WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.359 Does your podcast need WordPress anymore? 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.799 Thank you for joining me for The Audacity to Podcast. 00:00:12.799 --> 00:00:16.594 I'm Daniel J. Lewis. I've been using WordPress since 20 o 3. 00:00:16.594 --> 00:00:20.114 I think version 0.72 was my first. 00:00:20.355 --> 00:00:23.954 But the world of website options for podcasters has changed 00:00:23.954 --> 00:00:25.875 significantly since then. 00:00:26.210 --> 00:00:28.929 If you'd like to follow along with the notes for this episode, 00:00:28.929 --> 00:00:32.129 they are a simple tap or swipe away, look at the chapters, or go 00:00:32.129 --> 00:00:36.689 to the audacitytopodcast.com/needwordpress. 00:00:36.769 --> 00:00:41.250 Now quick disclosure, some of the links in those notes and these 00:00:40.725 --> 00:00:43.844 providers and options I mentioned in this episode, I do have 00:00:43.844 --> 00:00:45.685 affiliate relationships with. 00:00:45.844 --> 00:00:50.085 But I earn commissions only if you purchase through my links, 00:00:50.085 --> 00:00:51.524 which I'd love for you to do. 00:00:51.685 --> 00:00:54.859 But none of this content is sponsored, and I recommend things I 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:57.659 truly believe in regardless of earnings. 00:00:57.740 --> 00:01:00.859 And some of the things I recommend, I don't earn anything from 00:01:00.859 --> 00:01:01.979 those options. 00:01:02.219 --> 00:01:05.340 So keep that in mind as I go forward with this, and you can get 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.019 those links in the notes for this episode. 00:01:07.245 --> 00:01:09.084 Simple tap or swipe away or at the 00:01:09.084 --> 00:01:13.405 audacitytopodcast.com/needwordpress. 00:01:13.885 --> 00:01:18.444 And before we get to that, there's a fundamental thing I need to 00:01:18.444 --> 00:01:22.125 remind you. Your podcast does need a website. 00:01:22.619 --> 00:01:26.780 I've come to hate the phrases, find my podcast in Spotify, Apple 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:29.659 Podcast, fill in the blank with whatever podcast app, or the 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:32.700 phrase, wherever you get your podcasts. 00:01:32.939 --> 00:01:38.364 My disdain for the latter deserves its own future episode and I 00:01:38.364 --> 00:01:39.805 will get to it at some point. 00:01:39.884 --> 00:01:43.084 The biggest problem with these phrases is that you're telling 00:01:43.084 --> 00:01:46.284 people to basically search for your podcast. 00:01:46.524 --> 00:01:50.125 And that puts you at the mercy of not only the frequently 00:01:50.125 --> 00:01:54.709 changing search rankings, but it also especially depends on the 00:01:54.709 --> 00:01:59.269 assumption that there are no other podcast with similar names or 00:01:59.269 --> 00:02:03.750 that you're the top result now or in the future. 00:02:04.325 --> 00:02:07.444 For example, I love this 1 because it's so meta. 00:02:07.524 --> 00:02:12.084 There were 19 results as I prepared this episode. 00:02:12.084 --> 00:02:16.245 19 results in Apple Podcasts for think outside the box. 00:02:16.610 --> 00:02:18.610 Some of them were thinking outside the box. 00:02:18.610 --> 00:02:22.129 Some of them reworded that or rearranged those words a little 00:02:22.129 --> 00:02:25.889 bit. But still, 19 results for think outside the box. 00:02:25.969 --> 00:02:29.090 And even though some of them were thinking outside the box versus 00:02:29.090 --> 00:02:32.705 think outside the box, that's enough to confuse people thinking, 00:02:32.705 --> 00:02:35.905 wait, is it think outside the box or thinking outside the box? 00:02:35.985 --> 00:02:39.985 And those are 19 podcasts that are not thinking outside the box. 00:02:39.985 --> 00:02:42.705 They're very much thinking inside the box. 00:02:42.784 --> 00:02:43.824 And that's just right now. 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:49.000 So if you have to start telling people which search result to 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:52.520 choose, like you say, yeah, search for think outside the box, and 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:54.520 then pick the 1 with the red cover art. 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.719 Well, what if another podcast starts in the future with red cover 00:02:57.719 --> 00:02:57.959 art? 00:02:57.944 --> 00:03:00.985 But if you have to start getting that detailed in your call to 00:03:00.985 --> 00:03:04.105 action, then you're already over complicating it. 00:03:04.185 --> 00:03:08.825 The simplest thing is to point your potential audience to your 00:03:08.825 --> 00:03:12.905 website and let your website link to the most popular platforms. 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:16.379 Even if your potential listeners want to follow your podcast in 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:20.379 less popular apps, they will probably search for your podcast by 00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:20.860 name. 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:25.099 But if you've given them your domain, they can see your branding 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:29.354 there because I assume your branding is at least somewhat 00:03:29.354 --> 00:03:33.034 consistent between your website and your podcast cover art as it 00:03:33.034 --> 00:03:34.794 appears inside the podcast apps. 00:03:34.794 --> 00:03:38.555 So they can very quickly see, oh, yeah. That's the right 1. 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:42.120 They don't have to try and figure it out tapping into different 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.879 podcast looking for which 1 is yours. They'll see right away. 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:50.120 Another way to look at this is a podcast without a website is a 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:54.280 homeless podcast because your website is the home on the Internet 00:03:54.685 --> 00:03:56.044 for your podcast. 00:03:56.204 --> 00:03:59.324 From your website, you can collect email addresses, you can 00:03:59.324 --> 00:04:02.525 promote special events, sell products and services, solicit 00:04:02.525 --> 00:04:04.125 feedback, and much more. 00:04:04.364 --> 00:04:06.844 You can't effectively do that in podcast apps. 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:11.400 Some of that is downright impossible to do inside podcast apps 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:12.120 right now. 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:14.919 And for the foreseeable future, even with things that podcasting 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:18.680 2 is bringing, some of the stuff just isn't even on the radar for 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:18.839 that. 00:04:19.254 --> 00:04:23.735 Regardless of what powers your website, the most important thing 00:04:23.814 --> 00:04:28.694 is that you use your own domain for your website because that 00:04:28.694 --> 00:04:32.535 allows you to make timeless calls to action no matter how you 00:04:32.535 --> 00:04:33.415 change your technology. 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:37.160 If you ever have to change the domain in the future, make sure 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:41.639 you redirect your old domain with all of its paths to the new 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:42.120 domain. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:46.055 So oldpodcast.com redirects to newpodcast.com, And 00:04:46.055 --> 00:04:51.495 oldpodcast.com/follow redirects to newpodcast.com/follow. 00:04:51.495 --> 00:04:53.254 That's called a wild card domain. 00:04:53.254 --> 00:04:56.134 So you don't have to do a slash follow to / follow. 00:04:56.134 --> 00:04:59.519 It's just anything that comes after the slash forward that, 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:02.639 whatever is there, also put that on the new domain. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.639 So the main point here is please assume that the answer to the 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:11.455 question, does my podcast need a website? Is always yes. 00:05:11.775 --> 00:05:14.814 That might be on an existing website. 00:05:14.814 --> 00:05:16.254 That's a completely separate issue. 00:05:16.254 --> 00:05:18.735 But your podcast does need a website. 00:05:18.735 --> 00:05:20.975 It needs a home on the Internet. 00:05:21.134 --> 00:05:24.095 So with that foundation laid, let's move on here. 00:05:24.289 --> 00:05:28.850 Podcast hosting website providers have much better websites now 00:05:28.850 --> 00:05:30.050 than they did before. 00:05:30.129 --> 00:05:33.089 Captivate, Buzzsprout, Transistor, Blubrry, and other podcast 00:05:33.089 --> 00:05:37.810 hosting providers do offer basic hosting for websites with your 00:05:37.810 --> 00:05:41.524 podcast hosting, and that is for each podcast that you host with 00:05:41.524 --> 00:05:42.004 them. 00:05:42.164 --> 00:05:46.964 These websites are often simple, but can also still be attractive 00:05:47.125 --> 00:05:50.805 and designed to make your podcast prominent and easily 00:05:50.805 --> 00:05:55.069 listenable, sometimes even watchable, along with promoting ways 00:05:55.069 --> 00:05:57.550 to follow your podcast on that website. 00:05:57.629 --> 00:06:01.069 These sites also let you publish extra pages and blog posts on 00:06:01.069 --> 00:06:02.430 your same website. 00:06:02.430 --> 00:06:05.069 Some of the hosting providers even let you collect email 00:06:05.069 --> 00:06:09.055 addresses for your email newsletter or to solicit feedback from 00:06:09.055 --> 00:06:13.294 them or receive financial support from some method from your 00:06:13.294 --> 00:06:13.935 audience. 00:06:14.175 --> 00:06:18.574 The most important thing is for such a website to work with your 00:06:18.574 --> 00:06:24.029 domain and be an actual website preferably with only your own 00:06:24.029 --> 00:06:24.670 branding. 00:06:24.750 --> 00:06:28.430 And what I mean by an actual website is that you're not simply a 00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:32.829 web page on a directory of your podcast hosting provider. 00:06:33.175 --> 00:06:36.134 That's what some of the lower quality podcast hosting providers 00:06:36.134 --> 00:06:36.775 do. 00:06:36.775 --> 00:06:40.535 They give you a web page on their domain with their prominent 00:06:40.535 --> 00:06:41.255 branding. 00:06:41.415 --> 00:06:45.910 Sometimes even if they allow you to map your own domain to their 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:49.110 website that they provide for you, visiting the page still looks 00:06:49.110 --> 00:06:54.229 like you're visiting a page from them, not from you. 00:06:54.470 --> 00:06:58.629 It needs to be branded primarily to your podcast branding. 00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:02.475 That doesn't mean that the podcast hosting provider has their own 00:07:02.475 --> 00:07:05.595 logo maybe in the footer or a name like this website is generated 00:07:05.595 --> 00:07:08.395 by whatever hosting provider that is. That's okay. 00:07:08.475 --> 00:07:10.875 But I'm saying at the top of the page, the most prominent 00:07:10.875 --> 00:07:12.475 branding needs to be your own. 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:16.410 So if you need only a basic home for your podcast and your 00:07:16.410 --> 00:07:19.930 podcast hosting provider offers a good 1, then go ahead and use 00:07:19.930 --> 00:07:24.089 it as long as you use your own domain with it. 00:07:24.250 --> 00:07:28.564 So now let's get to WordPress because WordPress gives ultimate 00:07:28.564 --> 00:07:30.405 power with costs. 00:07:30.725 --> 00:07:34.004 Once you get your own domain and web hosting, most of the 00:07:34.004 --> 00:07:36.884 WordPress ecosystem doesn't cost any money. 00:07:36.965 --> 00:07:41.060 You can get a great theme and countless useful plugins free on 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:44.339 wordpress.org and through the theme and plugin catalogs 00:07:44.339 --> 00:07:46.500 accessible inside your WordPress site. 00:07:46.580 --> 00:07:50.580 But to quote from the Spider Man comics, often spoken by uncle 00:07:50.580 --> 00:07:54.904 Ben in the movies, with great power comes great responsibility. 00:07:55.144 --> 00:07:58.425 Or to quote an often repeated line that I loved from the Once 00:07:58.425 --> 00:08:02.345 Upon a Time TV series, all magic comes with a price. 00:08:02.584 --> 00:08:06.824 Note that when I said you can get some of these things for free, 00:08:06.824 --> 00:08:11.279 I didn't say that using WordPress is actually free. Sure. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:15.920 You might not have to buy anything, but it will cost you. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:20.479 It costs you time and knowledge to get things working well, and 00:08:20.479 --> 00:08:23.279 then further time and knowledge to keep them working well. 00:08:23.704 --> 00:08:26.665 For example, if you want a contact form from your website to 00:08:26.665 --> 00:08:29.625 collect feedback from your audience, you have several free and 00:08:29.625 --> 00:08:33.384 paid plugin options out there for WordPress, and they all require 00:08:33.384 --> 00:08:35.384 some level of manual setup. 00:08:35.544 --> 00:08:39.789 And if you want to monetize your site in any way, whether selling 00:08:39.789 --> 00:08:42.509 products or memberships or taking donations or anything like 00:08:42.509 --> 00:08:46.589 that, you'll be looking at many more steps and complications to 00:08:46.589 --> 00:08:47.789 do that. Yes. 00:08:47.789 --> 00:08:51.230 You can do it, but it takes more time and knowledge to be able to 00:08:51.230 --> 00:08:51.470 do it. 00:08:51.774 --> 00:08:56.254 You could even generate your podcast RSS feed completely from 00:08:56.254 --> 00:08:59.294 your WordPress website with a plugin like PowerPress, which is 00:08:59.294 --> 00:09:00.254 what I recommend. 00:09:00.334 --> 00:09:02.735 If you're going to do that, use PowerPress to do it. 00:09:02.735 --> 00:09:07.360 But I recommend that only when paired with Blubrry's podcast 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:11.279 hosting because that ties in seamlessly with PowerPress. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.480 So you can manage everything about your podcast from PowerPress 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:18.480 and you're working around some of the stability and performance 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.144 issues of using WordPress to create your podcast RSS feed. 00:09:22.225 --> 00:09:26.625 So only do that if you do it with Blubrry or you're prepared to 00:09:26.625 --> 00:09:29.264 handle several geeky complications. 00:09:29.264 --> 00:09:32.225 And that's the way I do it right now with several geeky 00:09:32.225 --> 00:09:32.785 complications. 00:09:33.259 --> 00:09:36.299 But then, what do you do when something goes wrong? 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:40.059 I've had multiple WordPress websites compromised before, 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:44.379 requiring me to invest valuable time to find the problem, patch 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:47.884 the vulnerabilities, and repair the damage. 00:09:48.045 --> 00:09:51.725 So, yes, WordPress gives you great power with your website. 00:09:51.965 --> 00:09:56.445 In fact, I feel confident saying you can do almost anything you 00:09:56.445 --> 00:10:00.519 can imagine with a WordPress website, but that power will cost 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:04.679 you in other ways. So what else do you have as an option? 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:08.279 There are website builders out there that have gotten a lot 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:10.279 easier and better. 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:13.960 Whether you're looking at a page builder plugin for WordPress 00:10:13.335 --> 00:10:16.375 like Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi, or even the increasingly 00:10:16.375 --> 00:10:19.815 powerful Gutenberg editor, or you're looking at third party 00:10:19.815 --> 00:10:22.855 website providers like Wix, Squarespace, and such. 00:10:23.014 --> 00:10:27.000 They've all gotten a lot easier to use and to make your website 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:29.240 look and function great. 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:33.720 And much to my delight, they're also finally getting better at 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:37.639 supporting the niche needs of podcasters. 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:41.414 I still don't recommend third party website providers to host 00:10:41.414 --> 00:10:45.815 your podcast media in RSS feed, like Squarespace, Wix, and such. 00:10:45.894 --> 00:10:49.654 Don't use them to actually create your podcast feed and publish 00:10:49.654 --> 00:10:52.455 your podcast. Only for your website, not for the feed. 00:10:52.535 --> 00:10:55.815 But if you get your RSS feed from your actual podcast hosting 00:10:55.815 --> 00:10:59.420 provider, like Captivate, Buzzsprout, and such, all you need to 00:10:59.420 --> 00:11:03.899 turn your website into a, quote, podcast website, unquote, is 00:11:03.980 --> 00:11:07.740 audio players for each episode and subscribe or follow buttons 00:11:07.740 --> 00:11:09.500 for popular podcast apps. 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:11.740 And then boom, you've got a podcast website. 00:11:11.915 --> 00:11:15.035 That's really all it takes to turn a website into a podcast 00:11:15.035 --> 00:11:15.835 website. 00:11:15.835 --> 00:11:18.955 But maybe that's a little too complicated for you, or maybe that 00:11:18.955 --> 00:11:21.915 has too many extra steps, or you just don't like the way some of 00:11:21.915 --> 00:11:27.220 those other tools work. So Podpage and Beamly provide a new way. 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:31.539 In recent years, a hybrid option has emerged, and that is third 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:35.460 party website providers designed specifically for podcast 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:40.865 websites powered primarily from your already existing podcast RSS 00:11:40.865 --> 00:11:44.625 feed. The 2 most popular options are Podpage and Beamly. 00:11:44.625 --> 00:11:47.985 And Beamly was formerly known as Podcast Page. 00:11:48.144 --> 00:11:49.985 So can you see why they rebranded? 00:11:50.470 --> 00:11:51.990 That was a smart decision for them. 00:11:51.990 --> 00:11:56.230 So it's now Podpage is 1 option. Beamly is the other option. 00:11:56.309 --> 00:12:01.269 These not only both often give you great looking websites, but 00:12:01.269 --> 00:12:05.269 their feature offerings are starting to rival what you could make 00:12:05.014 --> 00:12:10.615 with your own custom WordPress website, but without the cost of 00:12:10.615 --> 00:12:13.815 so much time and knowledge to do it on your own WordPress 00:12:13.815 --> 00:12:14.535 website. 00:12:14.615 --> 00:12:17.975 For example, both Podpage and Beamly let you sell different types 00:12:17.975 --> 00:12:21.179 of memberships to your audience, allowing them to financially 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:24.700 support your podcast on an automatic recurring basis. 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:27.899 And you can define that membership however you want, and it can 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:31.259 offer whatever benefits you want within that ecosystem. 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:36.404 It could simply even be a way for only your audience to give to 00:12:36.404 --> 00:12:39.205 your podcast on a recurring basis even if they get nothing 00:12:39.205 --> 00:12:40.565 exclusive with that. 00:12:40.725 --> 00:12:43.125 But that's built in there with both of those options. 00:12:43.205 --> 00:12:46.485 And both Podpage and Beamly also allow you to sell some products 00:12:46.485 --> 00:12:48.004 directly through your website. 00:12:48.290 --> 00:12:52.129 Both providers let you add additional blog posts and pages on 00:12:52.129 --> 00:12:55.649 your site, like an about page on your site even if that's not in 00:12:55.649 --> 00:12:56.769 your RSS feed. 00:12:56.769 --> 00:12:59.970 And they both offer a whole lot more on top of that. 00:13:00.365 --> 00:13:03.725 Between the 2, I usually recommend Podpage more. 00:13:03.964 --> 00:13:07.404 But you look at them, decide what's right for you. 00:13:07.644 --> 00:13:11.004 In my opinion, even though I've recommended Podpage even before 00:13:11.004 --> 00:13:14.250 this happened, I think it does help that my friend Dave Jackson 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:16.809 from School of Podcasting now works for Podpage. 00:13:16.809 --> 00:13:19.529 And the reason he works for Podpage is because he recommended 00:13:19.529 --> 00:13:21.690 Podpage so much before that. 00:13:21.769 --> 00:13:24.649 And I am an affiliate for both of these providers, but that 00:13:24.649 --> 00:13:26.330 doesn't change what I recommend here. 00:13:26.585 --> 00:13:30.024 I think Podpage is the better of these 2 options, but you pick 00:13:30.024 --> 00:13:31.225 what's right for you. 00:13:31.304 --> 00:13:34.264 You might decide that Beamly is better for you as plenty of 00:13:34.264 --> 00:13:35.144 people have. 00:13:35.384 --> 00:13:38.504 But looking at all of these top level options that I shared with 00:13:38.504 --> 00:13:41.279 you, which 1 is right for you? 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:45.679 Well, I don't usually recommend only 1 option for everyone 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:49.039 because there is no 1 size fits all for podcasters. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:52.000 But I hope the guidance that I've already shared in this episode 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.240 will help in addition to this. 00:13:54.884 --> 00:13:58.325 You could even consider this a workflow to helping you make this 00:13:58.325 --> 00:14:00.725 decision. So we'll call it steps here. 00:14:00.725 --> 00:14:04.884 Step 1, if you love WordPress and want total control, use 00:14:04.884 --> 00:14:08.799 WordPress with PowerPress and Blubrry hosting, and then you're 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:10.799 done. Or move on to step 2. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:14.159 If you don't love WordPress or you can't afford the time and 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:17.919 knowledge to run it, use the Podcast RSS feed from your Podcast 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:21.600 hosting provider, and then move on to step 3 or following. 00:14:22.065 --> 00:14:26.705 Step 3 then is if you want a bare bones site you barely have to 00:14:26.705 --> 00:14:30.384 think about, use your own domain with the basic website from your 00:14:30.384 --> 00:14:33.585 podcast hosting provider. Or move on to step 4. 00:14:33.745 --> 00:14:38.070 If you want more control and don't mind some extra steps for 00:14:38.070 --> 00:14:41.990 every episode, use a third party website provider like Wix or 00:14:41.990 --> 00:14:43.029 Squarespace. 00:14:43.269 --> 00:14:46.549 Or if that's not good enough for you and it's not Podcasting 00:14:46.549 --> 00:14:48.870 enough for you and I wouldn't blame you for that, and you want 00:14:48.870 --> 00:14:52.924 more built in features, but without manually cross posting your 00:14:52.924 --> 00:14:55.884 episodes like you would have to do with Wix or Squarespace, then 00:14:55.884 --> 00:14:57.964 use Podpage or Beamly. 00:14:57.964 --> 00:15:00.764 But no matter what, I've got 2 important tips for you before I 00:15:00.764 --> 00:15:01.725 end this episode. 00:15:01.725 --> 00:15:06.125 Important tip number 1, update your RSS feeds episode links. 00:15:06.549 --> 00:15:10.309 If you choose any option other than publishing your podcast from 00:15:10.309 --> 00:15:13.830 WordPress and that is with PowerPress and Blubrry or using your 00:15:13.830 --> 00:15:17.429 podcast hosting provider's website, then you'll need to ensure 00:15:17.429 --> 00:15:22.230 you copy the web page URL for each episode into the episode link 00:15:22.365 --> 00:15:26.044 in your episode editor from your podcast hosting provider. 00:15:26.044 --> 00:15:30.365 This will ensure your podcast episodes properly point to your 00:15:30.365 --> 00:15:33.884 episode web pages for each episode instead of pointing to the 00:15:33.884 --> 00:15:37.804 podcast hosting provider site that you're probably not using if 00:15:37.804 --> 00:15:39.779 you've got a separate website. 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:43.379 And the way that you do this, for example, on Captivate is that 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:47.700 you paste the episode web page URL into the episode URL field 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:51.964 after you click to open the transcription and discovery section. 00:15:52.125 --> 00:15:56.284 Or in Buzzsprout, paste it into the custom episode web page field 00:15:56.284 --> 00:15:59.964 after you open the see more options section of the episode 00:15:59.964 --> 00:16:00.684 editor. 00:16:00.764 --> 00:16:06.125 And then important tip number 2, copy or redirect all old URLs. 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:10.839 If you've ever given a call to action with a specific URL on your 00:16:10.839 --> 00:16:14.279 domain or where you want to keep any kind of search engine 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:17.320 optimization that you've built up and search engine ranking that 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:20.764 you've built up for individual pages, or you have certain domains 00:16:20.764 --> 00:16:24.924 and URLs that you've spoken or used in multiple places whether in 00:16:24.924 --> 00:16:26.125 your podcast or in print. 00:16:26.125 --> 00:16:30.365 Like for example, the audacitypodcast.com/giveback. 00:16:30.445 --> 00:16:32.524 It's that slash give back part that I'm talking about. 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:36.019 That's what I use for if you value the podcast, you can go there 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:38.580 to be able to give back to the podcast whatever you feel it's 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:39.379 worth to you. 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:43.059 If you've used that in your podcast, anywhere on the Internet, on 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:46.580 your website, on business cards, anything like that, any of those 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:51.144 URLs that have propagated anywhere into the world digitally or 00:16:51.144 --> 00:16:55.465 physically, then make sure those will always work. 00:16:55.625 --> 00:16:58.745 Whether you're changing things around on your current website or 00:16:58.745 --> 00:17:01.779 you're switching to a completely different website option, like 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:04.980 moving from WordPress to Podpage or vice versa. 00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:09.779 Make sure that those links still work so all your calls to action 00:17:09.779 --> 00:17:13.859 will still work and be timeless and nothing will break then. 00:17:14.134 --> 00:17:17.095 And the benefit there, especially if you ensure that all of your 00:17:17.095 --> 00:17:22.055 episode web page URLs still work and redirect or still work the 00:17:22.055 --> 00:17:25.894 same way with the same URLs on your new system that you're using 00:17:25.894 --> 00:17:29.509 for your website is any kind of search ranking that those old web 00:17:29.509 --> 00:17:32.470 pages had will carry over to the new page. 00:17:32.630 --> 00:17:36.070 And speaking of search ranking, all of these options now, I think 00:17:36.070 --> 00:17:39.430 they include great search engine optimization tools built in with 00:17:39.430 --> 00:17:42.434 them, so you don't have to worry about that very much anymore 00:17:42.434 --> 00:17:44.115 like you used to have to. 00:17:44.275 --> 00:17:46.275 So these are some options for you to consider. 00:17:46.275 --> 00:17:49.315 If you'd like to comment on this, share your own opinion, ask 00:17:49.315 --> 00:17:51.875 further questions about that, or just get the notes in these 00:17:51.875 --> 00:17:52.835 links that I've mentioned. 00:17:52.835 --> 00:17:55.579 I'd love for you to use my affiliate links if you'd like to take 00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:58.859 advantage of any of these options, then please look at the show 00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:01.900 notes, a simple tap or swipe away inside your app, consider the 00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:07.099 chapters, or go to the audacity to podcast.com/needwordpress. 00:18:07.434 --> 00:18:10.714 And speaking of chapters, I would love for you to try 00:18:10.714 --> 00:18:14.875 PodChapters. You can try it free over at podchapters.com. 00:18:14.875 --> 00:18:17.674 No promo code necessary for you to try it free over there. 00:18:17.755 --> 00:18:21.515 I have gotten such great feedback from the podcasters already 00:18:21.515 --> 00:18:23.730 using it, saying things like, wow. 00:18:23.730 --> 00:18:27.009 This is so much better than any other AI system that I've used 00:18:27.009 --> 00:18:29.569 for suggesting the chapters for me. 00:18:29.569 --> 00:18:33.809 Or others loving the ability for them to paste the outline that 00:18:33.809 --> 00:18:37.890 they already have into PodChapters, and then it turns that 00:18:37.890 --> 00:18:42.174 outline into chapters time stamped inside of it and being able to 00:18:42.174 --> 00:18:44.894 easily add the images and so much more with that. 00:18:44.894 --> 00:18:48.414 And did you hear that Apple Podcast is going to start supporting 00:18:48.414 --> 00:18:50.095 podcasting 2 chapters? 00:18:50.509 --> 00:18:53.630 So you could continue embedding the chapters in the m p 3 files 00:18:53.630 --> 00:18:56.350 like you could before in Apple Podcast and other apps will 00:18:56.350 --> 00:18:57.070 support that. 00:18:57.070 --> 00:19:01.230 But also, you can start using the podcasting 2 chapters that 00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:03.950 PodChapters can even host for you if your podcast hosting 00:19:03.950 --> 00:19:06.894 provider doesn't already do that, and you can start doing that 00:19:06.894 --> 00:19:08.575 easily with PodChapters. 00:19:08.654 --> 00:19:12.095 Overcast is also going to start supporting the podcasting 2 00:19:12.095 --> 00:19:12.734 chapters. 00:19:12.734 --> 00:19:15.375 So I'm really excited about that, and I'd love for you to try 00:19:15.375 --> 00:19:19.134 PodChapters free over at podchapters.com. 00:19:19.134 --> 00:19:22.029 There's no deadline on that. No special promo code. 00:19:22.029 --> 00:19:26.509 No fake limited offer or anything like that. No fake scarcity. 00:19:26.590 --> 00:19:29.789 Just go to podchapters.com. Sign up. Try it. 00:19:29.789 --> 00:19:32.830 Let me know how it works for you because I built this for myself 00:19:33.184 --> 00:19:36.384 to solve so many problems and complications that I was running 00:19:36.384 --> 00:19:40.464 into and the cost that it was for me to make my own chapters, 00:19:40.544 --> 00:19:44.704 taking 30 minutes or more and 5 different apps for me to add 00:19:44.704 --> 00:19:45.984 chapters to my own podcast. 00:19:46.109 --> 00:19:49.309 Now it takes about 30 seconds for me to do. 00:19:49.390 --> 00:19:52.269 So if your time is valuable, like, I feel like my time is 00:19:52.269 --> 00:19:55.150 valuable, and I spent a couple of months to build this tool 00:19:55.150 --> 00:19:58.349 because I wanted to reduce how much time I spent on chapters. 00:19:58.349 --> 00:20:01.230 But if you feel your time is valuable and you want to take 00:20:01.230 --> 00:20:04.975 advantage of these really cool engaging features in podcasts that 00:20:04.975 --> 00:20:08.575 you can do in many podcast apps out there, both legacy chapters 00:20:08.575 --> 00:20:12.654 and modern chapters, then go over to podchapters.com. 00:20:12.654 --> 00:20:15.080 And now that I've given you some of the guts and taught you some 00:20:15.080 --> 00:20:18.519 of the tools, it's time for you to go start and grow your own 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.960 podcast for passion and profit. I'm Daniel J. 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:25.640 Lewis from theaudacitytopodcast.com. Thanks for listening.