Did you know about these podcast platform features?

Back in the olden days of podcasting — about 7 years ago — you could create your podcast feed, submit it to a few directories, and the listeners would roll in.

Platforms were essentially identical in features and were just the middleman between your podcast and listeners.

Nowadays, in an effort to differentiate themselves from one another, platforms have tools and features that are exclusive to each.

Here are some that might be worth considering for you and your podcasts;

Apple Podcasts

For the longest time, Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes) was essentially the default platform in town. Nowadays, it’s arguably still the largest but its market share has waned in the past five years. Still, it’s a platform that’s used by millions and there are a number of features that you can take advantage of as a podcaster.

Subscriptions

Want to monetise your podcast without ads? Apple Podcasts has you covered with the ability to create subscriptions. You can charge listeners a fee for exclusive episodes, early access, ad-free episodes, or even the entire podcast.

Channels

If you have multiple podcasts then you might want to create a channel to group them all. This is perfect for media companies large and small

Social Promotion Tools

Social media is still one of the most effective avenues for marketing your podcast. Thankfully Apple Podcasts has a bunch of tools to generate graphics to share on Instagram, X (RIP Twitter), Facebook, and TikTok.

Spotify

Spotify has often been bridesmaid to Apple’s bride in the podcast platform arena but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in features for engaging with your listeners on the platform. Where Spotify differentiates itself from Apple Podcasts is with the tools that allow you to ask for input and feedback from listeners in the Spotify app.

Q&As

What did you think of this episode? Tell us more about when you listen to this podcast? What are you favourite podcasts - besides this one? These are just some of the questions you could ask your Spotify listeners directly in the app, while they’re listening to an episode. ### Polls Ever wanted to know which of the co-hosts is really the favourite? A simple poll attached an episode can be displayed just like a question on Spotify.

Why would you use these tools?

Podcasting takes enough time as it is and so why would you want to spend more time managing engagement on disparate platforms? The answer lies in the question. Engagement. Your listeners are your best advocates and if you engage with them, they’ll engage with you. It’s rare that I’ll listen to a podcast that I don’t see recommended by a person that I know or whose opinion I respect and I’d bet that you’re the same.