12 Steps to Launch your Podcast with SoundCloud
This blog post contains affiliate links.
Update August 2017 – SoundCloud have made quite a few changes since I originally wrote this article. They’ve also had quite a few issues with funding and their future is uncertain. I no longer recommend using SoundCloud for hosting your podcast. If you’re looking for an alternative, I recommend LibSyn.
Update May 2015 – SoundCloud have now opened up their podcasting service to everyone.
Thinking of launching a podcast? Do you have a podcast already? Have you thought of hosting your podcast on SoundCloud? Although there are a few disadvantages when compared to the likes of LibSyn, there are some big advantages in using SoundCloud. In this article, I tell you how to get started with your podcast and how you can use SoundCloud to host and boost your podcast.
Why SoundCloud?
You could think of SoundCloud as the YouTube of sound. As well as a place for people to host their sounds (music, podcasts, sound clips) it’s also a place to share, collaborate and comment. It’s got a social networking aspect to it. This has a huge advantage to podcasters, because you can grow a community around your podcast and extend its reach- with your audience sharing and liking episodes. It’s also easy to embed soundcloud episodes into your blog posts using the Soundcloud player. As it uses HTML5 it displays on smartphones, tablets and computers and you can even customize the look and feel.
Finally, you can upload unlimited episodes with the SoundCloud unlimited plan. It’s not quite unlimited, but I think almost everyone would struggle to upload more than the limit of 30hrs per week and 2Gb per track! When you compare the pricing with other providers it’s amazing value. You also get some very detailed analytics, especially with the unlimited plan. That includes the number of plays, likes, comments, reposts and downloads as well as the location (country and city) of the listeners and the page that the episode was listened on.
The downsides
So, why aren’t many podcasters using SoundCloud despite all these advantages?
It’s basically down to the following disadvantages:
Problem 1: Just embedding the SoundCloud player into your posts doesn’t give you a podcast feed.
It’s easy to assume that just embedding a SoundCloud track in a blog post or page gives you a podcast. But it doesn’t. Your podcast subscribers need a feed to subscribe to. If subscribers use your blog or website’s RSS feed, their podcast app won’t see any podcast tracks because the SoundCloud player doesn’t link to an mp3 file. Podcasting feeds need to link to the audio file for each episode as an “enclosure”, and unfortunately SoundCloud doesn’t offer that out of the box. However, there is a way round this which I will cover later.
Problem 2: You have to apply for the podcasting plan which is in beta
Update – the Soundcloud podcasting service is now open to all. However, you might not want to use their podcast feed service (see problem 3). I’ll leave the following for posterity…
Technically you don’t have to apply for the podcasting beta since there is a workaround to get a link to your mp3 files, but it’s still worth applying. The podcasting service from SoundCloud has been in beta for well over a year now. That’s an eternity when it comes to the social web! I did ask them about this, and they just replied to say that they are working on it:
@iagdotme Watch this space Ian, we’re working on it. /G
— SoundCloud Support (@SCsupport) November 10, 2014
For the time being, you have to apply, and wait for them to review each one. They review each one individually, but this can take time:
@iagdotme Ah yes, we accept most applications. We have to check that there is no copyrighted content though, and this can take time. /G — SoundCloud Support (@SCsupport) November 10, 2014
Problem 3: The RSS feed that SoundCloud give you is separate to your blog or website
The SoundCloud podcasting service gives you a pretty useless RSS feed. It’s useless in my opinion, because you need a podcast feed which is associated with your blog and website. A podcast feed hosted on your website means that listeners will be directed to your website and not your SoundCloud profile. The reason you’re applying for the podcasting service is so you can access your tracks as mp3 files, which brings me on to…
problem 4: It’s very hard to get a link to the mp3 file
SoundCloud make it very hard to access your mp3 files. This is absolute madness and I have no idea why they do this. Once you are on the podcast service, the mp3 files are accessible but only via your RSS feed. You could search through your RSS feed and extract it that way, or you could use a little tool that I’ve developed called the SoundCloud MP3 Extractor. More about that later!
But, It’s still worth it!
Despite all these disadvantages I still feel SoundCloud is worth using. I don’t expect to convince all podcasters out there, but it does work and you can receive all the benefits of SoundCloud. Here is how:
#1 Create a SoundCloud account
If you haven’t already created a SoundCloud account, you can do so. You can start with a free account, but if you are serious, upgrade to the pro or unlimited plan.
#2 Get a decent microphone
I’m not a sound expert, but since I trained as a musician I do have a good ear and wanted to achieve decent sound quality without breaking the bank. The Blue Yeti Microphone* ticked all those boxes and there are plenty of podcasters who use this microphone with stunning results. It’s a USB microphone, so you can plug it straight into your laptop, desktop or tablet. It’s a little over $100, so it’s not exactly cheap, but you’ll get a lot for your money. A decent microphone like this is your first step. You may want to look into microphone stands, pop shields and more. That’s out of the scope of this article, but the Podcaster Answer Man has all the answers! View Blue Yeti Microphone on Amazon*.
#3 Get recording software
Everyone will have different views here, but you can’t go wrong with Audacity. It ain’t pretty, but it’s fairly easy to use and it’s free and open source! If you happen to be an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber, then you could use Adobe Audition. Mac users could consider Garage Band.
If you are interviewing someone remotely then Skype is your friend. You’ll need an add-on to record the interview, and for that I recommend Total Recorder (for PC) or Call Recorder for Skype (for Mac)
#4 Get Music
This is optional, but having a professional start and finish to the podcast usually includes some music. Be careful here and make sure you have a licence for the music you are using, or you have permission or it’s royalty free. A good place to start for free music is the Free Music Archive. Another option is to get in touch with some artists on SoundCloud and ask them if they would be ok with you using their track for your podcast. They may refuse or ask for a fee, but sometimes you might find that they are happy for a section to be used for free.
#5 Get Voice-overs
It used to be the case that commissioning a voice-over artist for your podcast would cost you serious money. Well, thanks to web sites such as Fiverr, this is no longer the case. For my Seriously Social News podcast I ordered two gigs from Fiverr – a male and a female voice-over. I gave them a script and within a couple of days I got my mp3 files- each costing only $5!
There are lots of voice-over gigs on Fiverr, just make sure you have a listen and check their rating. Send them your script- make it clear and explain any words that are unusual. Some artists provide “gig extras” such as giving you it in wav format, or recording it in a higher quality. Have a look and see what you can find. Here is an example of one of the full recordings I received for my podcast:
And here is the other one from Peter Baker, who I subsequently realised lives in the next village to me!
#6 Record your first podcast
Now that you’ve got all your equipment you can get on with recording your podcast. How you go about doing this is up to you. It’s often good to have a guest on the show, so you could invite a work colleague or an interesting guest. You could also invite someone via Skype or Google Hangouts and record the interview that way. Once you’ve done this, upload it on to SoundCloud and start promoting it. You can also embed the SoundCloud player in your blog posts. As I’ve previously mentioned, this is technically not a podcast yet, because you don’t have a podcast feed.
#7 Apply for the SoundCloud Podcasting Beta
Update – as the Soundcloud podcasting service is now open to all, you no longer need to apply for the podcasting beta! Move on to #8
Now that you have your first podcast or two, it’s time to apply for the podcast beta. First of all, have a read of this short article entitled “Can I podcast with SoundCloud?” Once you are ready, you can fill in the SoundCloud Podcast Application Form. Check the box for “I have a SoundCloud profile, and I have uploaded at least one full episode”.
Unfortunately it may take some time for your application to be processed since they manually check each one. The main reason for this is down to copyright. If you’re still waiting after a few weeks, do contact them. They are quite a friendly bunch. You can do this via Twitter (@SCSupport) or the contact form. It helps if you are a SoundCloud Pro Unlimited customer as you will get priority help.
#8 Install SoundCloud Shortcode
While you are waiting for SoundCloud to accept you, you can start making your blog or website podcast ready. I recommend adding the SoundCloud Shortcode WordPress plugin. It’s developed by Soundcloud and allows you to copy in a simple shortcode to embed your Soundcloud tracks. You can see this process in step #10.
#9 Install Blubrry PowerPress
To convert your feed into a proper podcast feed and the ability to customise all the settings, I’d recommend the PowerPress Podcasting plugin from Blubrry. To be honest it’s a little overkill, but after a lot of research it seemed the best plugin for the job. Install the plugin and then go to PowerPress->Settings in your WordPress dashboard.
I’d recommend checking “Category Podcasting” in Advanced Options. This means you can create a dedicated podcasting feed for a specific category in your blog. You could call this category “podcast” for example, and the podcast category feed would be the podcast feed you’d give out to your potential listeners. Now, click on “configure podcast categories”.
Now choose your podcast category and add podcast settings to this. Although you’ll get a page with a bewildering array of options, you won’t need to worry too much about any of these for now. Just save the options and your feed will be ready. Your feed URL will be listed on the page (as in the screenshot above).
#10 Extract MP3s
With your SoundCloud account, you can now embed your MP3s. The problem is that Soundcloud hide the links to your MP3s. It frustrated me so much that I ended up building my own tool to extract the MP3. It’s now very easy. Before Soundcloud made the podcasting service available to all, I had two extractors, but I’ve now made it a bit easier for you. This tool extracts the MP3 file from any SoundCloud track. All you need to do is paste the URL of the Soundcloud track page:
SoundCloud MP3 Extractor II
To obtain MP3s from all tracks
by Ian Anderson Gray
#11 Add MP3s and embed SoundCloud
Now go to your blog post for your podcast episode. You can paste in the SoundCloud WordPress shortcode in the editor.
Now scroll down to the Podcast Episode window and paste the MP3 link (the one you got from the SoundCloud MP3 Extractor) into the Media URL box. Click verify and it should add the file. If it does not, I found if I played the MP3 file first (in another window), it added without any problems.
#12 Apply to iTunes
After you have a few episodes under your belt you can now apply to have your podcast added to iTunes. I personally don’t use iTunes, but a lot of people do, and it’s an absolute must if you want your podcast to reach the ears of the majority of podcast listeners. You can read all about the requirements on the Apple Making a Podcast page. PowerPress should have made your feed into the correct format for iTunes to handle, but you will need to make sure you add some artwork. Your artwork needs to be in square format and at least 1400×1400 pixels. That’s pretty large, so you may need to create something new. Once you’ve got your image, go to PowerPress settings and click the artwork tab (or if you created a category feed, edit your podcast category feed). Add your images and then click Save Changes. You can now submit your podcast to iTunes. This requires you to have iTunes installed on your computer.
Other Resources
If you want to read a bit further, have a look at the following articles:
- Podcasting for Small Businesses (via Seriously Social)
- Add Voicemail to your Blog with SpeakPipe (via Seriously Social)
- Best Podcast Software and Tools for A Great Podcast (via Ian Cleary, RazorSocial)
- Podcasting Technology Resources (Google+ Community)
- The Podcasters’ Studio
- Podcasting Gear (via The Podcasters’ Studio)
- iTunes Tutorials (via the Podcasters’ Studio)
- Podcast: Setting Up a Mix-Minus and Hosting Pitfalls (including using SoundCloud to host your podcast) (via Podcasters’ Studio)
Conclusion
Now you can use SoundCloud with all its advantages on your WordPress blog and have a dedicated podcast feed and have it submitted to iTunes. I’ve not gone into the finer details, but hopefully that is enough to get you started. But are you convinced by using SoundCloud or would you prefer to use an alternative such as LibSyn? Let me know in the comments below, and if you’ve just launched your podcast- tell me!
Does this method allow you to change the “release date” in your feed so that I can migrate old podcasts to soundcloud and keep the old release dates, as opposed to having them all be released at once on the day I migrate? If that makes sense…
Thanks!
Hi John, No, I don’t think so. Soundcloud doesn’t make it easy to do anything fancy.
They’re not primarily a podcasting service, so I’d only use them if you want to keep your costs down. However, I use Powerpress to make my own RSS feed from the Soundcloud MP3s themselves. That might be worth looking into.
Ian
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Great article! I’m confused why a soundcloud feed URL is such a bad thing, though? Im a heavy podcast user myself via iTunes, and I’ve no clue what the feed URLs are for the podcasts I listen to. iTunes doesn’t show them to you, so why is it such a bad thing if your feed URL is SoundCloud.com/xyz ? The added hassle of the blueberry plugin and extracting the MP3 could be negated by just using the SoundCloud URL. I feel like I’m missing something..? Cheers. Dan
Thanks, Dan. You make a valid point. You could use the Soundcloud URL without any problems, and it would make things a lot more simple. The problem is that you are totally relying on Soundcloud- the RSS url is owned by Soundcloud, and if Soundcloud decided to change it or remove the service you are stuffed. Having said that, my solution isn’t fool proof either, because Soundcloud have changed the URLs for MP3s in the past. Soundcloud is an inexpensive solution, and it can work well, but there are some definite downsides that we need to be aware of.
How hard I seems to try it wont work with itunes, I have done for what I can tell, everything you have said in this article. But even so, it says on itunes when I copy and paste the RSS url where it says I should “We had diffivulty downloadingg episodes from your feed”. And i have done what soundcloud’s help site told me, but it still wont work. Please help!
Hi Nadja, Are you submitting the Soundcloud RSS feed to iTunes? I’ve never done that, but it should work. Have you spoken to Soundcloud help about this?
The only other point I’d say is that it’s best not to rely on their RSS feed. It’s best to use your own RSS feed as I outlined in this article, because you own it.
Ian
Never mind, it seems I used this tip to find the .mp3 location. Maybe Soundcloud changed the location? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odrRsvPi52s
Hi Ian,
I’ve been using your extractor successfully for a while but seem to have a problem. Although my podcasts appear in iTunes (except for my latest episode), when you click on them, the audio files do not play.
When I click on the direct link to the mp3 file on the Soundcloud server, the link provided by your extractor when I have inputted the Soundcloud page link, it says SERVER NOT FOUND.
I’ve been thinking, perhaps this is not the ideal way to be put uploading podcasts in terms of stability for the long-term? Maybe Soundcloud never really sanctioned this method or is there some kind of other problem? The files work fine on Soundcloud itself. Thanks.
Hi Pablo,
It’s bad news I’m afraid. Soundcloud confirmed with me earlier this week that they have removed the media subdomain and so the 2nd Soundcloud extractor doesn’t work anymore. However, you can access your MP3s if you enable the RSS feature (available to all now) and get the MP3s that way.
Whilst Soundcloud is a great product it’s not really a professional service for podcasters. They just make it too hard to get our MP3s.
Ian
I’ve been stumped on this for two days. can you give me more detail how to get the MP3 files? This is the only error I’m getting from iTunes and Google play for my new podcast.
Hi Thad, unfortunately Soundcloud have made it more and more difficult to get the mp3 from for your tracks. I am looking for a better way, but unfortunately the extractors don’t work any more.
[…] The same thing happened earlier when I wrote BOOM, I’m Now Podcasting!, That was when I just launched up Podcast #001 : How Could ‘YES’ Perfectly Land You a Better Life?. I mentioned in my article couple more resources at the end of my article to give my reader more variety of details about podcasting and how to launch up your podcast. One of those resources I mentioned was 12 Steps to Launch your Podcast with SoundCloud – Ian Anderson Gray. […]
I have been planning to use the soundcloud RSS feed ran through PodTrac’s enhanced feed, but I was going to create a url from my domain and redirect it to the enhanced feed’s url, so that I can submit my own url to iTunes. Would that work or should I go the route you suggest? And if so, what are the advantages/disadvantages? For clarification, I’d have a url like rssfeed.mywebsite.com that points to the podtrac rss link (which uses sound cloud’s rss to populate but adds more tracking. I would submit rssfeed.mywebsite.com to iTunes, stitcher, etc. I would host my website/blog on http://www.mywebsite.com and blog.mywebsite.com, and I could use podtrac’s player in my posts there for people to play directly from the posts. Would that accomplish the same thing? The only disadvantage I can see is that it takes a night for the podtrac’s enhanced feed to pick up the episode from sound cloud, so I’d have to post the actual blog post the next day when the link from podtrac was ready, but I am okay with that, as my subscribers would get it as soon as PodTrac picked it up that night. Basically a one-day delay from when… Read more »
Thanks for your comment, Lisa. It shouldn’t be this complicated should it? If money was no object, I’d always using a dedicated service such as libsyn, but even then it’s not perfect. I’d always prefer a dedicated podcast feed with my blog’s domain name. My solution does give you that, but it’s complicated and it uses Soundcloud which although great, is not a dedicated podcasting service. Was there a particular reason why you wanted to submit your own url to iTunes and not use PodTrac? I’ve never used PodTrac, but it would cut down the steps and complications if you did that. Although I do like the idea of the podcast RSS feed being on the same domain as my blog, it’s not that important in all honesty – and it cuts down on the complication if not. Could you not use WordPress’ own HTML5 audio player? Or the Soundcloud one? If you did, you’d be able to add them straight away. However, I think it will be possible to do it the way you’ve stated. It’s not perfect, since as you say, podcast feed subscribers would receive the latest episode a day before your blog post (presumably with show… Read more »
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! What an awesome guide! You’ve taken something unbelievably difficult and made it MUCH EASIER. I still can’t believe how many steps are required to create a podcast, but we’re getting there, thanks to this guide.
Thanks for your lovely comment, Jayne. My aim of the article was to try and make it as easy as possible to use Soundcloud to host your podcast.
However, you are right, there are a lot of steps- and it is all a bit silly really. Soundcloud really need to sort it out and make it easier to use their service for podcasts. Libsyn is a great service and one I’d recommend for really serious podcasters, but it’s expensive and I think Soundcloud is a good place to start- as long as you understand the disadvantages.
Ian
Well, I’ll be honest. I started with SoundCloud, moved to Libsyn and now moving back to SoundCloud. The biggest stumbling block is the .mp3 url that SoundCloud doesn’t provide. The extractor tool solved the issue…but truthfully, how long is that available? websites die all the time.
Wish there were a way to download the tool. Regardless, thank you.
The big reason behind my move to SoundCloud is the comparisons. For $15, with SoundCloud you get unlimited upload/unlimited download plus full range of stats including countries and by city breakdown.
Libsyn limits upload to 250MB/month and their stats are VERY limited to basically just daily downloads/day/week/month for that plan.
So, thanks for the tool. Is there a downloadable version or do I have to bookmark this article for every time I upload a new podcast?
I’m glad you found this article and the tool helpful. I’m looking at launching a podcast in the future. In the past I have used Soundcloud, but I might use libsyn in the future- but you are right with the limitations of the basic LibSyn plan. I’ll probably need to spend more money and go for the more expensive plans.
But that’s why I wrote this article. Hosting podcasts with Soundcloud is a real pain, but it’s a lot more affordable.
There isn’t a downloadable version- it’s not really possible to do that way. But bookmark this page-
https://iag.me/resources/soundcloud-extractor-ii/
It’s not going away!
Ian
Thank you for the Soundcloud tool, I’ve been looking for something like that for a while now. Works beautifully!
Thanks, Christian- glad this has worked for you! Ian
Good information. I feel Soundcloud is one of the trending music sharing app which allows users to upload, record, promote and share their original created sounds. I found it as interesting app. This information would surely helped me out.
Soundcloud Like App
also file size and deration did not auto fill
Hi Glen, see me answer below. If you paste the mp3 URL in your browser and play once, it should then work. Ian
hello this is a great tool to get the mp3 file soundcloud should not make this so hard had a problem the file looks to be working on the blog as it did play but is says Error occurred obtaining media information. what does this mean?
FYI
SoundCloud for Podcasters
Sign up for a free SoundCloud account to immediately start hosting your podcast with SoundCloud and distributing your sounds via RSS to your favorite podcast apps. You no longer need to apply to have beta access to podcasting features. All creators can find their account’s RSS feed URL and adjust channel settings on the “Content” tab of the Settings page.
Thanks, Glen. I did update the article with the news that Soundcloud had made the podcasting service open to all, but it seemed to have reverted to a previous version. I’ve fixed now.
Where is the error showing? When you put the mp3 file url in your browser what happens? I found that if I played it in my browser first, it would then work when adding it to my blog. An odd glitch! Ian
Thanks for this awesome tool. Did this stop working recently? it’s not extracting the files.
No problem, Borja. Could you try again? I had a few issues with my site which was causing the tool not to work. Apologies for the trouble.
Ian
I’m having the same problem. Extractor isn’t working. 🙁 I’m using the one that goes with the Soundcloud beta.
Ian, You don’t need to apologize, you created something that makes my life easier week to week. THANK YOU a million times. This is what creating superior value is all about. I bet this free tool attributes to a lot of good marketing vibes to your website and business. Cheers
Thanks, Borja, that means a lot. Hope it continues to work well for you. Ian
My podcast is hosted with Soundcloud. 65 episodes of average 45 minutes each and over 45k downloads. The Rss feed works fine as I’m linked on iTunes, tune in, Stitcher, etc. I love the soundcloud widget players. They sit perfectly on my website and drive back catalogue listens. For the price, it’s excellent. What would make Libsyn any better except for the emotive fact that it’s been around longer?
Are you on the podcast beta? Which RSS feed do you share with your listeners? iTunes is great for iTunes people, and Stitcher for Stitcher, but a lot of Android users use other podcast apps which require an RSS feed. I’m probably not the best person to make a comment on what makes libsyn better than Soundcloud when it comes to podcast feeds. I would say they are able to offer a robust service, and you can use your own feed (where as Soundcloud will use their own feed).
Yes, I’m on SC Beta. My links are here:
http://dennisdoescricket.com/subscribe/
I shared my SC RSS feed with all of the other services like iTunes, Stitcher, Tune In, etc.
Works perfectly fine.
I still wouldn’t recommend SoundCloud for podcast hosting unless it was a special case where you produce so much content that you are priced out of a better host like Libsyn or Blubrry and the unlimited plan was your *only* option. That said, I love how you pointed out the glaring negatives of SoundCloud which provides a nice balanced assessment of the service. And the tool you created is really cool, nice work. Libsyn and Blubrry win simply because they are dedicated, proven podcast hosts. You won’t find all the tools and control you need at any other service. They are built by podcasters specifically for podcasting and have been in the space since the beginning. I do actually like Soundcloud but I use it differently. I produce a lot of audio content that I do not want to have taking up space on my Libsyn account. SoundCloud gives me a great option to put these types of files online, with a great looking player that works across social media while still providing some basic stats. And in my case the free account accommodates this use. To me this is the best combo. A trusted, robust podcast hosting solution (Libsyn… Read more »
Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, Ray. I totally understand where you are coming from. I think if you are a serious podcaster, libsyn or a similar dedicated podcast service is the only way. However, I wanted to prove that you can use SoundCloud and that there are advantages in doing so. It also allowed me to share my geeky Soundcloud MP3 extractor. I am looking at launching a new podcast in the future. I will use Soundcloud, but I’ll probably only use that to embed the track in the posts, and rely on libsyn for hosting the mp3s for the actual podcast feed. Ian
This was awesome! I’m having an issue with the extracted file though still – it’s giving me the error message “The requested URL returned error: 403 Forbidden” Is this a problem or will it still work? Thank you Ian!
Which extractor are you using? I or II? I tried the second one just now and it’s working fine. Let me know and I’ll try and help.
I had to check the box on the permissions tab within soundcloud for every episode to get them to show in the feed. Now it’s working. Thank you!
Ah, ok, that makes sense. Glad it is working for you. Thanks so much for the feedback- I am glad the tools are being used! 🙂 Ian
I use Libsyn, but am not a huge fan. I pay too much for what I use (which at the moment is zero) I would consider moving, not sure how that works with the old podcasts. Maybe in the new year. As for the feed, in any case I used Bluberry and set it up separately in the blog. So it is really just storage.
Thanks, Ash. I’ve only heard good things about LibSyn, but they do have a rather nice affiliate plan, so maybe that puts a tight lid on the criticism! 😉 Seriously though, despite it being a great service, it is pricey. For the serious podcasters out there it makes sense to use Libsyn- particularly as it is dedicated to podcasters. However, Soundcloud works really well and has huge advantages- particularly the price! Let me know how you get on!
Libsyn’s affiliate program is very small – just 20 producers out of over 20,000 that host with us. We don’t lock down what they say. I think Libsyn is used by so many producers because we give them the tools needed to best promote their brand. I think that is a big difference between us and other services. We also never lock shows in. We want producers to stay with us because they want to not because they have to.
Thanks, Rob. I was being a little facetious- apologies! As I said in my previous comment, I have huge respect for libsyn.
Yes, even though its been a number of years since this originally was posted, SoundCloud did something to their setup, so you have to extract a different url to get it to play.
Yes, thanks, Jeffrey. Unfortunately, SoundCloud has made some big changes since I originally wrote the article. Also, their future is uncertain. I’d not recommend SoundCloud for podcasts anymore. A shame, really.
Libsyn is best used as more than a place to just host your media files. The Libsyn feed is much more reliable than a feed on wordpress. You can get your own smartphone apps for your show (iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8) You can connect your libsyn account to publish automatically to Facebook and Twitter – and have in stream players for both services. We support publishing to Linked in, Tumblr, Blogger and directly to WordPress. Libsyn gives you the tools you need to best promote your brand. If you have any questions on libsyn please contact me – rob at libsyn dot com
Thanks for commenting, Rob. Please don’t misunderstand me, I have nothing but huge respect for libsyn. It’s always been recommended by podcasters and will continue to be so. However, I wanted to show that there is an alternative. Soundcloud is not a dedicated podcasting service unlike libsyn, but it’s still a good service and I’ve enjoyed using it.
I don’t see what is listed that Soundcloud doesn’t offer?
– Hosting of not just Audio – but Also Video and PDF files as Episodes.
– Creation of an iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 App.
– Support for publishing posts directly on WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger.
– Full control of your brand and creation of Your own webpage with your own custom URL you can bring in.
– Ad stitching tools.
– User Agent Data for Stats
– Premium Subscription offering for users.
And more….
I’m not trying to be negative, but for the 99% of podcast creators, many of those items are very very niche. 1) Hosting of video is great if you don’t trust or like YouTube. However, as a content creator, it is the 2nd biggest search engine in the world behind google. 2) Soundcloud provides code for track or back catalogue widgets that for the majority of users are more than adequate. In fact, as an end user, they are well known and understood which is also a key consideration. 3) Support for direct posting. Very minor benefit. Most people who produce podcast who have a website prefer to control the show notes page themselves rather than blindly post a media player with no show notes. 4) Ad stitching – Necessary feature for 99% of users? 5) user agent data? Not sure what this means, but Soundcloud user data again segments to a deep enough level for the majority (location, when, how they listen, etc) 6) Premium subscription – Not sure what this means? My point is that as a podcaster with a decent following across multiple platforms, a catalogue of over 65 episodes and a website that has had over… Read more »
Thanks, I would agree with pretty much all of your points- at least when it comes to my circumstances. However, libsyn makes it easier for non-technical users to create a professional podcast. Soundcloud will give you an RSS feed hosted by them- with their branding. If they decide to pull their podcast service you are stuffed. My solution relies on your WordPress RSS feed which is much better- but it does require more technical wizzardry. I think also that if your podcast got really popular, libsyn would be a better choice as they could cost with the extra bandwidth of hosting your RSS feed.
Thanks, Rob, I knew you’d come into rescue me! I personally don’t think being able to create an app is that useful. I don’t think my listeners would want to download an app to listen to my podcasts- there are far too many apps to manage as it is! I think some of the other tools are kind of useful (publishing tools directly to WP for example). However I think the main advantage in using libsyn is that you can use your own branded url, and the platform is robust enough to cope if your podcast got really popular. Other than that, SoundCloud have pretty good features.
[…] – How to Start a Podcast Step by Step Guide – Pat Flynn. – 5 Reasons Your Small Business Should Start a Podcast Today – Dan Newman. – How to Start Your Own Podcast – WikiHow. – Podcasting 101 Guide How to Make a Podcast – BuzzSrout. – Start a Podcast That Attracts Thousands of Listeners in Just 5 Simple Steps – Jon Nastor. – 12 Steps to Launch your Podcast with SoundCloud – Ian Anderson Gray. […]
[…] Services such as Libsyn, Castmate or Podomatic offer a complete solution for a small fee. You can even use Soundcloud for podcasting. […]
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