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Your podcast website should house more than just your episode archive. Here are eleven pages to make your website better for you, your audience, and even sponsors! I recommend tools (some free, some premium) for making these pages.
1. Homepage
If your website homepage is just the default listing of your latest posts, then you're missing a huge opportunity and it's really not much of a homepage!
A great homepage will have several pieces.
- Information about the show
- Strong visual branding
- Prominent subscription links
- Call to action
- Short archive
Tools
- Great WordPress theme with widgetized homepage—check out those from StudioPress!
- Social Subscribe & Follow Icons—create attractive subscribe/follow links or buttons
- Post list or feature widgets
2. About page
The most popular page on most websites is the about page. This is especially important you don't communicate anything about your show on the front page.
This doesn't have to be your whole history, but it should be a compelling description of your show, and maybe short biographies of each host.
You could use your iTunes description and add a little more.
Tools
- Podcast cover art
- Head shots
- Representative photos
3. Getting started page
If your show and site is teaches something, new “students” may be overwhelmed with all of your content. They may not be sure where to jump in. This is where a “getting started” page helps.
My own, lackluster, “getting started” page is my most popular secondary page (homepage is #1, and several posts are popular, too).
Create a page that can get someone started on what you want them to learn. This page can have short descriptions, links to tutorials, and many links to past episodes.
Tools
- Advanced Post List plugin—list posts by category, keyword, and more. This is really helpful for automatically updating a filtered list of posts
4. Contact/feedback page
Make it easy for your audience (or potential sponsors!) to contact you.
- Email address
- Phone number
- Mailing address
- Contact form
- Audio feedback
Tools
- CryptX—protecting your email address so you don't have to type the horrid “feedback [ a with circle around it ] thedomainyouareon [ dot ] com”
- Google Voice—if you don't have a podcast phone number and you don't want your own to be public
- PO box—if you need to give a mailing address but want to protect your home address
- Gravity Forms—the best plugin for making any kind of form!
- SpeakPipe—audio feedback recorded through your website
5. Podcast page
Regardless of whether your site is solely for your podcast, or the podcast is part of something bigger, a “podcast” or “podcast episodes” page is vital.
This page could be just your podcast category archive (I recommend setting this category slug to “podcast-episodes” to reserve “podcast” for other uses). But it would be even more effective if it has information about your podcast, the cover art, subscription links, and a list of recent episodes (podcast-only list).
Tools
- Great WordPress theme—check out those from StudioPress!
- WordPress category pages—automatically created, just link with “/category/CATEGORY-NAME/”
- Advanced Post List plugin—list posts by category, keyword, and more. This is really helpful for automatically updating a filtered list of posts
- Social Subscribe & Follow Icons—create attractive subscribe/follow links or buttons
6. Blog page
If you ever publish blog content that isn't in a podcast episode, you should also have a blog page. This may not need to be as complicated as your “podcast” page, but it should have at least the list of blog-only content.
Tools
- Great WordPress theme—check out those from StudioPress!
- WordPress category pages—automatically created, just link with “/category/CATEGORY-NAME/”
- Advanced Post List plugin—list posts by category, keyword, and more. This is really helpful for automatically updating a filtered list of posts
7. Resources page
Even if you don't sell anything, a “resources” page can be an opportunity to list stuff you use or mention a lot. Try to get affiliate links for everything you mention.
The language of the page and label will vary, depending on your content and audience. It could be “resources,” “gear,” “links,” “tools,” “recommendations,” and such.
Tools
- Affiliate membership—at least Amazon.com and Commission Junction
- Pretty Link or Pretty Link Pro—for creating easier affiliate URLs, tracking their usage, or automatically hyperlinking keywords (pro feature)
- Easy Azon or Amazon Link plugin—make adding Amazon affiliate links, images, or widgets much easier!
8. Sponsor/donate page
If you want donations or sponsorships, you need to be serious about it enough to have a page to promote it!
For sponsorships, include some basics about your show, why they should sponsor, something about your audience, and link to a podcast media kit. Also include your contact information—maybe even a specific contact form.
For donations, include buttons or forms to donate and give options of individual or ongoing donations.
Tools
- PayPal—easy way to accept payments online
- Gravity Forms—the best plugin for making any kind of form! You'll need the “Developer” license to use the PayPal add-ons.
9. Press page
Here's your opportunity to show off where you've been mentioned and interviews you've given.
This is also the best place to put a “press kit” for your show. Look at WordPress's “logos” page, for example.
- High-resolution photos of you, your cohosts, and recording sessions
- Podcast cover art
- Branding imagery with your logo—think of what would make a cool wallpaper, or how your site design would look without any content and only the logo and image
- Standalone logos in PNG and EPS formats each for versions that work on dark or light backgrounds (4 versions total), plus any additional versions of your logo (for example, with and without icon, or tall and wide)
- Contact information
Tools
- As Heard On plugin—for easily listing podcasts you have joined as a guest
- Gravity Forms—the best plugin for making any kind of form!
- Great head shots
- Adobe Illustrator or other program for making great vector (EPS) logos
- Adobe Photoshop or other program for designing PNG or JPEG images
10. Privacy policy page
If you accept any contact from your audience (comments, forums, email, etc.), you should have a privacy policy that states what you will and won't do with the information.
Tools
- FreePrivacyPolicy.com and PrivacyPolicyOnline.com—easily make your own privacy policies, but clean up any hidden links and be prepared for extra spam from these sites that don't keep your email address private. (Ironic, huh?)
11. Sitemap
Sitemaps aren't just an XML file for search engines. They can also be simple web page that lay out all of your static content in hierarchical form.
Tools
Podcast Movement conference for podcasters
New Media Expo is a great conference that I will continue to support. But it's also a mix of blogging, podcasting, “web TV,” and other social-media stuff. Podcast Movement is a conference by podcasters, for podcasters, all about podcasting. It will be in Addison, TX (near Dallas), August 16–17.
Register my March 14, 2014 to save on your admission!
I will be speaking at the conference, so I hope to see you there!
Podertainment magazine for podcasters
There's finally a magazine by podcasters and for podcasters, too! Podertainment just launch and is currently available on iOS (Android coming soon). I'm a regular columnist with articles about how to improve your podcast.
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
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- Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET)
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- Follow @theDanielJLewis
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.
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Thanks for mentioning the Podcast Movement, Daniel. We are excited to have you as a part of it!
I installed CryptX today and noticed that DEFAULT behavior is actually to emulate the “bad” behavior you mention in this episode – to replace @ with [at] and period with [dot]
Heh. Quite ironic, huh? 😛
Daniel, this is definitely a comprehensive list. Guess what I’ll be working on this weekend!
Thanks for this list, Daniel. As I was listening, I thought, “Of course!” several times. Now I’m going to schedule time to freshen up my website.
I have plenty of “duh” moments myself. 🙂
Thanks Daniel for this in-depth list! I posted it on G+ in the podcaster circle I moderate for Joel Boggess.
Thank you, Sharon! I really appreciate when others share the resources I make!
Does anyone have a link to instruction resources for the Advanced Post List plugin? I’m trying to use it on a site, and there are no instructional resources on the WP page or Git repository. It looks like a really powerful plugin, but it appears to have no support.
It’s related to how you would use WP_Query: http://codex.wordpress.org/Class_Reference/WP_Query
Kind of technical.