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You’ve recorded your interview & voiceover. You’ve edited them to perfection. You’ve picked the snappiest music beds, ducked them down beautifully, and gotten your show logo ready.

You’re ready to publish your first episode!

But how do you get it off your desktop into Apple Podcasts?

Step 1: Upload your files to an RSS

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually upload individual episodes to Apple, Google, and Spotify

Instead, podcast distributors pull information from your RSS feed.

RSS stands for “really simple syndication” or “rich site summary” (depending on who you ask!) and it’s your home base for uploading & publishing, as well as editing key details about your show (including titles, show & episode artwork, categories, descriptions, which you can edit at any time).

Ok, but how much does it cost?????

RSS platforms range between $0-$100/month depending on how much you care about analytics.

On the free side, there’s SoundCloud & YouTube, but I wouldn’t recommend hosting your podcast there, because the stats are limited and it’s not their bread & butter, so don’t expect them to prioritize podcasting anytime soon.

Anchor is also a free recording & publishing platform. Here’s a super-quick 30s video on how it works.

Pros: it’s free! Cons: I’m skeptical of anything that’s free (typically, when something’s free, it means they’re harvesting your data)

Who’s the best RSS feed provider?

Instead, go with a company dedicated to hosting podcasts, like Simplecast or Libsyn. After using Libsyn for ten years, I switched over to Simplecast in 2019 and couldn’t be happier. At Vocal Fry, we host most of our client podcasts on the platform, and our clients like it too.

Plus. Facebook, Harvard, and the New York Times all use it, and if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Because I love a good coupon (and I think you might too), I asked Simplecast to give me a referral code last year. So, if you sign up for Simplecast using the below link and code, you’ll get 50% off your first two months:

https://simplecast.com#_r_katiejensen

ONSIMPLECAST

And no, this is not a sponsored post! I just really like Simplecast.

In fact, check out my 2 MINUTE TUTORIAL below to peep how you can use Simplecast to create your RSS feed.

Yeah, it’s pretty easy!

Regardless of where you decide to host your show, two things are important.

Your audio file should be an .mp3.

Your show logo should be 1400x1400 pixels.

Otherwise, Apple may have trouble validating your feed when it comes time to submit!

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Step 2: Adding to Apple

https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/

You’ll need an Apple ID to submit your podcast to Apple.

If you’ve never had an Apple product before, use this link to create your first Apple ID (and make sure you write down the password somewhere!)

https://appleid.apple.com/account

Podcasts%2BConnect.jpg — Click on the + symbol to add a new show.

Screen Shot 2021-03-10 at 11.04.14 PM.png — Add your RSS feed URL and hit Validate.

Reasons why your RSS feed isn’t validating:

You haven’t published any audio yet
You don’t have show artwork that is minimum 1400x1400 pixels large
You’re missing categories or other essential information check out the Simplecast demo video above to see everything your RSS feed needs to have

Screen Shot 2021-03-10 at 11.04.27 PM.png — If your feed successfully validates, you’ll be brought to a page that looks like this, with all your podcast information laid out.

Hit Submit, and you’re all done! It takes anywhere from 2-7 days for your podcast to land in Apple Podcasts. Hot tip: Apple doesn’t recommend submitting on a Friday.