hear such promo spots in most of your favorite podcasts including the big ones like NPR. However, it takes a lot of time to find and contact podcasts and set this up. A more efficient method might be using one of the podcast advertising platforms such as PodAds. You’ll need to spend some money but you’ll save valuable time. You can also reach a broader range of listeners than via personal connections.
Podbean releases new PodAds affiliate program, with commissions for referring podcast advertisers and up to $100 credit to referred advertisers.
Wilmington, DE – December 10, 2018– Podbean has released a new affiliate program for their PodAds podcast advertising program. Affiliates can now earn commissions for referring potential advertisers to the PodAds program. And, Podbean will provide up to $100 of ad credit for the referred advertisers to spend on podcast advertising.
Current Podbean affiliates automatically qualify for the program. They can visit their affiliate page to get a referral link and promotional resources. New affiliates can sign up at https://www.podbean.com/affiliate. Potential advertisers should sign up via an affiliate’s link to get started with podcast advertising and receive ad credits.
PodAds is Podbean’s smart podcast advertising platform, using sophisticated technology to automatically match podcasts with advertising campaigns per the advertiser’s specifications. Campaigns can be targeted to interests and geographies (down to the city level). The ads will be dynamically served to listeners who meet the targeting criteria.
With PodAds, business owners, brands and media buyers can effortlessly start a podcast advertising campaign targeted to their ideal audience. The platform brings greater efficiency to podcast advertising as advertisers can purchase programmatically, obtaining slots in multiple podcasts to meet their goals and fit their budgets. PodAds provides detailed delivery statistics to help advertisers analyze their campaigns’ success.
Audio Dice Network awards Podbean.com for its unconditional support of the LatinX / Hispanic community with the Latin Podcast “Global Diversity” Award. This Award is a podcasting industry award recognizing ambassadors of diversity in podcasting.
Audio Dice Network (ADN) bestowed the first Latin Podcast “Global Diversity” Award to the audio industry giant Podbean, for its tireless and disinterested support of the LatinX | Hispanic podcasting community.
Podbean, the world leader in podcasts hosting, has teamed up with ADN (an independent podcast network) and Bitextuales.com (a provider of editorial and translation services) to honor and recognize Hispanic-LatinX podcasts of all the world and the United States.
The Latin Podcast Awards (LPA) are the only podcast awards in the world that honor Ibero-American podcasts (Spanish and English). These podcasts are originated in the United States and around the world. the LPA is the first and only podcast competition in the bilingual world.
In this new edition, the LPAs will recognize podcast nominees from the United States, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Switzerland and Puerto Rico.
About this accolade David Xu, CEO of Podbean said, “I am proud Podbean supports the Latin Podcast Awards. Once again, it is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate content creators and highlight the diversity of voices that the world of podcasting has to offer.”
About Podbean:
As an industry leader for more than ten years, Podbean has been providing innovative podcasting services. This platform offers an easy-to-use interface that integrates publishing tools, administration, distribution, monetization and user friendly analysis. Currently, the podbean community is composed of a base of more than 140 thousand podcasters. Podbean apps for Android and iOS have reached more than 1 million downloads, and have more than 300 thousand active monthly users. For more information, visit https://www.podbean.com .
For more information on the Latin Podcast Awards visit latinpodcastawards.com.
Local media can play an important role in promoting small, local businesses. It can be a great way to target a narrow market with relevant messages. Many small businesses put advertising dollars toward local radio and newspapers. They may try billboards, flyers, local community boards or websites.
Small business owners need to be smart about their marketing and advertising efforts. Typically, they’ll be looking for effective, low-cost solutions but it can be hard to find that perfect combination. Sometimes local media exceeds the budget of a new or growing business. And, many businesses are finding that what’s worked in the past is no longer so effective. In recent years, many have turned to online advertising that allows targeting and provides delivery analytics. Another benefit is the simplicity and ease of getting campaigns running quickly.
Few local business owners will have considered podcast advertising. But now, some platforms are offering programmatic podcast advertising that targets only listeners in certain areas. So, podcasts can be a new form of local media for your small business to tap into. Fortunately, podcast advertising also has the potential to deliver more for less cost too. A small company can “sound big” without spending a lot. It’s a lot like what websites have done for small businesses in leveling the playing field.
Your Potential Customers Are Listening to Podcasts
According to a report from Edison Research, 21 percent of Americans (age 12+) will have listened to a podcast in the last month. To put that into perspective, that’s the same number of Americans who use Twitter and 8% more than use Spotify.
Podcasts tend to have affluent, educated audiences. 85% of podcast listeners have a college education and 36% make more than $75K/year.
Podcast Advertising Effectiveness
Research shows 62% of podcast listeners report making a purchase as a result of an ad they heard on a podcast. A study on NPR podcasts showed even higher results, with 75% of listeners taking action on a sponsored message. Podcast listeners are highly engaged, with 88% of them subscribing and listening to most or all episodes. Because podcasts are not heavily saturated with ads, listeners have high brand recall (over 70%).
New Technologies Increase Targeting and Ease
Programmatic ad buying now makes the process of purchasing podcast advertising much easier. A small business can buy ads directly, without a lengthy process or large ad budget necessary to work with an agency. The process is similar to setting up Google or Facebook ads (maybe even easier).
And, the technology now supports more targeting. So, for example, you can run ads to be served up only to listeners in your state or metro area. This effectively makes podcast advertising a new form of local media, but available on a smaller budget. For example, one recent campaign run via Podbean’s Ads system resulted in 100,000 targeted impressions for the business for $300.
To learn more about podcast advertising for your local business, read more. You can set up a campaign in minutes and give it a try! You set budget caps, and can modify or stop a campaign any time so it’s low risk with potential for high reward.
Get a high return on investment for your small business: get started with Ads today.
There are a million ways to promote your podcast. Some are effective, while others might be a waste of time (and money). And, of course, what works is dependent on “where your audience is”. This is why promoting on other podcasts might just be the best way to grow your audience.
Why is podcast cross-promotion one of the most effective podcast marketing strategies?
Podcast listeners already know how to listen to podcasts, which removes one big hurdle you may encounter when you promote elsewhere.
Listeners love content suggestions. This type of marketing comes across as helpful information and listeners pay attention.
You can target listeners who already like similar categories of shows. This solution brings you right to where your potential audience is.
They can subscribe/download your show right away. They’re in the midst of listening, so it’s not something they have to remember to do later.
Why use Podbean’s ads marketplace to promote a podcast?
Cross-promotion is effective. A lot of podcasters are already doing it. We see many discussions about it in Facebook groups and hear the promo spots often. However, it takes a lot of time to set this up (networking, contacting podcasters, sending your promo, discussing details..and typically, arranging and running the other podcaster’s promo on your show). With Podbean’s ads marketplace, you can have promo spots running within minutes. Yes, you’ll need to spend some money. But, you’ll save valuable time. You can also reach a broader range of listeners than it might be possible to get via personal connections.
Fortunately, you can set a daily budget cap so you don’t have to spend a lot. You can view your analytics to see just how your ads are delivering. And, you can modify, pause or stop your campaigns at any time.
If you’re spending any money on Facebook ads or other promotions (or considering it), take a look at Podbean’s ads marketplace first. Podcasters tend to get a much higher return on investment (ROI) from these campaigns.
How to Use Podbean’s Ads Marketplace: Three Simple Steps
Sign up as an advertiser: https://sponsorship.podbean.com/. If you’re already signed up to receive ads on your podcast, you’ll need to create an account with a different email address.
Create your campaign. Provide basic information (contact info, website, description, copy), set your budget and start date. Select categories (and geographies, if desired). Pick ad slots and set pricing. Upload your audio file. Add your payment method.
Run and manage your campaign. Once approved, your ads till begin running within 24 hours of your start date. You can review the list of podcasts and remove any of them at any time. Check your campaign’s results as it progresses: see impressions and amount spent. Pause or cancel campaigns whenever you want.
Sign up for ads marketplace today and give it a try! You can set a daily budget cap of as little as $10 (that’s the cap, often the actual spending will be less depending on your specs). Check out our Advertiser FAQs here or contact us if you have questions.
You can also sign up your podcast to receive ad revenue. Learn more here.
Podcasts continue to explode in popularity. 124 million Americans have listened to a podcast, and 28% (or 73 million) listen monthly. The number of weekly podcast listeners is up by 6 million from 2017. And according to Podcast Insights, the podcast trend has grown exponentially from there throughout 2018 and 2019.
There’s a low barrier to starting a podcast and getting it distributed. But that doesn’t mean podcasting doesn’t require effort. Along with the explosion in podcast popularity, listeners now have thousands of options when it comes to deciding what to listen to. Your podcast needs to deliver quality content and value. Here are seven best practices to consider if you’re starting a podcast.
1. Think about your message. There’s a lot of content for people to consume, in all forms. What makes your podcast unique? Who do you imagine listening to it? Is there a gap you’ve found or a niche you want to fill? Do a little homework. Check out similar or related shows (bookmark them for the future, there might be some ways to collaborate). What’s missing? What special perspective will you bring that people can’t find elsewhere? What tone do you want for your show?
2. Make every second count. Listeners’ time is valuable, so keep your content concise. This doesn’t mean there’s a magic number. Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is one of the most popular podcasts, and it sometimes runs more than four hours. However, that’s a rare exception. He packs his episodes with high quality, engaging content. The nature of your podcast might lend itself to some “chit chat”, but think about the value the listener is getting for the time they’re spending.
3. Plan your episodes. In your research, listen to some top quality shows. For every minute you hear, they likely spent hours researching and preparing. Not all shows take the investigative journalism of Serial. But sometimes podcasters forget about the importance of planning since it can feel like having a casual conversation. Planning might include determining show topics, contacting guests (and preparing them), thinking about your questions, making a rough outline (or even a script) of what you want to cover, and doing any research.
4. Optimize your podcast for maximum searchability. In podcast apps, your podcast and episode titles are they key to being found (along with the author tag in some), and helps listeners easily identify what your content is about. So, think about keywords your audience might search for when coming up with titles.
This is also where show notes and transcripts come in handy. Search engines crawl text, so your episode descriptions and show notes should be search-friendly. Descriptions and show notes (think a blog post that accompanies a podcast) also serve as a place for listeners (or someone who finds your show online) to see a summary and get more information, links, etc.
5. Distribute, share, promote! Once you set up your podcast with a reliable podcast host and get an RSS feed, you’re set to distribute to the many places people listen. Apple Podcasts (formerly known as iTunes) is the biggest directory so that should be a top priority. You can also make sure your show is set up properly for Google and that they index your show for Google Podcasts. Many podcast apps will pick your show up from iTunes, but there are also many directories where you can submit. Here’s a good list of podcast directories to check out. The good news is that due to the magic of RSS feeds, you just submit your feed and then your episodes will automatically update in various directories and apps.
Some podcast hosts make social sharing easy with automated tools in their platforms. You also want to have an online “home” for your podcast. Whether that be within an existing website, a new WordPress or Squarespace site or a podcast site provided by your hosting company, this is the place where people can read your show notes and get more information. Your own website offers your listeners another place to learn about you, the type of things you podcast about, and where else to find you online. It’s essentially a landing page all about your podcast.
There are many other ways you can use this space, especially as your podcast grows and evolves. As your podcast grows, you can use it as a place to put up merch for sale, offer tickets to shows, or even promote products and other podcasts through partnerships. A website – even one with a subdomain, like the website you automatically get with Podbean – is as powerful a tool as any software or microphone.
There are also different ways you can integrate your RSS feed with different types of websites, depending on where you host your podcast and what you want to do. You can embed podcast episodes easily with a player so people can also listen online.
Getting listed in directories and set up online is the first step, but you’ll need to do most of the heavy lifting to promote your show. Think about where your potential listeners “hang out” online. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Can you draw people in from Youtube (some podcast hosting companies autopost an “audiogram” there for you or you can get the tools to do this)? Are there specific forums or blogs where you can share information and generate interest? You might also want to consider promoting on other podcasts if you can – it can be one of the most effective ways to gain new listeners.
6. Get a handle on audio production. If your podcast sounds bad, people will tune out. Check out some free audio tools like Audacity or LMMS, and learn some basic audio editing. There are other paid options for slimmer budgets, like Ardour and Reaper, but it’s best to try a free option first to get the feel for editing.
You also don’t have to spend a lot on microphones. There are different types of microphones depending if you want to just plug your microphone into your computer (USB mics) or if you want more control over how your microphone records (XLR mics), or for single or group hosts. Check out suggestions from other podcasters and podcast experts (Facebook groups like Podcasting Smarter are one good source).
There are even options to record right from your phone, and there are some decent sounding podcasts out there just using their earbuds (check out the Podbean app for recording and publishing, for example). Reducing background noise makes a big difference, so be sure you have a quiet space or add some soundproofing (egg crate foam, carpeting and blankets all do the trick on the cheap).
Another option to consider is hiring professional audio engineers for certain aspects of production. There are tons of resources out there, from professional sound studios to editors, guest bookers, show note writers and full production teams. Here are some podcast resources that I recommend.
7. Measure your success by your own benchmarks. And, make changes as needed. Your podcast hosting company will provide download statistics and various data you can track. It can be hard to know what good numbers are. It is not the same for a highly produced true crime show as a podcast about a specific type of knitting. Don’t only use numbers to measure your success. Think beforehand about your goals and measure your success against that. Perhaps you want to use podcasting to showcase your expertise and build trust with potential clients. Maybe you only get 100 downloads/episode, but you have loyal client listeners and have had several inquiries. That’d be a success for you!
Don’t be afraid to make changes. If you feel something isn’t working or get feedback from listeners, you can adapt. Most podcasts evolve in some way over time. Some do a complete rebrand, change formats or end and start a completely new show. Always go back to your goals – even if the goal is for you and your best friend to get together and chat every week. If that’s happening and you’re enjoying it, podcasting has worked for you! Evaluate how things are working and change what’s not.
Most importantly, don’t get bogged down in the details or halted by creative paralysis or perfection. With these best practices, you can prioritize what you need to do when starting a podcast. Get started and take advantage of the growing podcasting wave. Check out all that Podbean has to offer and try it out with a free month at Podbean.com.
All Podbean feeds are now https; Podbean offers free SSL certificate service for podcasters using their own domain
Dover, DE – July 3, 2018 –Podbean has fully transitioned all Podbean feeds to secure feeds using https. Podbean handled the migration process to ensure all new and current Podbean-hosted podcast feeds are fully compliant with Apple Podcasts’ future requirements.
Podbean also hosts many podcasts using their own domain for their podcast sites. As a free service to these podcasts, Podbean will provide an SSL certificate and ensure they’re automatically migrated to a secure feed. Here’s more information on how to set up your own domain with SSL certification in Podbean.
What do I need to do?
If you use a Podbean domain, you don’t need to do anything. We’ve handled the migration for you, so you’ll have no worries about Apple’s new requirements.
If you use your own domain, follow the steps above if you have not previously set up your SSL certification. We will provide the SSL certificate free of charge, but you need to change the domain CNAME record and enable https in your Podbean account.
Podbean’s comprehensive podcast feed and website hosting service ensures podcasts meet the new Google podcast app requirements.
Dover, DE – June 21, 2018 –Google’s announcement of their new podcast app has been big news in the podcasting world. Podcasters are eager to learn more about this development and make sure their podcast can be found in Google search. As a comprehensive service powering over 160,000 podcasts, Podbean strives to make podcasting a stress-free experience by providing cutting edge tools that meet the latest industry needs.
As such, Podbean is updating all Podbean sites so they meet Google’s requirements. Podbean’s no-limits hosting plans all include a customizable podcast website. Thus, any podcast using the combination of podcast hosting and website from Podbean will automatically fit all the Google specifications.
Many Podbean podcasters also run their own web site and Podbean had made things simple for them as well. They’ll need to follow Google’s instructions to add a “link” tag to their site’s home page. Then, in Podbean they can easily configure their feed with their site link.
We have also updated our user agents in Podbean stats to add the Google Podcast app. You can view your downloads coming from the Google Podcast App in your Podbean statistics.
