Podbean hosting is very easy to use and they help you with monetization and marketing your podcasts. What more can you ask for when looking for a podcast host.
Podcast hosting is where your podcasts are uploaded and stored before they are made available to podcast directories. When you decide to start your own podcast show, one of the most important things you need is the ‘right’ podcast hosting.
If you are a beginner, you may find it challenging to select one podcast hosting platform out of many options available in the market.
That is why, in this article, we have reviewed one of the oldest and most trusted podcast hosting service providers Podbean. Read its top features, pricing, plans, and much more to determine whether it is the right hosting platform for you or not.
What is Podbean?
Podbean is mainly a podcast hosting platform, but it offers many other services, including podcast monetization, marketing, distribution, and monitoring, making it a good option for podcasters of all ages.
It has been offering hosting services since 2006 and claims to have hosted more than 250,000 podcasts and over 7,500,000 episodes so far.
You can find both free and paid plans on this platform. It even has an app that podcast fans use to listen to or download their favorite podcasts. If you are a podcaster, you can use the same app to record or publish your podcasts.
Why Use Podbean for Podcast Hosting?
Podbean is considered an all-in-one solution for podcasters because of the extensive features and benefits that it offers. You should use Podbean for podcast hosting because of the following reasons:
- Podbean provides advanced built-in monetization options that allow users to earn revenue in different ways.
- You can come live using the live streaming feature. It also lets you share video podcasts.
- It is easy to use. Even beginners find the process of uploading video or audio podcasts hassle-free.
- You can distribute your podcasts to a wide variety of third-party platforms, including Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc. You can also view the analytics of each platform to see how your show is working on each distributor channel.
Top Features Using Podbean
Podbean offers an amazing set of features that help podcasters grow their channel and make progress fast. Here is an overview of each key Podbean feature.
Podbean Customization
Podbean provides a free subdomain to its users. This will be where your listeners land to listen to your podcasts. You can customize your website and select a theme from the provided options. You can change font size, font color, theme color, background image, header image, podcast player option, and much more based on your needs.
All paid plans provide unlimited storage, meaning you can upload as many shows or episodes as you want. This will help you create a basic customized podcast website that can help you boost your credibility among your listeners.
SEO Features
SEO is the practice of optimizing content to help it rank higher in a search engine like Google, Bing, etc. When you are creating podcast content, you don’t really have to worry about Google or Bing optimization. Instead, you need to optimize your podcasts for podcast search engines.
Podcast directories like Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc., have their own search engines called podcast search engines. You can rank your podcasts higher on these directories by optimizing your podcast title, meta tags, and description. You can use plugins like SEO Meta Tags to better optimize your podcasts. SEO Meta Tags is a free plugin that is available to users of all plans.
Podbean’s Mobile Apps
Podbean has a mobile app that both iOS and Android users can download to their phones. The app is user-friendly, responsive, and highly rated. It offers different features to both listeners and podcasters.
If you are a podcast listener, you can download podcasts or listen to live streams using the Podcast app. You can also create different playlists. The app also provides recommendations based on your history and taste.
On the other hand, if you are a podcaster, you can create, edit, and upload your podcasts using the Podbean mobile app. It allows podcasters to upload their content no matter where they are.
Marketing & Monetization
Podbean also offers different podcast marketing and monetization features that are easy to integrate into your podcasts. You can easily add advertisements to your podcasts after joining the Podbean advertising marketplace and acquiring sponsors.
It also offers tools to help users run their own ad campaigns. With the GEO Targeting tool, you can target listeners of a specific geographical area.
You can also create a premium channel that your subscribers can listen to after making a one-time payment. Some paid plans also offer patron programs that you can use to collect rewards and funds from your fans.
Marketing is crucial to grow your channel and attract more listeners. Different built-in marketing features are helpful in promoting your content.
Automatic Social Sharing
It is a marketing tool that you can use to target an audience on different social media platforms. To use this feature, you need to connect your social media platforms to Podbean.
Once you have done that, Podbean will automatically share your new episodes to the connected platforms. You can use this feature to attract people using social media to your podcast website. Podbean allows users to share podcasts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Tumblr.
Easy Embedding
Podbean also provides codes that you can copy and paste into other sites and social media networks to share your episodes on them. This is a simple method of promoting your podcasts on platforms other than Podbean.
Featured Opportunities
Podbean can feature your new episode and show it to listeners who might be interested in it. It is a good way of gaining new listeners.
Video Podcast Support
Some paid Podbean plans allow users to upload video podcasts. Though many podcast listeners are okay with the only-audio format, you get more opportunities when you create video podcasts.
You can upload your video podcasts on video-sharing platforms like YouTube to make your name on that platform as well. You can share your podcast website link in the video description to send your YouTube traffic to your website and generate more site traffic.
Analytics and Statistics
Podbean offers comprehensive and easy-to-understand analytics and statistical data to help you check the performance of your podcasts. Go to the ‘Statistics’ and then ‘Overview’ to analyze the stats of each episode. The data will be divided into different sections to help you analyze it deeply.
The stats that you can track using the analytics and statistics feature of the Podbean include:
- Determine the number of the audience coming from different countries.
- Determine the number of downloads per episode.
- Learn about the apps and websites your fans use to listen to your podcasts.
- Determine peak listening hours – time and days of the week when your listeners download more episodes.
- Your top 10 episodes that got the highest number of listeners or downloads.
- Find user retention time to see how engaging your podcasts are.
Plans & Pricing
Podbean offers both paid and free plans. There is one free plan that you can use to understand the value or usefulness of this platform. There are three paid plans that offer advanced features. They come with a 7-day refund period, meaning you can get your money back within 7 days of the purchase if you are not satisfied with Podbean’s hosting service.
The three paid plans of Podbean are:
- Unlimited Audio Plan – the cheapest among all paid plans – $9 per month when billed annually
- Unlimited Plus Plan – the best value plan – $29 per month when billed annually
- Business Plan – the most expensive among all paid plans – $99 per month when billed annually
How to Use Podbean?
It takes only a few minutes to create your Podbean account. Here are the simple steps you can follow to start using Podbean.
Step 1: Select the subdomain
Go to podbean.com and select their free plan if you are not ready yet to invest in their paid plans. Now enter the basic required information and select your subdomain. Your podcast website having a default theme will be created within a few seconds.
Step 2: Change your website’s layout
You can customize your website’s design to some extent. Podbean offers different themes. Select any of them based on your podcast genre. You can change background image, header image, font style, font size, and much more as per your needs. Go to the ‘Distribution’ and then ‘Podcast Website’ to make these changes.
Step 3: Start publishing your podcasts
Once you have recorded and edited your podcast, go to the ‘Episode’ and then ‘Episode List’ to upload your first podcast. When you select the ‘Episode List’ option, your podcast file stored on your PC will appear on the screen. Select the desired file and enter its title, description, and monetization options. Now select the ‘Publish’ button. The episode will take only a few minutes to upload on the platform.
Executive Summary
Podbean offers a wide array of beneficial features that podcasters can use to grow their channel and increase their reach. With its free plan, you can test its different features and then upgrade your plan to the paid one only if you are satisfied with the free plan.
Give Podbean a try if you want a podcast hosting provider that offers many valuable services, including podcast monetization, marketing, monitoring, and distribution.