Your website is the Internet home for your podcast. Here are several easy things you can do to make your website appeal to gain more listeners and make it easier for current subscribers.

I'll use my own recent design of The Audacity to Podcast's website as an example. The new website is built and designed over the powerful and easy Genesis Framework. I used CSS3, which will make the site beautiful on modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 9), but it gracefully degrades for older browsers (Internet Explorer 7–8).

1. Use the front page

The Audacity to Podcast™'s feature widget

Quickly tell new visitors what your site and podcast are about. This helps them know whether they should stick around.

Give them something to do with a call to action, like “subscribe,” “buy,” or “download.”

2. Explain yourself and your content in the about page

The Audacity to Podcast™'s about page

The “about” page is your second-most-important page because this is where you can explain in more detail who you are and what your content are about.

3. Make it easy to contact you

The Audacity to Podcast™'s contact page

Don't hide your contact information or make it a puzzle to read your email address. A couple simple WordPress plugins can simplify your life, maintain your privacy, and be friendly to your visitors.

  • CryptX to encrypt your email address but show in plain writing for human visitors.
  • Contact Form 7 to embed a contact form on a page.

4. Make your podcasts (or whatever you offer) visible

The Audacity to Podcast™'s navigation menu

  • Put it in the navigation menu,
  • have an icon for each episode,
  • or include your media player in excerpts so they'll appear on the front page.

5. Put repeatable, accessible stuff in your sidebar

The Audacity to Podcast™'s sidebar widget in WordPress

Your sidebar is for stuff that should appear on every page of your site. In order of important, this could be any of the following.

  1. Search form (or put this in your header)
  2. Subscription links (iTunes, RSS, etc)
  3. Follow links (Twitter, Facebook, etc)
  4. Contact information
  5. Latest or popular posts
  6. Affiliate links

You can do these yourself, or hire me

These steps are easy and I'm confident you can do them yourself. But if you'd like me to do them for you, I provide a variety of website services tailored for podcasters: simple design changes like a header, background, and color scheme; complete website design; subscribe and follow widgets, and podcast cover art.

If you'd like to hire me to design stuff for you, email Daniel@Noodle.mx and I'd be delighted to help.

PodCamp Cincinnati on October 22, 2011

PodCamp is a social-media “unconference” and I would love to have you attend, or especially sponsor or volunteer for PodCamp Cincinnati on October 22 near Cincinnati. If you're interested in sponsoring, please email Daniel@PodCampCincinnati.com.

Need personalized podcasting help?

I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback

  • Comment on the shownotes
  • Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221
  • Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

About the Author
As an award-winning podcaster, Daniel J. Lewis gives you the guts and teaches you the tools to launch and improve your own podcasts for sharing your passions and finding success. Daniel creates resources for podcasters, such as the SEO for Podcasters and Zoom H6 for Podcasters courses, the Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for WordPress, the My Podcast Reviews global-review aggregator, and the Podcasters' Society membership for podcasters. As a recognized authority and influencer in the podcasting industry, Daniel speaks on podcasting and hosts his own podcast about how to podcast. Daniel's other podcasts, a clean-comedy podcast, and the #1 unofficial podcast for ABC's hit drama Once Upon a Time, have also been nominated for multiple awards. Daniel and his son live near Cincinnati.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Matt
Matt
12 years ago

Thank you for this one, especially, Daniel.  I’m trying to implement as much of this as I can before launch.

Mike Russell
11 years ago

Great tips here Daniel. Now I’m going to start applying them to my podcast site!

trackback

[…] for making sure you have everything you should on your podcast website. Take a read of his 5 Steps to an Effective (Podcast) Website. When I created this website just over a week ago I realised I was missing many of them (including […]

trackback

[…] Five Steps to an Effective Podcast Website  Daniel J Lewis […]

trackback

[…] for making sure you have everything you should on your podcast website. Take a read of his 5 Steps to an Effective (Podcast) Website. When I created this website just over a week ago I realised I was missing many of them (including […]

6
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
50%
5/5

Enter your name and email address below to learn “7 Ways to Get More Podcast Reviews” FREE!

Almost there!

50%

See what Apple Podcasts and other popular podcast apps search with the Podcast SEO Cheat Sheet!

This form collects information we will use to send you podcasting-related updates with tips, offers, and news. We will not share or sell your personal information. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Almost there!

50%

Before you go! Don’t miss this FREE checklist, “20 things you should do before recording every podcast episode”!

This form collects information we will use to send you podcasting-related updates with tips, offers, and news. We will not share or sell your personal information. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Almost there!