You’re working hard, attending conferences, and networking. You love what you do, but sometimes it becomes overwhelming when you don’t seem to have as many listeners as you’d like or if, for one reason, a listener stops coming back.
It can take a lot of effort to keep your fans and followers updated on your new episodes.
The podcast industry is on the rise. If you are interested in starting your podcast, you must have heard about a podcast RSS feed. But what if you are not sure what a podcast RSS feed is?
This article will provide you with a layout of what a podcast RSS feed is, how you create an RSS feed for your podcast, what you do with it. If you need the answers, continue reading.
What is a Podcast RSS Feed?
The acronym RSS means “Really Simple Syndication” (or Rich Site Summary), a format for delivering regularly changing web content. RSS is a file that you can add to your website that gives visitors ways to get updates about new blogs on your website.
A podcast is a series of digital media files that can be downloaded and played on a computer or digital audio player. It can include audio or video content and various subjects such as interviews and business discussions.
A podcast RSS feed is a link you can use to point to your podcast’s podcast episodes on your website or social media.
That information is automatically added to the RSS feed when you publish a podcast episode, and the RSS feed is responsible for sharing that content to specific platforms.
Your RSS feed contains episode data like title, length, and episode notes. Either Podcast hosts create RSS feeds, or someone can build one independently.
Instead of visiting many websites individually, you could give RSS a try. It’s just like a mailing list for your favorite blogs and news sites.
You can use Feedly, Feedblitz, or Feeder to create an RSS feed, and when there are any new or updated posts on a site you enjoy, those new entries will be stored in one place for easier access.
How Does an RSS Feed Work?
RSS is a feed from websites that makes syndication or sharing. Uploading your podcast episodes online is different from YouTube videos and social media posts.
Here, you are not supposed to upload your MP3 files directly to Spotify, iTunes, or Google Play, as these podcast directories do not physically store your files.
Instead, they get hold of your RSS feed so that users can subscribe to your podcasts. Anytime you upload or publish a new episode, the podcast players update, and your subscriber gets notified.
You have to upload your episode once. Rather than having to upload them to the podcast players, you will upload them to your hosting site, a website that will hold your podcast episodes as MP3 files and generate an RSS feed.
Then it would be best to share RSS feed URL with all the podcast directories. After approval of your RSS feed, they will display your show in their directory app by using the information in the feed.
They will also check your show’s feed regularly for any updates.
If you already have an existing WordPress website for your business, there’s an easy way to get your podcast directly onto that site.
Once you have installed the PowerPress WordPress plugin, all you will need to do is integrate it into your WordPress dashboard and input the details of your podcast.
You can also choose from a range of template designs provided by Squarespace, Wix, and other popular apps.
You can either upload each of your episodes individually to services like AudioBoom, Clammr, and Audioboo or download the Yoast plugin on WordPress.
You’ll also want to make sure that you follow the appropriate tags or categories to ensure people can find you.
How do I Find the RSS Feed for my Podcast?
If you can follow your favorite websites through an RSS feed, that will free up so much time. You don’t have to bounce around from web page to web page for all the pieces of information you love.
Several websites are built using WordPress. So, there is a good chance that you visit the website, and that’s a WordPress site. RSS feeds for those sites are easy to find, and you have to follow the steps.
Add /feed to the end of the concerned URL, e.g., https://input.com/feed. I do this when I want an RSS feed of a website, and it works most of the time.
If the above method doesn’t work, you can try finding it by checking a web page’s source code. Right-click a space on the website page, and choose page source.
In the appeared new window, search the code by pressing Ctrl+F or Command+F, and type in RSS. You’ll find the feed’s URL.
How do I Create an RSS Feed for my Podcast for Free?
Programs
Creating an RSS feed is not at all a difficult task. If you already host content on a website, you can also host your podcasts and create your RSS feed.
RSS Builder is a free and open-source program to do this. You can upload your podcasts and manage the feed independently with the program.
With RSS builder, you can create a new feed with a new title and add the URL to your website. Then you enter a description of your feed and keep it for a generation.
When you add content, enter the unique URL to each piece of content to the RSS feed. After this, you can create an XML file that allows people to subscribe to your RSS feed.
There are various tools to create an RSS feed if you host your podcast. These include RSS.com, Soundcloud, Squarespace, etc.
Providing the RSS feed with information
To create an RSS feed, besides the file itself, some pieces of information are provided.
Some recommended tags for most popular podcasting platforms like Google Play and Apple Podcasts are Episode Titles, Description, Dates, Show notes, Category, Author, Summary, Language, Explicit Rating.
How do I Change the RSS Feed on my Podcast?
Sometimes you may need to change your podcast feed from one address to a new address.
Your feed address is significant, just like your phone number and mailing address, and there are three ways to change your feed address.
- You can change it via a plugin called “redirection” that works only for feeds generated by WordPress.
- It is the ideal method. You have to use a web-based HTTP 301(permanently moved) redirect. The redirection directs the old address to the new one, and the client will know the change is permanent.
- It is not at all recommended. But this method is called “iTunes New Feed URL.” It is an alternative method that works primarily for Apply podcasts and iTunes only, and you should only use it if you cannot implement method 2.
Do I need an RSS Feed for my Podcast?
The RSS feed provides a way for people to subscribe to your show or content. Thus, people can download your episodes through your website or their podcast app of choice.
Without an RSS feed, you will have content or audio files only. But you will have no way for people to subscribe and automatically get new episodes unless they visit your website.
Podcast apps and directories will use the RSS feed to get new episodes that you upload automatically.
Then they display them in their apps and pass them along to anyone who has subscribed to your show. Your listeners can also subscribe to your show’s RSS feed.
So, an RSS feed is a must for your podcast.
How do I Play an RSS File?
First, you need an RSS reader. It can be a Browser plugin (for example, Firefox or IE) or a standalone program.
Next, you need an RSS feed. The most popular way to get an RSS feed is to use the search function on Google or Yahoo.
Just type “RSS feed <your keyword here>” into the search box and choose the first result. Click on the link to the results page and click on the “Create RSS feed” button at the bottom of the page.
Redirect your computer’s internet browser to the website that contains the RSS file. The file includes an orange icon with three white half circles and “RSS.”
The icon will appear on your browser’s toolbar if using internet explorer, and it may also be at the bottom of the web page if using a different browser like Firefox.
Click on the RSS icon to get the browser’s feed reader. A list of links will appear. Click one of the links appearing on your screen. The links may consist of the titles of industry and business, office, and technical entries.
The content will then appear within your browser after clicking on one of the links.
Setting Up RSS Feed
As hard as it may be to believe, you don’t need to upload files to a host like Dropbox or Google Drive and then link to them on your website to launch an RSS feed.
Luckily there’s a way to create an RSS feed without needing web storage so that your listeners aren’t left hanging if something unexpected were to occur.
Just use a custom RSS feed from Podbean. You will not only be able to deliver audio straight into the ears of your listeners, but you’ll also be able to manage everything about your podcast from the palm of your hands using our easy-to-use iOS & Android App.
- Open the web browser and go to FetchRSS.com
- Register for a free account
- Click on “manual RSS builder.”
- Enter the URL of your websites
- Select the news item you want to distribute
- Select the headline within the news item
- Select a description or summary
- Add any optional parameters, such as author, illustrations
- Click “generate RSS.”
- Copy the XML link provided and add it to your website.
Apple Podcast
To get approval into Apple Podcasts and other directories, your podcast RSS feed must have the required fields and tags:
- Title
- Description
- Artwork (3000×3000 px to 1400×1400 px at 72 dpi)
- Podcast Category
- Language
- Explicit Rating
In Apple podcasts connect, click on the show you want to edit, on the details page, click “Add RSS feed.” Enter RSS feed URL and save.
Apple Podcasts RSS feed is similar to podcasts at other networks, but the paths are different. At Apple podcasts, the RSS feed of the podcast show is different from the podcast episode.
We can find the RSS of the podcast show at the following path: ” https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/identifier/id /__/id/.”
Also, we can see the RSS of the podcast episode in the following way: ” https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id /__/id/.”
Spotify
Launch the Spotify application on your computer. Go to the “Browse” tab on the left side of the computer screen.
Next, click on the “Podcasts” tab on the top right side of the screen. After that, select the “Edit” button. Click “Set up a podcast” under the “RSS Feed” option.
Answer the questions on the screen until the screen appears to be blank or blanked out. Click “Submit” at the bottom of the page.
Google Podcast
To set up a Google Podcasts RSS feed, you need to enable it on your Podcaster account and submit a link to the podcast to the Google Play Store.
Google Play supports two podcast feeds, a standard, and a compact feed. A standard feed is the podcast’s total content, and a consolidated feed offers a summary of the podcast, with a link to the full content.
When you submit your Google Podcasts feed, the feed should be in a format that Google accepts, such as RSS or Atom.
In Google podcasts, head to the activity section at the bottom right. Then select the subscriptions tab and tap on three dots in the top right corner of the screen. Then add by RSS feed.
Do YouTube Podcasts Have an RSS Feed?
Youtube is one of the most trusted video sites. Videos are available in several different formats on YouTube, and RSS feeds are provided for channels.
You can directly sync with your podcast app for Youtube videos and use it by copying the link to Player FM, which you use.
You will need to create the URL for your channel’s RSS feed. You can follow the following format for the feed: http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/yourchannelname/uploads.
You will use this URL as your RSS feed for podcast directories, applications plus MP3 players, and smartphones that allow you to subscribe to podcasts.
