You do not upload a podcast to each app separately. The audio version gets a single RSS feed, and Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other apps take the episodes from it. The video goes to YouTube separately. Here is how it works and what to prepare.
How the RSS feed works
A podcast hosting platform stores your audio files and creates an RSS feed: an address that lists all your episodes. Once you have registered the feed with Spotify and Apple Podcasts, you only upload new episodes to your hosting platform, and the apps pick them up on their own.
Some platforms, such as Spotify for Creators, let you upload video as well. When choosing a platform, check what statistics it shows and whether you could move elsewhere later with the same feed.
What to prepare before your first episode
- A show title people can find through search.
- A description: who the show is for and what listeners will get from it. The first sentence matters most.
- Square cover art for the show. It is the only artwork Apple Podcasts requires, and episode images are optional. You will find the exact requirements in the Apple Podcasts artwork guide.
- A category and a language.
- At least three finished episodes, so a new listener has something to listen to.
Spotify and Apple Podcasts
You can usually connect your feed to Spotify straight from your hosting platform. For Apple Podcasts, you submit the feed through Apple Podcasts Connect with an Apple account, and the show appears after review. Apple explains the process step by step in its instructions for submitting a show.
YouTube
Upload the video version to your YouTube channel and put the episodes in a separate playlist marked as a podcast. Start each episode title with the topic or the guest, not the number: people search for topics, not numbers.
After publishing
- Prepare a few short videos from each episode for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. We covered how to pick them in a separate guide.
- Send the guest the link and their clips.
- Add links to your other platforms in the description, so listeners can choose.
- After a few episodes, check the statistics: where people drop off and which topics keep them listening.