How to Subscribe to or Follow a Podcast (& Why You Should!)

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That is the third and last a part of our ‘listeners information to podcasting’, during which you’ll discover out precisely what the advantages are of subscribing to or following a podcast, and how you can do it. That features how you can subscribe to a podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and how you can apply that to just about another podcasting app. In case you’re entering into podcasting, then right here’s how you can subscribe and make it tremendous straightforward to hear repeatedly.

Now that you realize the reply to “What is a podcast?” and how to listen to a podcast on any system, let’s have a look at the world of podcast subscriptions. That is the large distinction between commonplace audio recordsdata and the thrilling world of podcasting: the act of the subscribe!

Earlier than we get began, we have to discuss briefly concerning the phrase “subscribe” as a result of it’s really more common for listening apps to use the term “follow” nowadays.

Even Apple Podcasts – the last word place to “subscribe to a podcast” all through a lot of the medium’s historical past – switched to “comply with” in recent times. At present, Apple uses the word “subscribe” to signify paying for a premium podcast as a substitute. For all free content material (the overwhelming majority of stuff on there), you’d “comply with” it to get new episodes delivered mechanically.

Confused? Hopefully not. Nevertheless it’s a disgrace Apple couldn’t have picked a phrase apart from “subscribe” for his or her paywalled content material. Ah nicely.

In any case, we’re focussing 100% on the free, right here. And since another listening apps nonetheless go for the time period “subscribe”, we’ll use it interchangeably with “comply with” on this publish.

Sound good? Alright, “comply with” alongside to this subsequent part, then 🙂

While you subscribe to a podcast, it modifications your relationship from looking to receiving. As quickly as you’ve subscribed, you now not should maintain observe of all of your favorite podcasts. You now not should go on the market and seek for new episodes. You now not have to recollect what you’ve listened to, or the place you left off.

As a substitute, your podcast app will maintain observe of every little thing associated to your favorite podcasts!

New episodes will come on to your cellphone, mechanically. Each time you open the app, they’ll be there, ready. Relying in your settings, they may even be downloaded already, so that you’re all set to hear for a number of hours on the airplane, totally offline.

Any podcast app price its salt will provide up a straightforward option to subscribe to a podcast, after which to maintain observe of these subscriptions. That makes following and listening to your favorite exhibits as straightforward as falling off a log!

So, how do we supply out this witchcraft? How will we begin to make our listening life tremendous straightforward? Effectively, it depends upon your app. Right here’s the way it works on the highest three, plus a course of for doing it in one other app in the marketplace.

How one can Comply with a Podcast in Apple Podcasts (iPhone Default)

Apple Podcasts is without doubt one of the hottest podcast-listening platforms. There are variations for iPhone, desktop, and Apple Watch. They’ll sync their settings utilizing your Apple account, so it’s an honest setting on your listening in the event you do it throughout totally different units.

Right here’s how you can comply with a podcast in Apple Podcasts in your iPhone:

Faucet ‘search’ contained in the Apple Podcasts app
Sort a podcast identify or subject into the search bar, and guarantee ‘All Podcasts’ is chosen
Faucet the podcast you’d wish to subscribe to
Faucet the icon within the high proper nook, which is able to seem as a + image or ‘Comply with’ button.
You’re now subscribed to the podcast!
Faucet Library to see your present subscriptions and begin listening.

How one can Comply with a Podcast on Spotify

Spotify is without doubt one of the fastest-growing podcast-listening apps in the marketplace. It combines your whole favorite audio, from music to podcasting, so you may see why it’s in style, and the app is refining the listening expertise frequently.

The truth that it’s not podcast-specific means it lacks a few of the energy options of different listening apps, however it could possibly nonetheless be an awesome place to hear.

Right here’s how you can comply with a podcast on Spotify:

Click on search contained in the Spotify app
Sort a podcast identify or subject into the search subject
In case you’re trying to find a particular podcast, click on on its identify
In case you’re looking a subject, faucet the ‘Podcasts’ hyperlink to separate out full exhibits and particular person episodes.
Click on in your podcast of selection
Faucet on the ‘comply with’ hyperlink, high left, proper beneath the podcast paintings
Success! You’re subscribed.
To hear, faucet ‘Your Library’ > ‘Podcasts and programs’, and select a present to start out taking part in.

What About Subscribing on Google Podcasts?

Google Podcasts was the distant third-placed podcast listening platform for a great few years. With a median of two.5-3% of whole podcast consumption going down there, it was a good distance behind Apple and Spotify, although nonetheless vital in its personal approach.

Being a Google app means you’re all the time trying over your shoulder, although, and poor outdated Google Podcasts was killed off in early 2024. That’s probably as a result of Google now desires to focus their podcasting efforts on YouTube as a substitute…

Subscribing to YouTube channels is not any new factor, and in the event you try this, you’ll get all of the content material uploaded there. However what in the event you solely wish to subscribe to that creator to get their podcast episodes?

On the time of writing, that also requires the creator to have consciously arrange and marked this content material as “a podcast”. To test if they’ve, click on on their username after which the “Podcasts” tab of their channel.

In case you see a podcast playlist and wish to subscribe to it, click on “View full podcast” then on the little + button and “Save playlist”. It’ll now seem within the “You” tab of your YouTube account.

You’ll be able to subscribe to podcasts within the YouTube Music app, too, in the event you use it. Each YouTube and YouTube Music have total “Podcasts” tabs the place you may seek for new content material, so that you don’t essentially have to search for a specific present on there!

In case you’re going with a distinct app, from Pocketcasts to Overcast, the method is usually just like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Simply discover the search button, kind within the subject or the podcast identify, and select the one you want. The subscribe choice will all the time be labelled one thing like ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Comply with’. And from there, you’re off to the races! Browse your library, and begin listening.

Keep in mind to try all our beneficial podcast listening apps for iPhone & Android in the event you’ve not picked a ‘podcatcher’ but. There are a great deal of nice choices on the market.

Podcast App Icons & Hyperlinks

By the way in which, in the event you’re planning to start out your personal podcast and trying to make it straightforward for listeners to subscribe or comply with, then take a look at pod.link. This helpful platform creates hyperlinks to all the favored listening platforms on one single web page. We use it for our every day ‘how you can podcast’ sequence Pocket-Sized Podcasting.

Within the occasion that you just’ve found a podcast nevertheless it doesn’t seem in your podcasting app’s search listing, then it’s nonetheless doable to subscribe. It simply takes a number of additional steps. Step one in subscribing to a podcast manually is to trace down that podcast’s RSS feed URL.

The RSS feed is a novel hyperlink that comprises all the main points of the podcast’s previous episodes. Don’t fear, although, you don’t have to understand how a podcast feed works, you simply want to seek out its internet tackle, which is often fairly straightforward.

Most podcast web sites may have a ‘Subscribe’ icon someplace on the entrance web page. That’ll usually provide the choice to take a look at the Podcast RSS feed web page, amongst a few of the computerized subscription hyperlinks for Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Click on it, and also you’ll hopefully see a complete bunch of code, known as XML. Once more, don’t fear about this – all you want is the tackle of the web page, which you’ll copy from the tackle bar. It’ll look one thing like this:

https://feeds.alitu.com/36905103

Right here’s an instance of the place to seek out the RSS feed URL on an Alitu-hosted site.

Choose that URL within the tackle bar and duplicate it, then switch it into your podcast listening app. Most apps will help you paste the URL into the search bar, and cargo up the podcast. From there, you may hit the ‘comply with’ or ‘subscribe’ button, as proven on the Apple Podcasts or Spotify guides above.

In case you’re struggling to discover a podcast’s personal webpage, then strive trying to find it on Podchaser. You’ll discover a hyperlink to the RSS feed by scrolling down the web page – it’s on the right-hand aspect above “Podcast Particulars”.

Subscribing to or Following a Podcast: FAQs

Every time we replace this ‘how you can comply with a podcast’ information, we wish to attempt to reply some often requested questions that weren’t absolutely lined beforehand. Let’s have a look…

On this period of “the web of issues”, what can’t you utilize to subscribe to or comply with a podcast? Smartphones, computer systems, and tablets are, unsurprisingly, the source of most podcast listening. Good audio system (like Alexa) and Apple Watches are additionally within the combine, although a lot much less widespread. The underside line is that any system which helps you to obtain and set up apps ought to allow you to comply with and hearken to podcasts.

In case you’re a fan of video podcasts (much less widespread, however a rising medium), then it goes with out saying that you just’ll want a tool with an appropriate display screen to look at on, too.

I’m Following! How A lot Time for New Episodes to Seem on My Display screen?

In case your favorite podcast producer guarantees new episodes on Tuesdays at 8 a.m., does that imply you’ll have the earbuds in by 8:01? In years passed by, positively not. The time it took for new episodes to arrive in listening apps was a standard gripe amongst podcasters and podcast listeners alike. Fortuitously, nowadays, it’s so much higher. Spotify appeared to spur Apple into motion, which means you may often see new episodes in your feed inside 5-10 minutes of publishing.

That may not be the instantaneous file supply we’re used to in 2024, however when you’ve got a handful of favorite podcasts queued as much as hearken to, then you definately’ll most likely survive for a number of extra minutes. That stated, you may attempt to immediate an replace in some apps (eg, Apple Podcasts and Overcast) by holding your finger on the checklist of episodes and pulling them downwards.

What About Paid Podcast Subscriptions?

As talked about initially of this information, Apple Podcasts now use the time period “subscribe” for the paid and premium content material on the platform, changing it with “comply with” for its freemium podcasts. In case you’re occupied with studying extra about this, then we’ve posts on Apple Podcasts subscriptions and how to sell podcast episodes.

Apple isn’t the one platform with unique or premium content material accessible, both. You’ll additionally discover it on Spotify, Audible, and through crowdfunding platforms equivalent to Patreon.

I hope you’ve discovered our ‘listener’s guide to podcast‘ useful. We’ve lined why subscribing to or following a podcast is a superb factor, and how you can do it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and another app. Subsequent time somebody asks, “What’s a podcast?” you’ll be all set to extoll your knowledge!

If you wish to take your podcast listening to the following stage, listed here are a number of assets that may assist, from a brand new set of cans, to some nice exhibits to hearken to. Have enjoyable, and benefit from the world of podcasting!