Should You Use Substack For Your Podcast Hosting?

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I'm Danny Brown and you're listening to One Minute Podcast Tips, the show that helps you be a better

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podcaster in just a minute a week. If you want more specific tips just for you and your podcast,

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check out the Magic Mic membership at oneminutepodcasttips.com/support.

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And now, this week's episode.

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I saw a post on Reddit this week asking if you should use Substack as your podcast host.

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And while it has some good features, my advice was no, and here's why.

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First, full disclaimer, I'm Head of Podcaster Support and Experience at Captivate, which is a hosting company,

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but my advice has come on as a podcaster who's used multiple hosts over the years,

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as well as someone who uses Substack for my newsletter.

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Substack is primarily a platform that was set up as a way for writers to make money through their newsletter,

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and added podcasting as an option in twenty nineteen.

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However, it's not as complete as a dedicated podcast hosting platform.

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For example, you need to add your RSS feed manually to podcast apps,

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which is a bit more work than hosting companies that automate a lot of this for you.

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Additionally, the analytics aren't as robust as dedicated hosting companies,

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or even Substack's own newsletter stats.

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You will get decent basic information around your podcast,

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but if you want data like unique listeners, trends, listener drop-off, etc.,

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that won't be there.

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They're also not IAB Certified,

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which is the industry standard for podcast analytics and measurement.

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So, if you were looking to work with sponsors or advertisers down the line,

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they usually ask for IAB stats.

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Not always, but usually.

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Just something to keep in mind.

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For me, though, one of the main reasons is customer support.

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I've had three issues in the last twelve months that I needed help with,

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and each time I waited for over a week for a reply.

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When you compare that with hosting companies,

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whose support teams usually reply within a few hours or less,

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that's a key difference.

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Now, with that being said,

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if you're looking for a straightforward, simple podcasting solution

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that ties in nicely with Substack's other features,

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it's a good enough platform.

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Just don't expect the features and support

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you'd get from a dedicated hosting platform.

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Until the next time, happy podcasting.

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Thanks for listening.

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