FAQ: publishing an episode with Podcastics

How do you create a podcast on Podcastics?

Our team has taken great care to keep the process simple and fluid. We detail the five key steps in the following article.

I've published one of my episodes on Podcastics. How long does it take for this publication to be effective on the listening platforms?

The publication of an episode on Podcastics is immediate, but the listening platforms (Apple, Google...) then take a little time ⏱️ to update themselves. This is because they have to reanalyze your RSS feed, which contains all the information about your podcast and its episodes.

This publication delay depends on each platform:

• For Apple Podcasts, it takes up to 1 hour (but usually around 10 minutes).
• Google Podcasts, thanks to a technical partnership with Podcastics, takes a maximum of 15 minutes.
• For Spotify, generally 15 minutes maximum.
• Deezer, also thanks to a technical partnership with Podcastics, takes around 5 minutes.
• For Amazon Music, it's usually less than 10 minutes.

The listening platforms are therefore quick to publish a new episode. Beware, however: if you update an episode (its title, description, cover art...), then timescales get a little longer, and the platforms can take several hours to take account of a modification.

Any action you take on Podcastics will therefore be available on all listening platforms in no time. But don't worry if your changes aren't taken into account instantly: it's perfectly normal!

I need to edit the audio file of an episode that has already been published. Is this a problem?

Not at all! It's not uncommon to realize after the fact that there's been an editing error, or even a passage that needs to be cut. In your Podcastics interface, you can replace an episode audio file at any time. This will have no effect on your statistics, or on any other parameter: everything will continue to work as normal 👍

Note, however, that for people who had already listened to the episode in question, it will still be marked as played on listening platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.). If you want it to appear as unplayed, then you'll need to duplicate your episode from your Podcastics interface (this function is accessible from the "Actions" menu in the top right-hand corner of your screen when you edit an episode), then import your audio file and indicate the correct publication date. There's nothing complicated about it: duplicating an episode takes just a few seconds.

The visual (or jacket) of my episodes doesn't appear on certain listening platforms. Is it Podcastics?

Well, no, it's not our fault! When it comes to individual episode covers, not all platforms manage them properly. Let's take a moment to pick out the good points and the bad:

• Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music display them correctly.
• Deezer displays them on its web version. On the mobile app, individual covers are displayed, but only when consulting the episode list (they are not displayed when clicking on a particular episode).
• Google Podcasts, Stitcher and TuneIn don't display them at all.

However, nothing prevents these platforms from evolving in the future, and accepting episode jacket support. Fingers crossed 🤞

My jacket is ugly. Is there anything you can do for me?

Not really, to be quite honest 😕 

All we can say is that your image has to be square. This is the standard for all platforms. Added to this are the size requirements defined by Apple: at least 1,400 x 1,400 pixels, and a maximum of 3,000 x 3,000 pixels. All in JPEG or PNG format, even if we realize that this doesn't answer your initial question. Have you thought about hiring a graphic designer 🧑‍🎨?

I don't like the order of my episodes. Is there anything I can do?

Your podcast episodes are sorted according to their publication date. On paper, all you have to do is change the publication date of your 🗓️ episodes to adjust their display order.

Note, however, that there is an option in your podcast settings that allows you to display episodes in chronological or antechronological order. So it still depends on the publication dates, but you've got to admit that it's better than nothing:

• For an antechronological display, i.e. from the most recent to the oldest, choose the "Episodic" setting.
• For chronological display, i.e. from oldest to newest, choose the "Sequential" setting.

This choice will be reflected on your Podcastics website, but also on listening platforms (Apple, Spotify...).

Is it possible to rerun an episode?

Yes, and it's even a fairly widespread practice to bring back to light old episodes that at the time hadn't necessarily found their audience. Summer is often a good time to do this 😎

On Podcastics, the best option is undoubtedly to duplicate the episode in one click, thanks to the button provided for this purpose in the list of your episodes. Then all you have to do is upload the same audio file and indicate in the title that it's a rerun.

Why this procedure? Quite simply because if you just change the publication date of existing episodes, your listeners won't receive any notifications from the listening platforms. This will also prevent them from seeing the original dates on which the episodes were published.

Another advantage of duplicating episodes is that you can quickly and simply schedule them in advance for the whole summer, without any further intervention.

How do I schedule an episode in advance?

With Podcastics, you no longer need to worry about publishing a show on a given date! In your episode publication interface, you have three options:

• public: everyone has access to the episode ;
• unlisted: only those with a direct link to the episode can view it;
• private: only you, your Admins and your Managers can view this episode.

The last parameter to validate before the episode goes online is the date and time of publication. You can choose to publish immediately, later in the day, or in a few days, weeks or even months.

Note that these two settings - confidentiality and publication date - can work together. Let's imagine, for example, that you first want to share your latest episode with your reviewers, friends or Patreon supporters, and then make it public at a later date, but without coming back to modify your data. All you have to do is select "unlisted" in the privacy settings, set a date for later publication and check the "go public automatically" box. By activating this setting, your unlisted episode will become public without any further action on your part on the date you choose.

I've heard that I can easily duplicate an episode to save time on formatting. How does it work?

Duplicating an episode is as easy as 1-2-3.

Go to your podcast interface, then select the Episodes tab in the left-hand column. In your list of episodes, you'll find three buttons on the right for each one: Edit, Duplicate episode and Other actions. Clicking on the "Duplicate episode" button retrieves all the layout data for the selected episode. All that's left to do is replace any elements in the episode description that don't fit.

This is a great way to save time when certain elements don't change from one episode to the next, such as the composition of your team or your credits.

What are automated episode descriptions?

To access automated episode descriptions, go to your Podcastics interface and select the Episodes tab in the left-hand column. In the top right-hand corner, you have two options: "Add an episode" or view your "Descriptions". If you haven't created one yet, you'll be able to do so once you've clicked on this button.

Your episode descriptions may contain recurring content, identical from one episode to the next: for example, credits (author, music...), your social network links, a message inviting your listeners to give you 5 stars, or an advertisement from your sponsor...

The problem is that when you want to modify this content, you have to edit all your episodes... It's tedious and time-consuming! Podcastics solves this problem with automated descriptions, allowing you to manage all your content easily. A huge time-saver!

What's this mess with my episode cover? I can't upload it. Can you tell me about the format and size requirements?

Yes, the visual for your episode must be a square JPEG file measuring 1,400 pixels (not centimetres).

To obtain this result, you can open your file with the software you're used to using in such cases. This might be Preview on a Mac, or Photoshop, Photofiltre or similar on a PC. Once you've opened the file, you'll find an "Adjust Size" item in the Tools menu to suit your needs. In the window that opens, choose a size of 1400 pixels for the smallest dimension. For example, if your width has the smallest dimension 📏, then enter 1400 pixels for its size. On the other hand, if it's the height that's smaller, you'll need to enter 1400 pixels for its size. By the way, you also need to set the resolution to 72 pixels/inch.

Now that you have an image of the right size, you need to crop it to make it square. Once again, this is a feature available in your usual software, most often in the Tools menu and then with the Crop item. Once you have a 1,400 pixel square image, all you need to do is save it, giving it a name and choosing the JPEG format. By selecting a suitable quality, your image should not exceed 500kb in size, which is fine. But if, as the saying goes, you're still "wading in the deep end" 🍛 don't hesitate to contact our customer service team, who will be happy to help you resolve your problem.