103. How Do I Choose a Podcast Hosting Platform? | Podcasting Tips and Strategies

FAQ Friday answering the podcasting question of "How Do I Choose a Podcast Hosting Platform?"

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This episode was produced by me, The Podcast Teacher! Contact me at Hello@ThePodcastTeacher.com.

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Transcript

Welcome to Podcasting for Solopreneurs and FAQ Friday, where I answer a podcasting question in five minutes or less. Today's question is, how do I choose a podcast hosting platform? This question comes from Holli Carter, host of the podcast Unlocking Universal, your key to Universal Orlando. I'm gonna have to check that out since I live in Orlando, and I'm a Universal annual pass holder. Thank you for listening, Holli. Holli mentions that she is currently using an all in one solution. I'm guessing maybe Kajabi, and she's looking to switch to a dedicated podcast hosting platform for her show. As always, there are multiple factors to consider such as price, features, user interface, customer support, and podcast stats reporting. My favorite hosting platform is Buzzsprout, and that's where I host this podcast.

I'll be explaining why Buzzsprout stands out as I talk about the different factors to consider, but I will go ahead and say that I am a proud affiliate for Buzzsprout. And you can save $20 if you go through my link at thepodcastteacher.com/buzzsprout. So let's start with the price factor. There are hosting platforms that are free and ones that charge, and they're anywhere from a couple of bucks a month all the way up to $70.80 plus dollars a month. Obviously, you need to choose something that fits your budget. I pay $12 a month for my Buzzsprout plan. Next up are the features. The primary job of a hosting platform is to distribute your RSS feed, which is the magical technology that delivers your podcast episodes to places like Apple and Spotify.

All hosting platforms do this, though some make the process easier than others. It's super easy on Buzzsprout. Beyond this, there are other features which can include things like dynamic content. That is content that you can swap in and out as needed, like the snippet that you may have heard at the beginning of this episode, as well as AI episode titles, show notes, etcetera. Some of them help you with podcast SEO, Some support video podcasting. Some support a public and a private podcast on the same plan. Most podcasters do not need most of these fancy features, but you need to figure out which features are necessary for you. Keep in mind that generally, the more bells and whistles there are, the more expensive it is.

A couple of my favorite Buzzsprout features are dynamic content and a dedicated podcast web page. A user friendly interface is fairly subjective as our brains sometimes work in different ways, but I have never had any of my students complain about Buzzsprout, and I think their platform is extremely easy to navigate. Customer service is really important. Does your hosting platform help you troubleshoot? Do they answer your questions when you have them? Unfortunately, this one can be difficult to judge in advance, so ask around when you've gotten down to your final contenders for your hosting platform. I can personally say that Buzzsprout has the best customer service that I have ever received from any company. Sometimes they get back to me in as little as five minutes. And finally, that leaves the podcast stats reporting. A lot of your stats are going to be about downloads, and so multiple data points is helpful here, such as the number of downloads after seven days, after thirty days, and, of course, an all time running tally.

You want to be able to see data per episode as well as for your podcast as a whole. Other stats that are helpful include location as well as which apps people are using to listen. Buzzsprout provides all of this and more. So in case you can't tell, I really love Buzzsprout, but there are some other good choices out there. Just evaluate these different factors that I talked about and choose the one that's best for you. If you would like to check out Buzzsprout, be sure to go to thepodcastteacher.com/buzzsprout to save $20 

And if you have a podcasting question, click the send me your question link in the episode description, and I'll answer it in an upcoming episode. Until next time, happy podcasting.