How to Upload Podcasts to Spotify With Marketing Tips

Published on 26.05.2024 by TF

In the recent past, there has been an increase in the popularity of podcasts, with more people creating, listening, and engaging with them. However, producing podcasts on Spotify has remained relatively easy. 

This is despite the platform providing you with all the tools you need to make meaningful connections with your followers. This article will help you understand how to upload podcasts to Spotify and how to make them go viral.

What is a Podcast? 

The word “Podcast” comes from combining two words: iPod and broadcasting. Journalist Ben Hammersley first used the term to refer to a type of audio content distributed over the Internet. A podcast is a series of digital audio programs that can be streamed or broadcast online. 

While it has the same format as a radio show, one significant difference is how you access the program. A podcast can be downloaded and listened to in your free time. Podcast episodes usually consist of the speeches of the host and their guests. However, there are many instances when podcast shows include music and other sound effects. A podcast often revolves around a theme, such as entrepreneurship, money management, parenting, or self-improvement.

Depending on the creator's needs, a podcast can be long or short. Some offer only a small snippet, but others can be as long as one hour. Most podcasts are usually free to listen to. They monetize shows through advertising or support from listeners using platforms such as Patreon.

Common Types Of Podcasts

There are different categories of podcasts. These are:

  • A monologue. This type of podcast involves a simple narration from one person. It is usually suitable for an expert in a particular niche.
  • Interview podcasts. These are podcast shows where a host interviews a guest on each episode.
  • Panel podcasts. These work like interview podcasts but feature many people engaging in a discussion.
  • Fictional storytelling. This podcast streams fictional stories in several episodes, similar to a dramatic television series. The podcast could be narrated by one person or a team of voice actors.
  • Non-fiction storytelling. This form of content consists of real-life events such as a series on a murder incident, a mountain climbing experience, and more.
  • Repurposed content. This involves finding a particular type of content and repurposing it in different forms. For instance, a church can repurpose its sermons into podcasts.

 

How to Start a Podcast on Spotify

With 32.5 million monthly listeners, Spotify is one of the greatest podcast creation platforms. This is because you don't need fancy equipment or skills to become a creator on Spotify. Here are the steps to follow when creating a podcast on Spotify.

Create a Spotify Podcast Account

Spotify podcast is a platform enabling you to host, create, and distribute podcasts, whether you are a beginner or a professional podcaster. The tool has many features that make engaging with your audience and growing your show easy. It consists of different standout features such as:

  • Detailed show and episode analytics.
  • Ability to record and edit on the platform
  • Ability to build engagement using polls or Q&A sessions.
  • Video episodes provide you with a unique watching experience.

In other words, Spotify for Podcasts is a great hosting platform. You can use the RSS feed to upload your episodes. An RSS feed refers to a unique podcast ID—like the address of your Podcast. Each podcast on Spotify has its unique RSS feed. The host gives you a unique code to share your episodes on different platforms.

Meet the Requirements for Starting a Spotify Podcast

Before creating a Spotify podcast, you must meet the host’s requirements. You need to ensure that your podcast has:

  • The critical details of your podcasts including title, description, category, and primary language. You should also label your content as clean or adult.
  • A cover image should be 1:1 in size and in JPEG, PNG, or TIFF format. The higher the resolution, the better.
  • Episodes of not more than 12 hours.

After meeting the above requirements, you can upload your podcast to Spotify.

How to Upload Podcasts to Spotify

As noted earlier, you can use Spotify for podcasts to create your podcast or upload your current audio or video episodes. If you want to upload an episode for publishing, tap on Quick Upload to upload an audio or video file. If you want to create a unique episode, you can click on Create an Episode.

Editing and Adding Effects

When you click on the option to create an episode, you will also be provided with the tool to edit your podcast or add your desired effects. You can build your episodes using the drag-and-drop feature. You can preview the editing feature as often as needed when editing.

Add Information on the Episode

Once your episode is ready to be published, you can add the information we mentioned earlier, such as the title, description, category, and publishing timeline. You can also add information on whether the episode is a part of a series, a type of episode, and whether the content is clean. You will also need to add this information when creating a Spotify playlist.

Sharing Your Podcast With Other Directories

After publishing it, your podcast will be available to users worldwide. However, you can share it with other platforms using the RSS feed. To do that, Click on Settings, followed by Podcast Availability. You will then be given your unique RSS distribution link. Paste the link in the designated area of other directories.

How to Promote Your Podcast on Spotify

Once you have uploaded your podcast, it doesn't mean you have completed the hard work. Instead, it has just begun. If nobody listens to your podcast, all your work will be in vain. Therefore, you need to implement the right measures to promote your podcast. These are:

Choose the Right Category

We noted that when submitting your show on Spotify, you must choose a category and a subcategory that best fits your show. When searching for new content, listeners usually browse these categories and subcategories. That means selecting the right category is one of the sureproof ways of having your content discovered on Spotify. Spotify also uses categories to recommend shows to its listeners.  

When you select the correct category for your show, you can increase the listenership of your podcast. Therefore, choose the category that best matches how your listeners listen. Take time to research the kind of content they expect to hear in that category.

Use a Stunning Artwork

All podcast apps and directories require artwork, which also applies to Spotify. The artwork used on Spotify is usually bigger than that of other platforms. Therefore, you must ensure it still looks good, even in big sizes. Here are a few elements of creating attention-grabbing Spotify artwork:

  • Have spaces between words. Cramming your artwork with words will make it look crowded. Therefore, you can avoid this by providing some breathing space during work. This way, your listeners will easily understand the artwork even when part of it is cut.
  • Use a maximum of two fonts. Ensure you have one font for the podcast title and another for the subheading. Using more than that will make your titles distracting and messy.
  • Preview your artwork. Some apps and platforms tend to scale your artwork image to as little as 30 pixels. Therefore, ensure you preview the artwork in size to ensure people can easily understand it.
  • Avoid overusing words. Even in a smaller size, ensure that your artwork is readable. Therefore, don’t add a whole sentence or paragraph to it. The name of your show should be the main headline. When using subheadings, make them short and punchy.
  • Avoid gimmicky fonts. Some podcast creators think using gimmicky fonts will help attract attention to their artwork. However, this can be difficult for many creators to understand. You don’t want listeners to pass over your podcast because they cannot understand it.
  • Tell a story. Your artwork should not just be an image. It should tell a story and explain the theme of your podcast.  While hiring an artist may cost you money, it may be worth the effort.
  • Avoid overused images. Podcast creators overuse specific images, like headsets and microphones, making it difficult for their shows to stand out.
  • Use the artwork to amplify your branding. Ensure that your artwork is consistent with other elements of your branding. This will make it easier to connect it with your brand.
  • Use high-resolution images. In most cases, the artwork will be displayed small-like. A blurry, grainy, or skewed image will put off potential listeners, so you want to ensure the image is clear. 

These are also great tips for promoting your podcast on SoundCloud.

Get Featured on Spotify

Another great way of building an audience on Spotify is by getting featured on the platform. Spotify often features great shows on this spot. Therefore, if you get the opportunity, not only will it provide you with free visibility, but you will also get free listens. You can be featured on the Spotify main page or the category page.

Spotify suggests that its team spend up to 20 hours a week to find content to appear in the featured section. So, with competition high for appearing on the Spotify featured page, how do you appear in this section?

First, you want to ensure that your show is highly visible. You can share it on social media to increase its visibility. You can also collaborate with other creators to appear as a guest in their shows. If you already have followers on Spotify, you can create an email newsletter for them to make your show highly noticeable. You want to send many positive signals to Spotify concerning your content.

You can use the Spotify Editorial Submission form in the United States. When filling out the form, complete everything accurately and thoroughly. Ensure that you also provide them with a link to your best content.

Use Spotify Ads

At times, you will have to pay for exposure to get it. With the Spotify Ad Studio, you will have many tools to create an ad on Spotify. With a minimum budget of $250, you can start promoting your podcast on the platform. Besides, you will have access to creative tools such as voiceover artists, background music, and professional audio mixing. 

If necessary, you can provide Spotify with a script, and it will handle everything else, and you can add your creativity. With the Spotify tools, you can create an ad that will easily reach your target audience. Besides, Spotify Advertising will provide you with many tools to see your metrics, enabling you to create an ad targeting your prospective audience. Some of the Spotify metrics you can see are:

  • Impressions. Refers to the total number of people who see your ad.
  • Listeners: The number of people who have listened to the ad.
  • Reach. How many people have heard your ad?
  • Audio completion rate. The percentage that listens to your ad until it ends.

This data will provide essential insights into your ad's performance and help you fine-tune your campaign for better results.

Promote Your Podcast on Social Media

Ensure that you are sharing your Spotify link with friends on social media. Here are our tips for sharing your Spotify link on social media.

Choose the Right Platform

One of the most important things to do when promoting your Spotify podcast on social media is to understand your audience. You don't want to spend much time, effort, and money promoting your podcast on a social media site where your audience isn't. Chances are that your audience is on different platforms, but you want to find one where they are most active.

If you are unsure where your audience hangs out, you can ask them in your next podcast. Once you know where to reach them, you can avoid wasting energy on platforms where your audience doesn't hang out.

Use Hashtags

One key element you should not forget to add is hashtags, whether you are promoting your content on Instagram, X, LinkedIn, or even Facebook. Hashtags help you reach a bigger audience and serve your content to people interested in your niche.

A branded hashtag can also be an excellent tool for building a community. When creating a podcast, you can ask your audience to share the content using a hashtag. If you are promoting your podcast on Soundcloud, we recommend you check out the most popular hashtags on Soundcloud.

Add Quotes In Images

Even though podcasts are often audio, social media thrives on images. If you want to see success, you need to use images to promote your podcast. 

You can use an outstanding quote from the podcast in your images. A quote will help draw interest from listeners and give them a hint of what the episode is about. You can use tools like Canva and WordSwag to create graphics for your social media quotes.

Add Animation to Your Audio

In the recent past, it has been relatively easier to promote podcasts on social media sites such as Instagram or X. Since social media doesn't accept MP3 content and audio content is boring, your best bet is to transform your content into animation. This will enable you to incorporate branding elements in your podcast. You can use a tool like Doodly to make animation videos for your podcast.  

Use Videos

Studies indicate that videos generate 1200% more shares than images and texts. Therefore, if you want people to share your content, you should share more videos. There are different ways in which you can turn your podcasts into videos. One of these is to record a video of yourself if your podcast is a monologue.

Alternatively, you can share a video of the podcast’s behind-the-scenes shooting. You can also host a Q&A on Instagram or Facebook, answering questions about your podcast. You can also use Facebook Live to stream your podcast.

Build a Social Media Community

Social media isn't only about pushing content to your followers. It should also be about building a community of followers. You want to ensure that you are engaging with your  audience. That way, they will feel engaged with you and not just your podcast. You can do that by sharing some glimpses of your world. You can share more about your life and personality through your social media pages. This is also one of the tips for taking your Spotify music to the next level.

Use Social Media to Find Influencers

If you want to have some popular influencers on your show but don’t know how to reach them, you can DM them on social media. Alternatively, you can tag them in your social media post. However, you should avoid spamming them. Instead, be strategic about how you reach them.

Tips For Success With Your Spotify Podcast

While marketing your Spotify podcast will improve your chances of success, there are also several tips you should not forget.

Choose Your Topic Wisely

Your topic choice is one key factor that will affect your podcast's chances of success. That’s why you should select a topic you know and are confident about. However, you must also consider how popular the topic will likely be among your listeners. Choose something unique to enable your podcast to stand out from others.

Choose a Posting Frequency

The posting schedule is one of the factors affecting your chances of success. You should choose whether your show runs daily, weekly, or biweekly. Once you decide on a posting schedule, stick to it. When you create regular content, fans will look forward to your content. If you are running your shows weekly, they will check out new content after that one week.

Prioritize Quality

The better the quality of a podcast, the greater its chances of success. This is because a high-quality video or audio will make your videos and audio appear more professional. This can also help improve your business model and appeal to paying advertisers. Therefore, ensure that you invest in some quality audio equipment. The better your podcast sounds, the more likely listeners will listen.

Use the Right Recording Software

The right podcast recording software will provide the tools you need for your recording. If you need more control over your recording, choose a tool with track recording. The software should capture high-quality videos and audio in the correct setup. A good idea would be to choose software with a video resolution of at least 1080P and an audio resolution of 48khz.

Take Time to Edit

Before your podcast goes live, take time to edit it. This will ensure that you share the best work possible and help you remove any unwanted sections. You can use voice-enhancing software to enhance your audience’s licensing experience.

Be Consistent

Just like other platforms, you need to be consistent when creating podcasts. Maintain the same podcasting voice and style. Consistency also means sticking to the same topic. That will help you build an audience that is a fan of the type of content you are creating.

Final Thoughts

Spotify podcasts offer an unmatched viewing experience. However, getting your content noticed with millions of podcasts streamed monthly can be challenging. Fortunately, by following our guide, you can easily upload content on Spotify and make it stand out from the competition. You can also use the above tips to promote your music on Spotify.