Are you getting the most out of your RSS feed?
To figure out if you are, you first have to understand how a podcast workflow works, which means you need to understand:
- what an RSS feed is
- how you make one
- where you get the best feed
- and how you make sure you're getting the most out of it
Don't Make These Mistakes
In this episode, I'm going to explain some of the mistakes I see people making with RSS feeds, especially when it comes to getting the most out of transcripts. In some cases, people aren't putting their transcripts into their media host, which means their transcripts aren't going into their feed. That is not something the best way to maximize your show.
Where Do I Get an RSS Feed?
Your RSS feed comes from your media host. For me, the best RSS feeds come from dedicated media hosts. Places like Captivate, Buzzsprout, rss.com, and Blubrry. All of these do one thing: they host your files, they provide an RSS feed, and they provide statistics.
Make Sure Your Transcripts are In Your RSS Feed
While having transcripts on your website is good, you are missing another opportunity by having them in your feed (which can be used in Podcast apps). When it comes to Podpage, having the transcript in your feed put it into a place where Podpage can grab it and put it on your site.
Don't Hire Your Dentist to Work On Your Car
Other places like Riverside are trying to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. I don't want someone who's not a master of the RSS feed. The RSS feed is like the blood in your veins; it is your veins, and you don't want your veins to be Scotch-taped together. You want an RSS feed that is fully compatible with all the features available for podcasters.
Directing People To Your Site
When I recently tested Riverisde, you could not direct people at the episode level to your site. This is a missed opportunity.
This means that, when somebody is consuming your content in an app, usually there is a link to go to the website, which takes them to, (if you're doing it correctly) your website. On the episode page, I'm offering the ability to follow the show easily on Spotify, Apple, Pocket Cast, etc. If you don't have that link, you're missing an opportunity to send the audience where you want them to go. I need to email Riverside because this just reeks of a company who doesn't really understand podcasting getting into podcasting. Consequently, I know it's nice to have everything under one login, but how hard is it to login to more than one account (especially if you have 1password).
No RSS No Podcast
People keep asking what a podcast is. I'm not sure why. It's audio, video delivered via RSS. This means YouTube is not a podcast. It's a show. Radio is not TV. Both are content. When we blur the definition it messes up all of our reports. People have asked, "Well, the audience thinks YouTube is a podcast are we supposed to tell them they are wrong?" The answer is yes.
Then we could have separate reports on YouTube vs Podcasts.
If someone hears me listening to the band Sum 41, and says, "I love blink 182," I would say, "That's not Sum 41, it's blink 182. You're helping them not look stupid in the future. You would do the same thing if they called a banana an apple.
Other Hosts I Don't Recommend
Spotify: From their lying to their original partners, to making features that only work inside of Spotify (ignoring the open podcast system), and often eliminating features shrtly after they launch (never worldwide). I could go on for hours. Yes, it's free but so is RSS, Buzzsprout, and Red Circle.
Soundcloud: Soundcloud, to the best of my knowledge hasn't implement features that were introduced in 2017. You can buy soundcloud plays (Google it) so consquentially you will never have sponsors while you use Soundcloud.
Mailbag: AMP 30 Second Rule
Thanks to Mark for pushing back on my math. In the end (as of this date) AMP can't decide what their definition is (As they've already changed it). Also one of their "hidden" companies was YouTube. I'm sorry, if you're not doing anything wrong, why are you doing it in secret?
Defined in their original press release as “30 seconds of content played, audio or video, once per user per session”, the corrected text drops any definition of a session length, becoming just “30 seconds of content played, audio or video”. - source Podnews.
Mailbag: How Are Your Updating Your Question of the Month?
Rob from Softball Central asked how I was having the current question of the month appear in episodes that are years old. For the last two years I've hosted on Captivate. I love their business model (Multiple shows for the same price - and their super flexible dynamic content system). Dynamic content doesn't always have to be ads. Here are examples
- Question of the month
- Where will I be (live appearances)
- A pre-roll that mentioned that I had given out a wrong episode number.
They also allow me to tag the current promotional mp3 so later I can easily take all the "questions of the month" and update them with the new, current months question.
Click Here to watch me show this off.
Mentioned in This Episode
The 4 Cs of a Standout Podcast: Clarity, Contrast, Consistency, Character
Sponsor Magnet Book by Justin Moore
Captivate Media Hosting
Buzzsprout Media Hosting
RSS.com Media Hosting
Practical Prepping Show
Softball Central
School of Podcasting
Podpage - Build the Website your show Deserves
Mentioned in this episode:
Have You Heard About the Podpage Assistant?
Here's what it can do:
Identify the best search keyphrase to target — The Assistant analyzes your episode and finds the keyphrase most likely to drive organic traffic.
Generate optimized SEO titles and descriptions — Get search-friendly titles and meta descriptions written for each episode automatically.
Expand your show notes — Turn brief show notes into detailed, search-friendly content that helps Google understand what your episode is about.
Create SEO schema — Automatically generate structured data including FAQs and key takeaways, giving search engines even more context about your content.
Generate episode transcriptions — If your podcast host doesn't provide transcripts, the Assistant can create them for you.
Create companion blog posts — Each episode can get a dedicated blog post that supports your episode's SEO and gives listeners another way to find you.
Automatically categorize episodes — Keep your episode library organized without lifting a finger.
Start your 14 day trial at www.podpage.com/preview
Podpage
Question of the Month
This might be harder question to answer because when I ask people, the sometimes freeze. The question?
How do you measure success for your podcast beyond download numbers?
I need your answer by June 26th, 2026. Don't forget to tell us a little bit about your show and your website address so I can link to it in the show notes.
Question of the Month
Don't...
