Apple Introduces New Tools for Podcast Creators
Apple, the tech giant that pioneered the podcast industry, has recently announced several new features and updates for podcast creators. These include subscription analytics, delegated delivery, and Linkfire integration. These tools aim to help podcasters grow their audience, monetize their content, and measure their performance.
Subscription analytics is a new dashboard that allows podcasters to track key metrics related to their subscriptions on Apple Podcasts. Podcasters can see how many listeners started a free trial, how many converted to paid subscribers, and how much revenue they generated from subscriptions. They can also filter the data by time period, country, and subscription duration. Subscription analytics is available for free to podcast creators with at least one active subscription and an Admin, Finance or Legal role in Apple Podcasts Connect
Delegated delivery is a feature that enables podcasters to publish their subscriber-only episodes from partner hosting providers. This means that podcasters can use their preferred hosting platform to upload and manage their episodes, while still offering exclusive content to their subscribers on Apple Podcasts. Apple says that 50% of the new subscription episodes on its platform are delivered through delegated delivery. Some of the hosting providers that support delegated delivery are Audiomeans, Captivate, Podbean, Podspace, and Transistor
Linkfire integration is a partnership that gives podcasters a new way to generate smart links for landing pages. These pages are designed to connect listeners to shows and subscriptions on Apple Podcasts, as well as other apps and related products. Podcasters can also use Linkfire to measure real-time user engagement with these links, such as visits, click-through rates, plays, and follows. Linkfire integration will be available to all Apple Podcasts creators and shows for free this fall. Additional features will be available with a subscription to Linkfire for Podcasts, which starts at $9.99 a month
These new tools are part of Apple's efforts to support and empower podcast creators, who have been facing increasing competition from Spotify and other platforms. Apple hopes that by offering more insights, flexibility, and marketing options, it can help podcasters create better content and reach more listeners.
