Blog

It's been four years since Transistor's public launch. Co-founders Jon Buda and Justin Jackson started working together at the beginning of 2018. Their dream was to build an independent podcast hosting company. This is their story.

Great tech podcasts for programmers. Whether you're driving, going for a walk, or working, it's nice to hear from other folks who love to code and want to get better at it. Here's a list of podcasts for devs.

The evidence of a looming recession is all around us: startups are doing layoffs, desperate hosting companies have started spamming podcasters, big megacorps have scaled back hiring, and many businesses are raising their prices.

A video podcast is a series of episodes, usually featuring one or most hosts speaking on microphones. There are three types of video podcasts: those hosted on YouTube, those hosted on Spotify, and those hosted in a traditional podcast RSS feed (playable on Apple Podcasts, PlayerFM). Examples of video podcasts include Joe Rogan and Diggnation.

The best way for someone to find (and share) your podcast is through your podcast website. Having a dedicated site for your show will especially make you more discoverable on Google search. It's also easier to share your podcast website on social media. Once visitors land your site, you can highlight all the different ways they can listen (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc).

If you're researching the podcast industry, here are the best guides, newsletters, social media platforms, apps, and communities.

Our podcast hosting platform just hit a new milestone: we now have over 20,000 podcast feeds on Transistor.

Before you can submit your podcast to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc, you'll need to have at least one episode published in your feed. We recommend that you publish a trailer episode right away so you can submit it to all the apps, and start building anticipation (and subscribers) for your podcast. You should do this well ahead of your podcast's official launch!

If you're bootstrapping, it's nice to hear from other folks who are also launching, building, and growing startups. Here's a list of bootstrapping podcasts.

What's a good podcasting alternative to Simplecast? Transistor doesn't charge you for creating additional podcasts!

Podcast stats can show you how many people listen to each episode, what apps people use (Apple Podcasts, Spotify), and what your most popular episode is. Analyzing this data can help you better understand your podcast's listeners.

If you're moving from one podcast host to another, you won't lose subscribers if you do a 301 redirect from your old RSS feed to your new RSS feed.

Creating animated video clips from your podcast audio is one of the best ways to promote your show on social media: Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.

Learn about private podcasting: how it works, and how to start your own private podcast. Companies are using private podcasts for team training, authors are using them to publish their own audiobooks, and membership sites are using them as perks for members. A good alternative to Patreon private podcasts.

Keep your podcast episodes interesting and focused by using this free podcast script template

Want to make money from your podcast? Here are the ways we're seeing podcasters earn money on our platform.

Starting a podcast for your business is one of the best ways to earn trust with potential customers, develop a reputation in your industry, and foster better connections.

Best podcasting gear for beginners and experts: microphones, pre-amps, mixers, headphones.

Learn how to record and edit your show, buy the right microphone, upload your audio, submit to Apple Podcasts & Spotify, and promote your show!

Every podcast should be submitted to Apple Podcasts' directory. Unlike other platforms (like Spotify, and Google Podcasts) Apple still requires you to submit your podcast feed manually. You'll need to access Podcast Connect, and submit your podcast's RSS feed there.

All the steps you need for launching a new podcast to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

If you're getting serious about your podcast, here's what you should consider when choosing between Anchor vs Transistor for hosting.

Looking for the best podcast apps on Android? Want an app that has something similar to Overcast's smart speed? Find the best options here.

Want more listeners for your podcast? Here are some podcast marketing ideas for your show. 10+ tactics for promoting your podcast.

Occasionally, you'll need to manually add a podcast to your app. Here's how to manually subscribe to a podcast on your iPhone or Android device (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc)

Did you know that nearly 50% of Gen Z podcast listeners use Spotify? The younger you are, the more likely you'll be listening on Spotify: 24% of Millennials listen there, but only 17% of Gen X (who prefer Apple Podcasts).

Learn how starting a podcast in 2012 changed my life, and eventually lead to the founding of Transistor.fm

Besides a microphone, and audio editing software, what do you need to make a podcast? Well, just like you need "website hosting" for your website, you'll need "podcast hosting" for your podcast.

Meet our new Senior Software Developer: He'll be helping us build new features, maintain our existing infrastructure, and fix bugs. He has the chops to help us build more sophisticated features that we couldn't tackle alone.

The goal: convince 25 other startups to join us in fighting climate change by joining Stripe Climate and giving 1% of their revenue (or more!) to carbon removal.

Some people think you upload your podcast directly to Apple Podcasts / Spotify. Learn how a podcast works, and how to distribute it everywhere.

Having issues with Apple Podcasts? You're not the only one. Apple just released a major update to Podcasts Connect, as a part of their Spring 2021 announcement. These are the bugs we've observed in Apple's Podcasts Connect

Many podcasters are having trouble publishing episodes to Spotify this morning. There's a bug where Spotify isn't showing the most recent episodes from podcast feeds.

Meet our new Head of Customer Success: she'll be advocating for customers, improving our help documentation, answering questions, and advising on improvements to the Transistor podcasting platform.

New features and tools for podcasters: paid podcast subscriptions, channels, updated Podcast Connect, and a refresh for the listening app.

Podcasters like Sam Harris, Ben Thompson, and John Gruber are earning revenue by selling access to their private podcast. Here's how you can do it.

Every podcast needs a valid RSS feed. This is what you'll submit to Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Here's how to generate your RSS feed for your podcast.

If you're looking for faster load times, more control over your podcast feed, plus better analytics, you might want to switch from RSS.com to Transistor.fm.

Need to find some good royalty-free intro/outro music for your podcast? Download free MP3 & WAV tracks here.

Here's a review of Twitter Spaces, and how it compares to Clubhouse. When it comes to social voice chat rooms, which is better?

Many podcasters who started with Libsyn are looking for better analytics, a modern interface, and better pricing.

Buzzsprout gets expensive if you're running multiple podcasts. They also limit the amount of audio you can upload each month. If you're creating multiple shows, Transistor is a good alternative for podcast hosting.

Get our newsletter for podcasters. Get a sneak peek at upcoming features, tips for growing your audience, and features on new podcasts being added to Transistor.

Video tutorials on podcasting

Start a live chat, we'll answer!

A series by Chris Enns answering the what, why, who, when, and where of podcasting.

Racism affects people in the podcasting community. We need to dismantle systemic racism. "Nobody's free until everybody's free." – Fannie Lou Hamer

Is this the death of independent podcasting?

Here's how to see your full show notes in Apple's Podcasts listening app.

With my old hosting provider, it would cost me $1,440 a year to publish eight podcasts. On Transistor, it costs me only $190 / year.

At Transistor, we're seeing a surge of interest. However, I'm worried that some folks want to start a podcast now because they're hoping to make some quick money.

For experienced broadcasters, podcasting provides an exciting new opportunity: they can take their experience producing traditional media, and bring it to this new medium.

This tutorial shows you how to automatically email your subscribers whenever you publish a new podcast episode.

Confusingly, Google has two platforms for listening to podcasts: Google Play (their music app) and Google Podcasts (which is built-in to Android).

Listeners who are subscribed to your podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast, or Google Podcasts will automatically receive new episodes when you publish them.

Choosing the right podcast category matters because it helps listeners find you! Don't choose these common categories; find a specific category that matches your show.

On Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube, Arnold Schwarzenegger has proven that he can connect with internet fans. Here's why he should start a podcast next.

Check out Justin Jackson's DIY podcast space, and the podcasting microphone, pre-amp, software, and other gear he uses to record his shows.

In the most recent episode of Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, he and Dana Carvey discussed podcasts as a form of entertainment, and how it's different.

Here are some practical ideas for growing the number of Twitter followers you have. These tactics will also help you get more listeners for your podcast!

What will happen in the podcasting industry this year? Here are our 2019 podcast predictions: smart speakers won't be a big deal, Apple monetizes podcasts.

Now you can get a free SSL (HTTPS) certificate for your podcast's custom domain. Apple Podcasts now requires that your podcast feed has an SSL certifcate.

Instructions on how to insert your podcast episode inside of a WordPress post or page. Also works with Gutenberg!

Here are three ideas for making your podcast better.

The number of ratings, downloads, and subscribers you get will determine how you rank in iTunes (Apple Podcasts). Here's how to get more podcast reviews.

Creative ways to get new ideas for your next podcast episode.