From Apple: Show Availability and Content Updates; Fundamentals of Podcast Marketing

Dear Podcast Creator,

Below are some updates to help improve the experience for your listeners on Apple Podcasts.

Show Availability and Content Updates

Apple routinely checks each podcast RSS feed to detect new episodes as well as metadata or artwork changes. Our system will display these changes on Apple Podcasts within 24 hours after detecting them.

You don’t need to perform additional actions — simply confirm the new episode or content updates are successfully published on your hosting provider’s platform.

After 24 hours, if your new episode or content updates don’t appear on Apple Podcasts, sign in to Podcasts Connect and follow these steps:

1. Click My Podcasts.
2. Check the Status section to confirm your show is Active. If your show is in a Failed Validation status, troubleshoot the issue and resubmit your feed.
3. Check the time and date when your show was last refreshed.

For artwork changes, make sure the new image file:

• Has a different name than the previous one.
• Meets the artwork requirements.

If you’ve confirmed the above items, and it’s been more than 24 hours since your podcast was last refreshed, select Refresh Feed. Podcasts Connect will schedule an update. Please allow up to 24 hours for this process to complete.

Note: Don’t refresh your show with every new episode or RSS feed edit.

Fundamentals of Podcast Marketing

When marketing your show, it’s helpful to keep in mind why and how people listen to podcasts. Learn more about podcast marketing fundamentals, which include tips and tools to help grow your audience.

For example, you can learn how to:

• Build and grow your show’s brand.
• Write effective marketing copy describing your show.
• Leverage social media to build your audience.
• Use the Listen on Apple Podcasts badge to promote your show or an episode.
• Collaborate with other podcast creators to generate buzz for your own show.

Regards,
The Apple Podcasts team

Podnews would add:

Apple’s email above, saying it takes “24 hours” to update, only relates to people who aren’t subscribed, including the Apple Podcasts website. If you’re subscribed to a podcast on an Apple Podcasts app, your app checks for new episodes directly (and they should appear within the hour). The instructions to refresh the feed will not help subscribed listeners. If Apple used WebSub then they’d get new podcast episodes instantly, like Google Podcasts does.

Don’t just use the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” badge: use Apple, Google and Spotify to ensure you reach Android users and others - 80% of mobile phones across the world aren’t Apple. You can find the full links and buttons by choosing “link to this podcast” at the bottom of any podcast page (like this).