WordPress: The One Stop Shop For Your Podcast

Podcasting is growing more each day, and there are lots and lots of tools emerging to help people podcast. From Libsyn to Patreon, podcasters need to manage several different platforms to make their show as good as possible.

But with WordPress, you can handle the podcast, shop, community, and membership all in one place. With the right plugins, it makes WordPress the only platform you need for your podcast.

Transcript

1. WORDPRESS: YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FOR PODCASTING Joe Casabona casabona.org/wordfest
2. IMAGINE YOU WANT TO BAKE COOKIES
3. YOU WOULDN’T GO TO A BUNCH OF GROCERY STORES TO BUY THE INGREDIENTS.
4. YOU DON’T NEED A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT SERVICES FOR YOUR PODCAST.
5. SETTING UP YOUR PODCAST! (Lightning Round)
6. https://joec.live/wordfest/ WHAT'S YOUR PODCASTING SITUATION?
7. STEPS TO START A PODCAST • Choose a topic & name • Record a few episodes • Buy a domain & web hosting • Get audio hosting • Install WordPress • Get a podcasting plugin • Publish & submit!
8. GEAR YOU NEED • A Decent Mic • Pop Filter • Boom Arm (optional) • Headphones • Links to everything: https://casabona.org/wordfest
9. LET’S TALK ABOUT WORDPRESS.
10. A PODCAST NEEDS A HOME • Podcasts should have a website • They allow for a central place for content, RSS*, and Canonical Links** • Setting Up a good website for your podcast can help it grow *Really Simple Syndication - needed to get your podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more **The one true source for your content.
11. THE 4 THINGS YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED. • A Good Domain • Good Hosting • WordPress • A Podcast Plugin
12. THE 5 AREAS YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT • Managing Sponsors • Managing Transcripts • Adding Merch • Adding Memberships • Creating Community
13. A GOOD DOMAIN
14. PICK YOUR NAME • Pick a name that communicates the show’s message • Do a search on Apple Podcasts to make sure it’s unique enough • You want it to stand out! • Get the domain, social media
15. CHOOSING THE RIGHT DOMAIN • .com or .fm (in this specific case) • Make it short (11 characters or fewer) • Make it speakable • Make it memorable - try to match the show name • Have alternates available
16. GOOD HOSTING
17. CHOOSING GOOD HOSTING • Easy WordPress Setup • Good Support • Let’s Encrypt for SSL • Backups • Should be Different from Media/Audio Hosting
18. WHY SEPARATE AUDIO HOSTING? • Specialization means faster downloads • If your site goes down, your podcast won’t • Advanced Analytics • Custom (or customizable) audio players
19. AUDIO HOST: CASTOS
20. LET’S TALK WORDPRESS
21. WHY WORDPRESS? • Streamlines entire website setup process • Used by over 39% of web • Strong community • Great tools for podcasting • Easily add blog, shop, or community as well
22. A PODCAST PLUGIN
23. EVALUATING PODCAST PLUGINS • Consider if your podcast host has a WordPress plugin • Make sure it has Apple Podcast compliant RSS feeds • Look at the features - how customizable is everything? • Does it play nice with other themes and plugins?
24. SERIOUSLY SIMPLE PODCASTING
25. MANAGING SPONSORS AND TRANSCRIPTS
26. TRANSCRIPTS • MUST for podcasts. They help with both accessibility and SEO • Seriously Simple Podcasting has a great Transcripts Extension. • You can also use an accordion block to show/hide transcripts right on the post/page.
27. SPONSORSHIPS • Several Ways to Manage Sponsors! • Have a Page with Info about Sponsorships • Simple Sponsorships WordPress Plugin • Sell through Gravity Forms or Ninja Forms • Groundhogg or WP-CRM
28. ADDING MERCH
29. WHY / HOW • Great Way to Help Listeners Show Support! • Make some money, but people LOVE swag • Low barrier for entry: • Sell merch with WooCommerce (natch) • Use a service like Printful to get Print-on-Demand merchandise directly in your WooCommerce shop
30. ADDING MEMBERSHIPS
31. WHY MEMBERSHIPS? • You’re not fully reliant on sponsors (diverse income streams) • You can offer your listeners more content (or other perks) • You can create a stronger fan-base and community
32. HOW? • LOTS of options in this space. • Try to find something that supports private podcast or RSS feeds. • Castos natively supports this through Zapier • Other plugins: RCP , Paid Memberships Pro, Wishlist Member, WooCommerce Memberships/Subscriptions
33. ADDING COMMUNITY
34. WHY / HOW? • Even if you don’t have a membership, you can still create a community of listeners. • This will allow further discussion of episodes, and even generate content ideas. • How: bbPress, BuddyPress, or Discourse all offer direct WordPress and SSO integration. • If you don’t need SSO, check out PeerBoard, which has a WordPress plugin.
35. @jcasabona OTHER HELPFUL TOOLS • Fusebox • Podcast Subscribe Buttons • SearchWP • ThirstyAffiliates • Astra • Second Line Themes • StudioPress PLUGINS THEMES
36. WRAPPING UP!
37. Consultant & Educator I help tell your story. @jcasabona - casabona.org/wordfest I’M JOE CASABONA