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Transistor Podcasting Host: Are They Any Good?

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Is Transistor Podcasting Host Any Good

As a podcaster, it can be daunting to figure out how to share your content with the world, but not know how to do it.

Transistor is a straightforward podcast hosting platform that aims to make the process easier for beginners and they’re one of the best choices for newcomers to this form of content creation.

Is Transistor good for podcasting? Transistor is a popular podcast hosting service aimed at helping beginners share their content with the world.

They offer features like unlimited podcast hosting from a single account, a built-in website builder, and streamlined podcast distribution, so they cover all aspects of podcast services.

If you’re new to podcasts and want a hosting platform that suits your beginner status while still giving you access to top-level features, Transistor is constantly rated as one of the best.

We’ll take a look at what they offer for new and established podcasters so you can see whether they meet your needs.

What Is Transistor Podcast Hosting?

What Is Transistor Podcast Hosting?

Transistor is the brainchild of Jon Buda and Justin Jackson who had careers in creating podcasts and their hosting platforms.

The Transistor podcast software was first launched in 2018, so it’s slightly younger than some of the competition, but with over 20,000 different podcasts hosted by the team, they’re quickly growing to be one of the more popular names.

The whole premise behind Transistor is that they want to make it easy for people to enter the podcast space and share their content with the world.

The software is simple to use and suitable for absolute beginners, but with advanced features like analytics and reporting that more experienced podcasters can make use of as well.

Transistor

“The best podcast hosting tool I've used”

Product Hunt Review

To sign up for Transistor, you’ll have the choice of three plans: Starter, Professional, and Business.

Each has varied features depending on what stage your podcast is at, but they all allow you to create unlimited podcasts, create private podcasts, and get access to customer support from Transistor.

The Key Features of Transistor

The Key Features of Transistor

With so many podcast hosting options out there, finding one with the features that would specifically suit you is the easiest way to sort through them.

Transistor has all of the usual features you’d expect to find, but these are the ones worth mentioning that set them apart:

  • Website builder: One of the biggest selling points of Transistor is that they help you build a website, which they’ll host for you, included with your subscription fee. You can sell merchandise, market your goods and services, share links to your podcast and embed an episode player, and have an online home where people can visit your podcast when they’re not listening to it.
  • Add team members: Each subscription tier gives users the chance to add at least two team members to their podcast. This allows you to delegate tasks once your podcast starts to grow in popularity, and with the Business plan, there can be up to 10 additional members in your team using the account.
  • Private podcasting: Not everyone wants their podcast made public to the world, and there are benefits to having a private stream. The good news is, you can do both with Transistor and it’s easy enough as changing the sharing settings. Each subscriber that you invite to listen to the podcast will get their own unique RSS feed link so they can access it privately.
  • Analytics: The only way to gauge how your podcast is performing is by viewing and understanding its analytics. The high-level stats provided by Transistor include things like average download per episode, listener trends, subscription count, and comparisons of specific episode stats against others. You can see what’s doing well and what isn’t, allowing you to adapt your podcast as needed to suit your listener’s habits.

Who Would Suit This Platform?

Who Would Suit This Platform?

The simplicity of Transistor makes it one of the better choices for newcomers, so if you’ve never taken your podcast any further than recording and editing it at home, they’re the natural next step.

All you need to do is have the audio file ready, and in a couple of hours, you can create your podcast show and all the finishing touches it needs.

Although people primarily think of Transistor as a beginner-style podcast host, there are still lots of features and benefits on offer for more established podcasters.

Transistor might be easy to use, but they also have things like in-depth analytics, marketing, and website management which puts them ahead of the more basic hosting platforms.

Big names like the US Department of Veteran Affairs and computer company IBM host their podcasts with Transistor, proving its capabilities.

Podcasters who have more than one show or plan on creating another program in the future would also do well considering Transistor. Unlike other hosting platforms, you won’t be charged a fee for the additional podcasts you host with them.

You can have an unlimited number of shows hosted by Transistor, which means more money and a greater reach, without paying any more.

Options for Monetization

Options for Monetization

Making podcasts is nice but earning money doing something you love is even better. Transistor understands the importance of being able to monetize your content and they have loads of resources like videos and guides that show you the various ways you can do this.

Some of Transistor’s suggestions include paid advertising, membership sites, and sponsorships, each with pros and cons that should be weighed up by the individual.

Their helpful guides explain which podcasts would benefit most from each type of monetization format so you know which one is worth spending your time developing.

As an added bonus, Transistor helps its customers with monetization by allowing for social links to Patreon pages to be embedded in their websites.

This means private subscribers will get extra perks for being part of your Patreon, and there’s no need to leave your podcast’s website just to get them joined up.

Getting Started With a Podcast on Transistor

Getting Started With a Podcast on Transistor

As a podcasting hosting platform made for beginners, it’s easy to publish your very first podcast with Transistor. You can utilize their 14-day free trial to test out the software and see if it’s a good fit, and all you need to get started is the audio file of the podcast episode you wish to publish.

Even if you haven’t recorded yet, they have some great tutorials on creating podcasts that can help you get started.

Before publishing each episode, you can change settings like podcast format, and customize it to your needs. Once it’s uploaded, use the RSS feed link to publish your podcast on your chosen streaming services like Apple Podcast and Spotify.

Any time a new episode is released, Transistor will automatically update your RSS feed so that all of these publishers will be able to share it with listeners as well.

Transistor has a dedicated support center with all of the frequently read articles and categories that one would need if they get stuck. There’s also an online chat and email address, and ongoing customer support from their team, so you’ll never be alone, especially when you’re new to the software.

How to Transition Your Existing Podcast to Transistor

How to Transition Your Existing Podcast to Transistor

If you’re coming to Transistor from another podcast hosting platform, you probably want to import your old episodes so they can be hosted from this new one.

Although it is possible to do so with Transistor, it’s not as versatile as others in terms of which platforms you can import them through.

According to their latest update, Transistor allowed their customers to import podcasts from Simplecast, Anchor, Libsyn, and Pod Bean, but no others have been added to the list yet.

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To import episodes, you select the ‘Add Show’ button and select Import an Existing Podcast’ and then enter the RSS feed of your old one. However, if you can’t find your podcast hosting platform available, you may need to re-add the audio files manually.

After adding all of the episodes to your Transistor RSS feed, you will then need to update the links with the publishers, one at a time.

Although it can take some effort, all of your future podcasts will be published under the Transistor link, so there’s no need to do these steps again.

Transistor

“The best podcast hosting tool I've used”

Product Hunt Review

A Top Choice With Transistor

There’s a lot to learn when you first start creating and publishing podcasts, so having a simple tool like Transistor can make all the difference.

Whether you’re just starting or are trying to improve your reach, Transistor is a smart choice that can give your podcast the push that it needs.

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Brett Robinson

Head of content and marketing over at Wired Clip HQ. I'm an Audio enthusiast and have been interested in anything from microphones to speakers. I am the lead guitarist for a small band and my main passion is editing our tracks.

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