Podchaser 2019 Roadmap & 2018 Review

Podcasting companies making plans for 2019 share three sentiments: optimism, hope, and uncertainty. Together, we continue the trek toward establishing podcasting as a mainstream media in our ever-changing and evolving industry.

However, podcasting may continue to struggle to find footing alongside YouTube, TV, and radio until we solve a few persistent industry issues: discovery, decentralization, and data.

Our team at Podchaser will bring game-changing, innovative solutions in 2019 to help solve this puzzle.

COMING 2019 TO PODCHASER

First, discovery – a familiar buzzword among podcasters. For years, we’ve grumbled and complained about Apple Podcasts. Chart manipulation, difficult UI for ratings/reviews, and isolation of the 50% of podcast listeners on Android leave us wanting – needing – more. You deserve a better solution. A universal, easy solution. A solution that’s cross-platform, unbiased, and built on community feedback.

Our solutions to discovery:

“Follow” Podcasts, Creators, & Lists – By creating an account and utilizing our upcoming “Follow” feature, you’ll be notified when a podcast releases a new episode, a Creator appears on a podcast, or a List is updated. Instead of just asking listeners to subscribe on iTunes or “wherever you get your podcasts,” simply ask listeners to follow you and your podcast on Podchaser!

Smart Recommendations & Feed – By combining your “Follow” data, listening habits, and ratings/reviews, we’re launching a custom feed full of recommendations curated just for you. Every day, your feed will update with recently released podcast episodes, popular reviews, relevant Lists, and suggested Creators to help you discover new podcasts and episodes.

Featured Snippets – Once a podcast is claimed, Creators can add a featured snippet for a podcast and each episode to give listeners a taste of the content. These snippets will appear in users’ feeds as part of Podchaser’s Smart Recommendations.

Partial Redesign – The Podcasts, Episodes, and Categories tabs on Podchaser will get a facelift. We’ll bring the best content front and center, minimizing ratings manipulation and over-representation.

Now, let’s solve the decentralization dilemma. Asking your listeners to rate your podcast, buy your merch, donate, support your advertisers, and subscribe “wherever” is just too much. If you’re lucky, they’ll remember one. We’re bringing everything to one central destination. Simply ask your listeners to visit your podcast page on Podchaser to rate, review, purchase, donate, and follow.

Our solutions to the decentralization dilemma:

Merchandise – Sync your TeePublic store with your podcast page on Podchaser. Now when you direct listeners to rate and review on Podchaser, you can ask them to snag a t-shirt too! (Are you a merch supplier? Learn more – email [email protected])

Donations & Contributions – Donations are an increasingly popular way to support podcasts. Soon, connect your existing donation platform account with your Podchaser podcast page so listeners can directly contribute to your podcast via Podchaser. (Have a suggestion for which donation platforms Podchaser should support? Email [email protected])

Cross-platform Integrations – Podchaser ratings will become ubiquitous, much like the Tomatometer or IMDb ratings for TV and film. Through a new API, podcast apps can access Podchaser’s ratings, reviews, Creator profiles, and Lists. This means you’ll see Podchaser ratings appear in your favorite listening apps alongside relevant reviews. (Learn more – email [email protected])

Last, let’s talk data. RAD may be a step forward in transparency, but podcast hosts still hold the keys to RSS feeds and listening data. We’re innovating RSS feeds in partnership with podcast hosts to include data on your Guests, Producers, Editors, Voice Actors, and whoever else contributes to the creation of your podcast.

Our data solutions:

RSS Integrations – Enter information about the contributors to your podcast directly into your RSS feed through your host. Podchaser will recognize this information and automatically populate the associated Creator profiles on Podchaser. Launching with Podiant January 2019!(Are you a hosting service? Learn more – email [email protected])

Your Dashboard – See a complete overview of your activity on Podchaser. Ratings, reviews, Lists, listening data, followed Creators & podcasts, preferred apps, and so much more. Your new dashboard will be a summary of your podcast personality and help Podchaser provide powerful recommendations.

Connect with Potential Guests – Message potential guests directly through Podchaser. With an option to add a ‘Guest’ badge to your profile, let other Creators know you’re open to appear as a guest on other podcasts. Use your Creator profile as your podcasting resume to give other podcast Creators a sample of your work.

2018 IN REVIEW

Finally, let’s not forget to celebrate how far we’ve come. In 2018, we raised our first round of funding as a company to bring you a much-needed solution to podcast data and discovery. So here’s a recap of everything Podchaser released in 2018 to support podcast Creators and listeners alike.

Creator Profiles – Search for your favorite podcast Creators on Podchaser to see a full list of their credits and appearances.

Custom Lists – Build your own list of podcasts or episodes, complete with a custom title, description, and notes. Open your list and listen with the RadioPublic app or export to OPML or RSS.

Play With – Open podcasts and episodes with your preferred podcast player directly from Podchaser.

Revamped Search – See suggestions for relevant podcasts, episodes, Creators, Lists, tags, and categories using Podchaser’s powerful search function.

Shareable Reviews – After writing a review for a podcast or episode, share it to your social pages directly from Podchaser.

Homepage Redesign – Discover trending lists, podcasts, episodes, and reviews directly from the home page of Podchaser.

We’re deeply grateful for the community support from our roughly 500 Slack Community members and all of our followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Your thoughtful feedback and advice helped us reach new heights in 2018, and 2019 will be even better.