7 Reasons Why Your Podcast Needs a Website

🎙️Does a podcast need a website? Yes! A website for your podcast is essential, and in this article, we'll explain why you're missing out by not having one.
7 reasons your podcast needs a website
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So you have a hobby and want to discuss it (or other topics) on a podcast. There are literally thousands of podcasts out there, and for many would-be Joe Rogans, this hobby slowly becomes a part of their lives as its popularity and podcast listeners grow. 

You don’t need anything special to start a podcast; however, if you really want to grow your podcast, take it to the next level, and even make money from podcasting, it takes a little more time and energy.

The good news is that we’re about to show you some tips on how to level up your podcast and why it needs a website.

But first, let’s talk about your branding.

Your Podcast’s Brand

One of the biggest mistakes that we see podcasters make is leaving their brand to the podcast hosting platforms.

It’s common knowledge that most listeners come from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Anchor.fm, and the like. But, if you don’t control your brand from the onset, you could face difficulties with making your podcast sustainable in the long run.

You must think of your brand as more than just a sixty-minute audio or video clip broadcasted over the internet.

Instead, think of your podcast as a brand. And, you need to own that brand just like you would a new business.

Consider the below image from one of our recently launched podcast websites – Local Leaders: The Podcast.

local leaders podcast website
local leaders podcast website

You must own and have control over all aspects of your podcast, including:

By controlling these elements, you can ensure consistent branding for your podcast to increase brand awareness, i.e. (color scheme, logo, tagline, etc.)=

7 Reasons Your Podcast Needs A Website

A website for your podcast is essential, and in this article, we’ll explain why you’re missing out by not having one.

real life real crime podcast hero image from website
real life real crime podcast hero image from website

Your website gives listeners another way to listen to/watch your podcast.

Like we said earlier, it’s true that most of your listeners are probably doing so on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or other podcasting platforms. Some may even be watching episodes on YouTube.

However, you can still reach potential listeners (and watchers) through your own website that’s accessible to anyone at any time of the day.

Plus, it’s easier to share your website’s URL than just giving your podcast’s name. You could even have an audio player right there on your site for your listeners and keep them from having to browse through numerous apps and other websites.

Your website offers increased engagement with existing listeners.

If you’re already an established podcaster, you may have several regular listeners, and they probably view the show notes on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

Sure, they get those little extras that you tack on to the show’s content by way of textual content.

But that’s nothing in comparison to what you can offer through your website.

You can share text, images, videos, visual content, blog posts, links, and videos directly on the page to increase engagement on a website.

This is a game-changer, as you can provide your fans with more content and more ways for them to benefit from each episode and engage with your brand.

For example:

Having a website for your podcast gives your listeners and visitors a way to contact you directly (without memorizing an email address or hunting you down on Facebook).  

Instead, they simply visit your contact page and fire off an email – something that’s not so easy if your only online presence is podcasting platforms.

Your website can help you monetize your podcast.

That’s right! Your website can help you get paid!

Not all podcasts start off generating ad revenue. However, as your audience grows and you rack up listens and views, it could become an excellent time for you to consider making money from your podcast.

Think about it.

Podcasting takes a lot of time, money, effort, equipment, and other expenses, so it’s beneficial to think about recouping some of it back.

Monetizing your podcast is how you do just that.

When your podcast is only available on the usual platforms or social media networks, it is usually hard to control monetization. Your primary revenue source would come from ads inserted into the podcast itself by your hosting service or perhaps a Patreon campaign.

You see, having a website for your podcast can mean the difference between recouping none of your investment or making a living off of your show. Here’s how:

Ways to make money from your podcast

  • Create an eCommerce store on your website and sell your own swag. You can easily create an online store and sell products, merchandise, and other physical goods. On top of that, you can also deliver digital products such as eBooks, audio, video, and images, you name it. You can sell your listeners anything that you want.
  • Create a members-only premium section of your website. For example, if you’re offering a bi-weekly podcast, you can use the time between episodes to create premium content and sell access through your website. Don’t limit yourself to audio. You can create articles, courses, forums, or anything else behind a paywall (membership) and sell subscriptions. Create special offers on swag for members only.
  • If your podcast is for a business, you could promote your own products and services throughout your episodes. If your podcast and business websites are connected, you have another way of funneling potential customers to your business.
  • Sell sponsored posts, sections, and affiliate links. Sure, you probably don’t want to plaster each page with random ads, but selling prime real estate on your site is a great way to offset costs associated with your podcast. Trust me, once your site starts getting enough traffic, you’ll get offers for sponsored posts in your email from people wanting to get their brand in front of your visitors.
  • Accept donations on your podcast website. Most WordPress sites (and other platforms) make it easy to set up a donation page to allow your visitors to support your show.

Your website can help you get more listeners.

After you’ve created your podcast’s website, populated it with content (text, audio, images, videos, and more), and regularly update it, search engines will index it and rank it online.

Organic traffic is an excellent way to bring visitors to your website, some of which will likely end up being regular listeners.

It’s also easier for them to share your website on social networks and newsletters. Plus, as we said earlier, people also will have the option to listen to your podcast right there on the website.

A Podcast website allows you to grow your audience exponentially, especially if you have well-written show notes on topics that people are likely to be searching online.

Your website gives you more control.

As we said at the beginning of the article, you have control over your data and brand with your podcast website.

(Well, not if you’re using Wix, because they’re proprietary, and they own your website’s content. If you ever decide to leave Wix, you’ll have a hard time taking your content with you, but that’s for another time.)

A website for your podcast gives you more control and flexibility. You’re free to do with it whatever you want without being limited to the podcast platforms’ guidelines, structures, and terms of service.

Plus, using content management software (CMS) such as WordPress allows you to scale your podcasting business as fast (or as slow) as you need to. There are countless WordPress Themes and WordPress Plugins that you can use to add just about any functionality you can imagine.

Your website gives you one place to store all of your content.

Some platforms may limit the number of podcast episodes that you release. If you record one more podcast show or series, you could encounter issues. If you run a podcast network or create multiple podcasts, a website is a great way to have all of your content in one place and control how it’s being displayed.

Your website helps your show’s visibility and exposure.

A website helps you promote your podcast in search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.

By properly optimizing your podcast for search engines through the practice of, you guessed it, search engine optimization (SEO), you can increase your site’s visibility to generate free traffic.

When search engines crawl and index your website, they’ll see all of your content, such as show notes, and other textual and visual content, and rank you accordingly in organic search engine results pages (SERPS)

Just by having a website and doing a little SEO, you’ll gain traffic and podcast listeners.

And guess who loves traffic?

Advertisers.

Conclusion

Some key takeaways here:

A website is essential for any brand or business, but now you should see why it’s a powerful tool for podcasts and podcasters.

A website can help you take your podcast to the next level and provides countless opportunities for you to monetize it, grow your community, and offer more content to keep your listeners engaged.

Here at BlakSheep Creative, we specialize in helping podcasters expand their digital footprint and find success online.

Contact us to see how we can help you.

Joshua Guilbeau

Joshua Guilbeau

Josh is an accomplished graphic designer and branding expert with over 10 years of experience. With a range of clients including non-profits, restaurants, colleges and universities, healthcare organizations as well as small business owners, he has created design solutions that are both aesthetically pleasing and have a functional purpose. Loving father to his wife and three kids who keep him on his toes in Baton Rouge where he enjoys spending time outdoors when the weather permits or kicking back with a good book.
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