Before you ask “How to host a podcast on my website?” you first want to consider if it’s the right move. What are the advantages to hosting a podcast on your own website as opposed to just letting it live on any of the 3rd party subscriber platforms like Apple and Spotify?
In 2018, there were around 550,000 podcasts, today there are over a million, and that number is expected to double this year. This means that competition for attention on the major podcast subscription platforms is fierce and growing fiercer. While high profile podcasts get center stage, chances are your podcast will be relegated to the wings — if you’re even that lucky.
But if you host a podcast, then you know that podcasts are surging right now in popularity. 50% of all American households are now podcast fans and 16 million Americans are considered “avid podcast fans.” So there’s never been a better time to host a podcast on your own website so you can stand out from the crowd, especially if you’re looking to build awareness of your brand.
When you host your podcast on your own website, you gain all sorts of advantages that allow you to be in control of your own growth.
Advantage #1: Not being at someone else’s mercy
You don’t control the subscription platforms. If Apple or Spotify want to make changes about how podcasts are searched, found, promoted, viewed, etc., then you are at their mercy. As for-profit companies, they’re self interest is to promote podcasts with the largest listener bases.
Are you one of those? Probably not, right?
But when you host your podcast on your own podcast website, you retain control. This doesn’t mean that your podcast isn’t available on the subscription platforms as well; it just means that regardless of what Apple and Spotify are doing with your podcast, you can always control what happens to it on your own site. Which leads to the second advantage…
Advantage #2: Undivided Attention to Your Brand
When you make a podcast website, you’re featuring your brand exclusively. When your listeners tune in, they’re not being bombarded with dozens of other listening options. They’re not being tempted to go elsewhere.
Instead, their attention is focused solely on you and your branding instead of Apple’s or Spotify’s. This makes it easier for you to build brand loyalty, engage your audience, get feedback and reviews, as well as promote and monetize your podcast.
Let’s talk a little more about controlling your own podcast promotion…
Advantage #3: SEO for Your Benefit, Not Theirs
Part of promoting your podcast is being found on search engines. With a 3rd party subscription platform, you have ZERO CONTROL over the SEO being performed. And if you are not already one of the biggest podcasts, I can tell you that zero SEO is being performed for your benefit.
Your podcast features incredible content that you should be leveraging on your own site to boost your own search ranking results. Stand out from the competition and drive traffic directly to your podcast website where you can reap even more benefits…
Advantage #4: Gather a Retargeting List
Every time someone listens to your podcast on a 3rd party platform and leaves without subscribing, you lose that listener. He or she may come back, but you have no control over influencing that decision.
Why? Because you have no connection with them — but Apple or Spotify does.
When you make a podcast website, though, you can place a retargeting pixel on your site and actually keep track of all your visitors. If you’re not familiar with retargeting, it’s like attaching a string to every visitor to your site as soon as they arrive. When they leave, even if they haven’t subscribed, you can tug on the string and send retargeting ads directly to them so they come back to your podcast.
The more often listeners return to your podcast, the more likely they are to become subscribers, which is an advantage to you only if you control the contact information…
Advantage #5: Monetize Your Subscriber List
Your subscriber list is one of your most valuable assets. Why? Because if you want to monetize your podcast, email marketing still provides the highest ROI, according to the Data and Marketing Association.
You’re spending massive amounts of time and effort creating exceptional content so you can build a loyal fan base — why would you relinquish control of their contact information to a 3rd party platform?
With a subscriber list, you can cost-effectively promote new episodes, your own products or services, or those of joint venture partners.
Advantage #6: Less Competition
You can be the one podcast or you can be the one of tens of thousands of podcasts. Which sounds better to you?
Let’s face it, we all have so many options when it comes to our online content choices. While there’s a lot of awful stuff out there, there is also so much good stuff to enjoy as well.
The problem is making a decision on what to spend your time listening to. This is why 3rd party platforms provide recommendations, top lists, etc. The problem for you is that unless you’re one of the heavy hitters, your podcast isn’t making that list. So you get lost among the competition.
When you make a podcast website, though…you own the space. No competitors. Just your podcast, your content, your offers. It’s like getting some quality alone time with your audience members, if you know what I mean. Shut the door and it’s just you and them for the next hour.
It’s good for you and it’s good for them.
To Grow, You Have to Be In Control…
At the end of the day, we’re all trying to figure out how to create ways for people to listen to a podcast. Having your own podcast website increases not only the ways people can listen, but also the control you have in your business. Subscriber contact info, audience attention, SEO, advertising, branding, analytics…control gives you options about how and how much you grow your business.
You can’t have control if your podcast lives ONLY on the subscription platforms. To be in control, you have to also make your own podcast website.
