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Podcasting: Publishing your podcast

Basics for recording and publishing a podcast

You've recorded and edited your podcast-Now what?

You've recorded your podcast, edited it and its ready to be shared with the world! The next step is to find a host for your podcast.  There are many great options for podcast hosting, some involving a monthly fee and some with no costs.  Choosing one will require some personal research, but some popular options include: 

  • Captivate
  • Buzzsprout
  • Transistor
  • Castos
  • Anchor

An Example: using Anchor.fm

For an example of hosting, an episode of a recorded podcast for the Miami University Libraries Makerspace was uploaded to Anchor.fm.  The process worked like this: 

 

Using Anchor.fm to host our podcast, our first step will be make an account.

    

  

 

Sign up for your free account here.  It does not require email verification.

 

Next you'll get a screen which gives you the option to upload an episode of your podcast (which you have because you have completed Podcasting 1 Module) or you can work on your cover art and choose a name. 

 

  

 

Select "Let's do it" and this will take you to the next page, which allows you to look at your library and to also upload an episode in the top right corner.

 

   

Click upload and select your file.  It should be an MP3

 

  

 

 

Here you can see the file is loaded and processing.

 

Once the podcast is done processing you should be able to see it in your library:

  Next, you will proceed to a window that allows you to name your podcast and add a description.

 

 

Choose your podcast name and enter it here. Use this space to write a description of your podcast and include any citations or links that you mentioned in your podcast. You can choose to publish your episode now or choose a time in the future to publish. 

 

Scroll down a little bit and you will see this: 

 

  

You can select the art for your individual episode, choose your episode and season numbers and indicate if your content is explicit or not. 

 

Once you have completed these fields, at the very top of the page is this button: 

 

 Select Publish Now, now. 

 

From here, this window will open:

 

 

Enter your podcast name and description.

 

Select a category for your podcast (Mine is How To) and the language of your podcast.  Hit Continue.

 

This brings up the window to add your artwork for your podcast:

 This allows you to add text to your image in site.

 

Here you can adjust the justification of your text, the color and location in your artwork square.  Once you have it to your satisfaction, click on "Update cover art"

 

A window will pop asking if you are ready to distribute your podcast to the world: 

 

 

It is easiest to allow them to do so, click Yes.

 

Congrats! You've just published your first podcast! If you click on the Home button on the top of the screen (in the purple header), it takes you back to your podcast.  It provides links for sharing on social media and links for emailing and embedding.  You can see the checklist at the bottom of the screen (I've elected not to monetize at this time.  You'll be asked in the process and that is a personal choice). 

 

  

 

If you click on the "available on 2 platforms" link in the window above, it takes you to this: 

 

  

Here is your RSS feed link, along with your Anchor.fm link and a Spotify link. 

 

**Please note: if you do not wish to publish to Spotify, you will need to reach out the Anchor.fm support to request it not upload there.**

 

 

Congrats! You're on Spotify!

 

Checking your statistics

It's important to be aware of your listener statistics, to be aware of how many people your podcast is reaching.  To check your statistics using Anchor.fm, you click on the Episodes link in the top menu.

 

 

 

Here you can see under Plays how many times your podcast has been listened to. 

 

If you click on the number under Plays, you can see more detailed information:

 

  

  

 

Here you can adjust the time frame of your analytics to see how many daily/weekly/monthly listeners you have.  You can also download this information as seen in the small text below your graph. 

 

This information should span all platforms on which your podcast is listened.

 

Additional information provided by Anchor.fm on understanding your statistics

https://help.anchor.fm/hc/en-us/articles/360001012432-Understanding-your-podcast-analytics