For podcasters
Podcast promotion and growth
What we have learned running the network, written for people who publish a show.
What counts as a podcast download?
What counts as a podcast download? The IAB standard asks for one minute of audio, deduplicated by IP plus user agent inside a 24-hour window.
Oct 29, 2026Can you switch podcast hosts? What moves with you and what gets left behind
Can you switch podcast hosts? Yes, and you keep every follower and review, as long as the old host returns a 301 redirect. Steps, timings, GUID trap.
Oct 12, 2026How long should a podcast trailer be?
How long should a podcast trailer be? Spotify's documentation says keep it under one minute and Apple recommends one to two. Aim for 45 to 60 seconds.
Oct 8, 2026How long should a podcast episode be? What the hosting data shows
How long should a podcast episode be? Buzzsprout's September 2026 data puts 31% of episodes at 20 to 40 minutes. The answer by format, with sources.
Oct 7, 2026Podcast back catalog: the episodes nobody plays, and what to do with them
Your podcast back catalog has one indexed field, a default sort order working against it, and real search value off-platform. What to fix, in order.
Oct 6, 2026Podcast categories: the two slots in your feed and what each one buys
Podcast categories come from one case-sensitive field in your RSS feed. Apple gives you two slots, only the primary one feeds the charts, and Apple Podcasts search ignores category entirely.
Oct 6, 2026Should a podcast hire an AI agency? What they do, what it costs, and when it pays
AI agencies now pitch podcasters on automated clipping, show notes, outreach and ad sales. Here is what the work involves, what it costs, and when it is worth paying for.
Oct 5, 2026How to pitch a podcast to the press without a publicist
How to pitch a podcast to the press, using what Apple Podcasts and Podnews have published about their own process: the two week lead time, what gets binned, and the 200 word pitch.
Oct 4, 2026Podcast show notes: where they earn search traffic and where they don't
Podcast show notes do not affect Apple Podcasts search, which indexes three fields. Here is where notes do earn traffic, plus the real character limits.
Oct 3, 2026Podcast cover art: the specs, and the part that decides a tap
Podcast cover art specs from Apple, the design choices that survive a thumbnail, how to test a cover without a split test, and the limits of what new art can do.
Oct 2, 2026Buy podcast downloads: what the sellers actually deliver
Can you buy podcast downloads? What the vendors have to do to move the number, what Apple and the IAB say in writing, and what sponsors see when they look.
Sep 28, 2026How to put your podcast on YouTube
How to put your podcast on YouTube: static image vs audiogram vs video, the RSS feed route, podcast playlists, YouTube Music, chapters, thumbnails and metadata.
Sep 18, 2026How to get more podcast listeners on Spotify
How to get more podcast listeners on Spotify: what search and recommendations actually respond to, and the one lever fully in your hands.
Sep 18, 2026How to get more podcast reviews (and how much they help)
How to get more podcast reviews on Apple and Spotify, where to put the ask, and an honest look at what reviews do and do not do for growth.
Sep 18, 2026How to grow a podcast without social media
How to grow a podcast without social media: search, guesting, the back catalog, listener referrals and collaborations, with a weekly routine that fits.
Sep 18, 2026What a podcast marketing agency actually does, and what it should cost
What a podcast marketing agency really delivers, honest price bands, the questions to ask before you pay, and when doing it yourself wins.
Sep 18, 2026Podcast promotion services: what you're actually buying
A skeptical guide to podcast promotion services. The four categories, the red flags, honest price bands, and how to judge one in a single call.
Sep 18, 2026How to get podcast sponsors without a huge download number
How to get podcast sponsors with a small show: published CPM rates by category, flat-fee pricing, a one-page media kit, and how to pitch direct.
Sep 18, 2026Why is my podcast not showing up on Spotify?
Why is my podcast not showing up on Spotify? Work through feed errors, submission status, artwork rules, caching delays and the Apple equivalent.
Sep 18, 2026How many podcast downloads is good?
How many podcast downloads is good? Rough benchmark bands by episode age, what a download counts, and the numbers worth watching instead.
Sep 18, 2026How to get booked as a podcast guest and turn it into listeners
How to get booked as a podcast guest: picking the right shows, writing a pitch that gets a yes, and making each appearance keep paying afterwards.
Sep 10, 2026How to promote a podcast: the channels that compound and the ones that spike
How to promote a podcast without shouting into a feed. The channels ranked by effort, time to results, and whether they keep paying after you stop.
Sep 8, 2026How to get more podcast listeners
Where podcast listeners actually come from, what a realistic growth curve looks like, and the channels that compound instead of spike.
Sep 5, 2026Podcast SEO: how to make episodes show up on Google
A plain-English guide to podcast SEO. What Google can and can't index, why transcripts alone aren't enough, and how to turn episodes into pages that rank.
Aug 28, 2026Do podcast directories bring listeners? We checked.
Whether submitting your podcast to directories brings listeners, which listings matter, and where discovery actually happens.
Aug 24, 2026Podcast transcripts and SEO: what a transcript does and doesn't do for you
Do podcast transcripts help SEO? What Google does with a transcript, when to publish one, and how to turn it into pages that actually rank.
Aug 20, 2026Podcast marketing for a small business: when it works and when it's a vanity project
Should a small business start a podcast? How to make a business podcast generate leads, the numbers that matter, and how to promote it without a big audience.
Aug 15, 2026How to get your podcast on Google (not just in the podcast apps)
Step-by-step: how to make your podcast episodes appear in Google search results, what Google needs from you, and the mistakes that keep shows invisible.
Aug 10, 2026A podcast growth strategy for the first year, month by month
A realistic 12-month podcast growth plan for an independent educational show: what to do each month, what to skip, and the numbers to expect.