The place do you inform your viewers to go for the actions you need them to take? I recommend that ought to virtually at all times be primarily based in your podcast’s personal area identify.
Listed here are 5 causes your podcast wants its personal area, even when it is merely a redirect (which I am going to clarify beneath).
1. To simplify your most essential name to motion
Most podcasts have no less than one name to motion—usually many extra. However the most essential name to motion is the one which will get individuals to your present: “Comply with the podcast—” the place?
You would possibly inform individuals to pay attention on Apple Podcasts, however what about Android customers?
You would possibly inform individuals to seek out your podcast of their favourite podcast app, however how a lot are you able to belief that your podcast would be the first search end result?
The one assured approach to make sure individuals arrive at your podcast is to offer them a way that can at all times work, it doesn’t matter what else occurs with podcasts and apps. That assured approach is with your personal area.
So as a substitute of claiming, “Discover the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, … or wherever you get your podcasts”; you possibly can merely say, “Comply with the podcast at MyAwesomePodcast.com” (or no matter your area is).
Then, let your web site present the suitable choices for them to observe your podcast. (And when you have hassle making these choices, then you could possibly make a “/observe” URL level to your FollowthePodcast.com web page given to all members of My Podcast Opinions.)
Sure, many potential listeners would possibly merely open their most popular app to seek for your present. And this does, after all, put you on the mercy of your findability and search rating inside that app. However these skilled listeners actually do not must be informed find out how to discover your podcast anyway or what apps you are in—since you are in all of the podcast apps, proper?
2. To advertise your model, not somebody or one thing else’s
I lately shared why you need to cease saying model names in your podcast, and what to do as a substitute. This comes all the way down to utilizing your personal area for any calls to motion. For a fast evaluation, this simplifies your calls to motion, reinforces your model, defers the small print, and future-proofs your calls to motion.
That is all attainable when your podcast has its personal area. You can also make “/no matter” URLs for pages or redirects for no matter you need.
It additionally implies that when individuals go to your web site, they’re visiting your web site—even in case you’re utilizing the positioning out of your podcast-hosting supplier.
For instance, take into account one in every of my favourite podcast-hosting suppliers, Captivate (for whom I served on the board of advisors till Captivate’s acquisition). In the event you use Captivate’s well-designed web site to your podcast, the default URL can be yourpodcast.captivate.fm. This could be very related for many different podcast-hosting-provided web sites.
You’ll additionally get one thing related in case you hosted your web site with WordPress.com: your web site can be at yoursite.wordpress.com.
However all of the good internet hosting suppliers (for web sites or podcasts) will can help you “map a website” to your web site (and sure, I am saying that if they do not enable this, then they are not a superb supplier). So when individuals enter your area into their browsers, they will land in your web site and nonetheless be your web site URL as a substitute of a subdomain of Captivate.fm, WordPress.com, Libsyn.com, or anything.
There’s additionally the additional advantage that it is extra doubtless your personal area will correctly deal with WWW and non-WWW variations. However on a supplier’s subdomain URL (like “myawesomepodcast.captivate.fm”), including a “www.” to the start can be far much less prone to work. And many individuals do nonetheless unnecessarily and even wrongly sort (or converse) the “www.” half.
In the event you use a web site from some other service, ask them about mapping your personal area to the positioning, they usually’ll assist you to configure the CNAME in your area’s DNS data (that is primarily only a particularly formatted subject). Some suppliers would possibly cost just a little additional for this, nevertheless it’s not going to be very a lot, and it is undoubtedly value it!
Then, in case you ever change podcast-hosting suppliers or change website-makers, everybody can nonetheless get to your web site out of your identical area.
Even in case you change your branding sooner or later, you possibly can very simply redirect an previous area to a brand new one, so your guests will find yourself in the precise place each time.
3. To make your personal electronic mail addresses
It is positive in case you use Gmail or no matter to your podcast electronic mail account (or a number of accounts). However I extremely advocate towards ever giving your @gmail.com tackle.
Like my earlier level, this provides yet one more model identify your viewers wants to recollect. And it merely seems to be amateurish (and never in a great way!).
With your personal area, you can also make your personal branded electronic mail addresses that reinforce your model and look way more skilled. So as a substitute of “myawesomepodcast@gmail.com,” you possibly can have “suggestions@myawesomepodcast.com.”
Plus, this may enhance your popularity with stuck-up company teams you might need to work with. For instance, a “press@” electronic mail account is perhaps all that is wanted to be official sufficient to get press entry to one thing or someplace.
Many area registrars will allow you to create a number of electronic mail accounts for no additional cost. However you would possibly need to merely make forwarders as a substitute—that are way more prone to be free.
An electronic mail forwarder passes all emails that had been despatched to the forwarder tackle on to a different electronic mail tackle or extra addresses. That is an very simple approach to make sure your cohost(s) additionally obtain all suggestions emails. And that is really how I’ve carried out it with all my electronic mail addresses for years: all of them ahead to the identical Gmail account. This lets me use Gmail’s nice instruments for spam-protection, filtering, and extra, whereas sharing solely my model with my viewers.
Even with a forwarder, you possibly can configure Gmail and different electronic mail apps to ship from your podcast electronic mail tackle, so nobody will ever must see your actual tackle.
4. To redirect wherever you need
As I’ve talked about in a few these factors, utilizing your personal area offers you the ability to level it wherever you need. You can also make path redirects from that area, like making “/giveback” ahead to Patreon; and you may redirect the entire area to wherever, like your hosting-branded web site, a brief touchdown web page, your personal web site, or carrying over individuals out of your previous identify to your new one.
This provides you the last word future-proofing capacity.
I’ve beforehand taught intimately about redirects, however here is my basic guideline: use 301 everlasting redirects for locations you personal and management and that can most likely by no means transfer; use 307 momentary redirects for locations you don’t personal or management (like affiliate hyperlinks), and that might change sooner or later (like YouTube live-streaming pages or meetup data).
5. To maintain you in management
Final, however actually not least, utilizing your podcast’s personal area retains you in management. Whether or not you turn applied sciences, get kicked off platforms, or willfully change your branding, you are in management when you personal the one area your viewers hears from you.
Your area is moveable. You’ll be able to take it with you it doesn’t matter what know-how you utilize and regardless of the place you go. You management it. You are the “grasp of your personal area.”
Sources: the place to get and customise domains
If you do not have a website, but, first evaluation my previous ideas for selecting a superb area to your podcast:
- Get your personal area, even when it simply forwards
- Hold it quick and easy
- Get the .com until options match
- Make it simple to spell and perceive
- Watch out for forming new or undesirable phrases
Then, there are a lot of locations you will get a website. A very powerful options to search for are:
- Full DNS administration
- Included or low-cost electronic mail accounts or forwarders (relying in your desire)
- WHOIS privateness safety (typically a small, further expense)
- Redirect choices
I used to supply area registration for podcasters, however now I like to recommend Namecheap as a result of they’ve good costs and options. I’ve additionally heard nice issues about Hover, however I’ve by no means personally used them.
(As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases via these hyperlinks. However I like to recommend issues I really imagine in, no matter earnings.)
In the event you want just a little additional management over DNS or path-forwarding than your area registrar affords, you could possibly level your area nameservers to Cloudflare and use Cloudflare’s in depth instruments (which are even free for private use). That is how I handle the DNS for all my actively-used domains, however I take advantage of my registrar to ahead my different domains.
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Disclosure
This submit might comprise hyperlinks to services or products with which I’ve an affiliate relationship. I’ll obtain compensation out of your actions via such hyperlinks. Nonetheless, I do not let that corrupt my perspective and I do not advocate solely associates.
