Did your new potential podcast hosting platform tell you how quick and easy it would be to move to them? “Just a 301 redirect or two, update the feed and you’re done!” LIES LIES LIES. There are so many more pieces to consider. Before you MOVE your podcast, especially those of you with hundreds of episodes, REALLY slow down and consider all the steps in this episode of Behind the Mic. If you haven’t started your podcast, listen to this, as well. You need to think through the long game.
I regularly go for demo rides on various new platforms claiming to be so much better than what we are currently using, even without knowing what it is. But when I start to ask about previous embed code, players, links to episodes, and more, they go silent. They shift the conversation to the simplicity of moving to them and all of the options we’d have.
I’m not opposed to using new platforms that fit the host better for a long game, but to risk all the hard work our hosts have done to get their guests to embed players, link and share out the episodes in their blog posts and on social isn’t worth the added value of a few new features they may never use.
Some things to consider, gather, and plan for:
- Who all is linking to your episodes?
- Who has embedded players from their appearance on your show?
- Do you even know? Analytics and search console would tell you that.
You may have even have blog posts with old embed code for your episodes. I have five sites I maintain that I use and promote. Oh my gosh, what a pain when I make a change like this, because I have to go find all those episodes and where I’ve mentioned it or wherever I’ve done with it and go update it. Now if you are like we are at Funnel Media Group, we have two graphics for each episode too, plus the banner and other subscribe on whatever the venue is graphics. You’re going to want to make sure that you have copies of all that for when you move from one to the other, just because they import your MP3 files and the title and the basics of your post doesn’t mean they’ll bring over all those other goodies.
Listen to this episode for deeper logic and concerns.
Just because people promise like we said, three clicks and you’re done. There is so much more to it than that. I can’t even state strongly enough, this is all about the planning ahead of time. And maybe you’re going to delay your podcast a little bit and not launch quite on time. Maybe launch a little bit later. Those extra few days or a week or so that you’re going to spend really thinking through the name, really liking the name and the domain and everything else will pay off.
Before you start your podcast, really think it through, think through the overall broader scope message and the domain and the hosting company and what they’re offering you so you can own your own domain. Make copies of everything you upload somewhere, just in case you have to move it and keep those wild spreadsheets that we create for people. If you’re in our group, we make them for you and we update them for you too. And we put all that stuff in there so you would always be able to reach your guests, have the code, send the package and do all the things to encourage them, to share their episode with you to everyone.
