Popular Directories for Podcasts - dummies

By Tee Morris, Chuck Tomasi

Now that you have your podcatching client, it’s time to take a good listen to what’s happening in the podcasting community. If you’re going to podcast, it’s a good idea to look around the podcasting community and see what other podcasters are doing.

Many podcatching clients have internal directories of podcasts, and you can access their listings from another directory or listing site maintained elsewhere on the Internet. Other aggregators maintain their own lists based on how many listeners have used their podcatcher to subscribe to particular shows.

Some of the more popular directories where podcasts can be found include:

  • iTunes: iTunes makes finding podcasts easy. The directory includes not only show information — searchable in a myriad of ways — but also the ability to listen to specific episodes, subscribe to a podcast with one click, visit the show’s website, leave comments, and see the podcast picks of other people who share an interest in the show you’re viewing.
  • Stitcher: The directories of both the website and mobile app are similar in that you can search top ranked or by categories for new podcasts. In the mobile app, however, individual episodes offer you the chance to Like an episode, share the episode across a variety of means (text messages, social media, and so on), or leave a comment specifically for that episode. You can also tell Stitcher you’ll Listen Later, and it highlights the episode in your directory as a priority for another time.
    Stitcher app
    Use the Stitcher app to leave comments for podcasters, rate a show, or share the episode with friends online.
  • Google Play Music: While the actual online Google Play directory only features apps for podcasting, the actual Google Play Music apps offer you the ability to find listed podcasts. You can also share podcasts like you can with Stitcher, but the process is not necessarily as quick and easy as Stitcher. You can have a look at your options with podcasts through Google Play Music.
  • Apple’s Podcasts: A separate app from the Music app, the Podcasts app for all Apple mobile devices allows you to search, subscribe, and manage your various podcasts. You can access show notes, share shows across a variety of platforms (like Stitcher), and even follow links referenced in show notes to other locations. It is a robust app, and offers a lot of hidden options. (Tap through options offered, and you find out this is a layered app.)
    Apple Podcasts app
    The Apple Podcasts app brings blog posts directly to your mobile device, and offers you options to share an episode across social networks.
  • PlayIt: Set up in a fashion like Stitcher, Play.It offers podcasts in various categories ranging from Top Ranked to Shows of Interest. Unlike some directories that offer interaction, PlayIt keeps it simple with show art, show description, and brief episode descriptions. There are a few social share options, but brevity is the soul of wit with this directory.

If you want people to find you on Stitcher Radio, you need to register your podcast in their network. Just registering a podcast on iTunes isn’t enough. Same with Google Play. Each directory offering podcasts through its app may ask that you register with its network. Usually, it’s a free service. All it costs you is time. It would not be a bad idea to have this information documented in a separate file so all you need to do from directory to directory is copy and paste.

There are so many directories for podcasts that Rob Walch of Podcast411 has put together a directory of directories.
https://www.dummies.com/education/internet-basics/popular-directories-podcasts/
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