If you’ve been looking into starting a podcast, I'm sure you’ve come across the acronym RSS more than once and wondered what it is. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is a protocol that was developed to exchange program data between content platforms.
More specifically, an RSS feed makes it possible for your podcast content to become accessible to listeners across multiple distribution platforms at the push of a button.
Without getting too technical, an RSS feed is a data file formatted in a standardized way to distribute your episodic metadata to various directories and podcast listening platforms, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.
Once your feed is in place, each podcast episode that you produce in the future will be automatically pushed to each distribution channel without any additional work required on your part.
In this article, we'll explain how RSS feeds work and where to get them in some of the most popular podcast hosting platforms in the market.
Now, all this techie lingo may sound intimidating at first, but this is something that’s actually super easy for anyone to do!
Let's dive in.
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What’s a Podcast RSS Feed?
A Podcast RSS feed is a link to a file that contains information about your podcast, such as the title, description, and episode details.
This file is used to distribute your podcast to various listening platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
Without an RSS feed, and therefore without access to large podcast directories, it would become a lot harder for you to expand your listening audience beyond your own website and podcast hosting platform.
How Do RSS Feeds Work?
When you publish a new episode of your podcast, your hosting platform will automatically update your RSS feed with your episode's details.
Podcast directories and listening apps, like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, will then check your RSS feed periodically to see if there are any new episodes available.
If they find one, the directory will add it to their platform and make it available to their listeners.
This seamless process allows you to distribute your content directly from your podcast hosting platform to multiple directories without having to sweat the small stuff.
How Do I Get an RSS Feed for My Podcast?
Generating an RSS feed for your podcast is a relatively simple process. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Select a hosting platform: There are many hosting platforms to choose from, including Buzzsprout, Podbean, and Anchor (more on them later.)
Pick the one that best meets your needs and budget and create an account. Most offer free trials or limited free plans to get started with no financial committment.
2. Enter your podcast details: Once you've created your account you'll need to enter details about your podcast, such as your show’s title, a marketing blurb for your podcast, your artwork, and so on.
3. Generate your RSS feed: After you've entered your podcast details, your hosting platform will automatically generate an RSS feed for you.
This feed will contain all the required information about your podcast to be submitted to podcast directories.
4. Submit it to directories: Once you've generated your RSS feed, you can submit it to various podcast directories, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts making your podcast available to a much wider audience.
The less expensive platforms typically require more manual work to perform this step, while the more expensive ones tend to automate this process for you.
Below, you'll learn where to locate the RSS feed in a number of popular podcast hosting platforms:
How to Get Your Podcast RSS Feed from Buzzsprout?
Click the menu tab Directory, then click the subtab RSS Feed, and finally click the purple Copy button to get your RSS URL:
How to Get Your Podcast RSS Feed from Anchor?
Click Settings on the top right-hand corner of the Anchor dashboard, then click Distribution from the pulldown menu, and finally click the purple Copy button under the heading Your RSS Feed as shown below:
How to Get Your Podcast RSS Feed from AudioBoom?
Click Podcast Settings and then click RSS on the bottom left-hand corner of the AudioBoom dashboard to display your RSS URL:
How to Get Your Podcast RSS Feed from Spreaker?
From the Podcasts menu on the left navigation, click RSS Settings and then click the yellow Copy button under the heading RSS URL to display the URL:
How to Get Your Podcast RSS Feed from Blubrry?
From your podcaster dashboard, click the Hosting Settings link inside the Podcast Hosting box and you’ll see your podcast RSS feed URL right above the Save button:
How to Get Your Podcast RSS Feed from Castos?
From the dashboard, click the Distribution tab and you’ll find the link to your RSS file under the Podcast RSS Feed heading, as shown below:
Wrapping Things Up
Your Podcast RSS feed is an essential tool in your podcaster’s toolkit: it's how your content is delivered to large podcast directories and ultimately to your listeners.
Luckily, generating an RSS feed for your podcast is a lot easier than it sounds.
By following the steps outlined in this article, you’ll be able to generate and distribute your RSS feed to a wide range of popular podcast directories and listening apps.
Best of luck in your podcasting career!
