For new podcast listeners subscribing to a podcast is a near impossible task, unless they have someone to guide them ...
For new podcast listeners subscribing to a podcast is a near impossible task, unless they have someone to guide them through this multi-step process.
In between the listener might need to find out what a feed actually is, where to find and install a suitable podcast app and might probably give up somewhere on the way...
Subscribing through iTunes or other Podcast apps or directories always assumes a certain base knowledge about the technical details of how podcasts work. If you just want to listen to it you should not need to have this knowledge.
About half a year ago we sat together with the Podlove Project and thought about how the experience of subscribing to a podcast should be. In the end we came up with a concept of a seemingly simple button that says Subscribe.
Once clicked, a popup opens and presents basic information about the podcast the potential listener is about to subscribe and a helpful text that explains what is going on after clicking the help button.
Clicking Choose App leads the visitor to a list of Podcast Apps that are available for the device he or she is on, or a list of web apps that allow the user to subscribe to a podcast.
When the user chooses an app and it is already installed on the device it will open and immediately offers to add the Podcast to the users subscriptions. If the app is not yet installed the popup holds information about where to find the application and lets the user try to subscribe again once it is installed.
And that's it.
After using it ourselves and talking to a lot of podcasters and listeners we think it is, even for experienced podcast listeners ;)
If you are on Podigee and use one of the default themes you can now enable and configure the button in the Feeds tab of your podcast's settings. If you have customized your theme you can still configure it in the settings, but have to add the button to your theme. To do this use the template tag (see our documentation for more).
If you are not on Podigee and use the Podlove Publisher simply update to the latest version to get access to the button. If you host you podcast elsewhere please see the documentation on how to integrate it here.
Register now to start your free 14 day trial.
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