What to Consider When Picking a Podcast Hosting Platform
If you’ve so much as had the idea of starting a podcast, then you will certainly have arrived at the consideration of where to host it. Indeed, this can be vital for the podcast’s success, especially if you plan to host it on a podcast hosting website, which is the usual route for new podcasts without their own hosting platform or listener reach.
But this isn’t the only option, and it might not even be the best one. In fact, the best hosting site for your podcast can depend on a number of factors, and it’s a bit more complicated than you might expect.
Getting the right hosting platform is ultimately all about reach – or the need to reach listeners with your content. This fundamental is well displayed by a common tactic among new podcasts. This is the practice of recording the first couple of episodes and having them ready before the first episode is even broadcast.
Podcasts do this because a good deal of effort and work is required in the early stages to find listeners. Moreover, it is good sense to allow yourself time to focus entirely on it. Part of that process is hosting your podcast in the right place.
Podcasts For Ecommerce Sites
Before getting onto that though, it is wise to also say a bit about theunique phenomenon of hosting a podcast on an ecommerce site. This comes with one massive benefit and one downside (which actually doesn’t need to be a downside).
The benefit, of course, is that an ecommerce site already has traffic and people visiting it. If the podcast is hosted on the same site, visitors might decide to have a listen. But here comes the downside – your audience type is strictly defined and limited.
Customers visit your site because they are interested in your product – your podcast therefore needs to have something to do with it and you cannot just make a podcast on something entirely different. That said, the podcast should also offer something beyond; it just needs to be related to the product.
Online clothing company Plurawl are a good example here. They sell clothes for the American Latino community, and they also broadcast a motivational podcast focusing on specific Latino issues. Here we see that visitors come for the clothes, and they get something different from the podcast (but something that is still related).
What to Consider Before Picking a Platform
So, you have many options when it comes time to find a place to actually host your podcast. These can vary a lot, so it’s best to go over the top considerations to make before picking one. Then, you can tailor things to the type of podcast you produce.
It’s important to know the difference between podcast hosting and podcast distribution. A podcast hosting platform will store your media files online but, for these to be accessible, you need to use a podcast distributor – the biggest ones being Apple, Google, Spotify etc. – in order for there to be a place where listeners can come to find your podcast. You might like to hedge your bets and go with several podcast distributors.
Beyond this, you can also consider hosting on a private website too, and then try to draw listeners from the platform to your own website. This is, as mentioned, easier if your website already draws traffic for some other reason. Wherever you host your podcast, you should also make sure that your brand is visually represented.
After accounting for all this, it is time to make a great podcast and draw in the right people.
