RSS.com has released their Free Local and Nice podcast hosting plan, and it's a truly free plan that doesn't limit you based on uploads, hours of content, or duration of episode in feed.
It's a fantastic development for people who want to start a podcast with a little bit less risk.
Here's what it means for you.
Learn more at https://joec.pro/rss (affiliate link)
*Disclosure: I am an evangelist for RSS.com, However, they did not ask me to create this episode; I think it's a truly great think for podcasters.
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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.
Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.
Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/
00:00:01 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to the streamlined podcaster, a podcast
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 that shows you how to put the right systems in
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 place so you can stop spinning your wheels, focus
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 on making great content and see your show grow.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 Because there's nothing worse than putting a
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 ton of effort into your show to see very few
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 benefits and even fewer downloads. My name is
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 Joe Casabona and I know you're strapped for time.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 So let's get into it. One of the biggest questions
00:00:29 --> 00:00:35 I get from just my audience and podcast coaching
00:00:35 --> 00:00:39 clients is where should they host their podcast.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:43 And there are a lot of services out there. Full
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 disclosure, I am the evangelist for RSS .com
00:00:46 --> 00:00:50 and so I make content for them. And generally
00:00:50 --> 00:00:54 it's not really something I talk about on the
00:00:54 --> 00:00:59 show, right? I don't want to bias or color anybody's
00:00:59 --> 00:01:04 opinion. I do have a tools page over at streamlinedpodcaster
00:01:04 --> 00:01:09 .com slash tools where I recommend several including
00:01:09 --> 00:01:14 RSS .com. I try to make those recommendations
00:01:14 --> 00:01:19 based on feature needs. So, you know, if RSS
00:01:19 --> 00:01:23 .com just doesn't have a feature that the podcaster
00:01:23 --> 00:01:27 needs, I'll recommend some other host. But today
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 I want to talk about something Really exciting
00:01:30 --> 00:01:34 that rss .com has released now that we've released
00:01:34 --> 00:01:39 to rss .com and that is the free local and niche
00:01:39 --> 00:01:46 podcast plan free local and niche and so In the
00:01:46 --> 00:01:51 past I have told you I've told people to not
00:01:51 --> 00:01:56 use Spotify for creators Spotify for podcasters
00:01:56 --> 00:02:00 anchor whatever name it was at any given time
00:02:00 --> 00:02:04 and that's because I tell people that if there
00:02:04 --> 00:02:12 is a totally free service Then you are the product
00:02:12 --> 00:02:18 right With Facebook you don't pay for Facebook
00:02:18 --> 00:02:23 Facebook makes money off of your data and gathering
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 information about you that they can then serve
00:02:25 --> 00:02:29 to advertisers or sell to third parties. Spotify,
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 you know, this is unsubstantiated. I don't know
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 this for sure, but Spotify definitely operates
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 the same way in the advertising space. I don't
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 know if they sell people's data. I generally
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 assume that big companies that give stuff away
00:02:44 --> 00:02:49 for free do. Spotify does sell ads and their
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 The name of their game is content and what they
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 don't have to do with free podcasts on their
00:02:57 --> 00:03:03 platform is Pay those podcasters a royalty so
00:03:03 --> 00:03:08 it's beneficial for Spotify for creators to have
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 free hosting because they get Content that is
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 essentially free to them that they can then sell
00:03:13 --> 00:03:18 ads to and then just give you a cut of anyway
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 All of this is to say that up until recently,
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 like today basically, free plans for podcast
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 hosting have been insufficient. Spotify for creators
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 does not have the creator in mind and every other
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 free podcast hosting plan I've seen has fallen
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 short by putting limits on the number of hours
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 you can upload or the number of days a episode
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 stays on a free feed or the Size of the files
00:03:49 --> 00:03:54 that you can upload But RSS calm and again, I
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 know I gave the disclosure in the beginning,
00:03:55 --> 00:04:01 but I do I'm I get paid by RSS calm RSS calm
00:04:01 --> 00:04:05 has launched their free local and niche plan
00:04:05 --> 00:04:11 what makes this free plan different is that First
00:04:11 --> 00:04:15 of all, it is not limited by anything like the
00:04:15 --> 00:04:20 number of episodes or the amount of hours you
00:04:20 --> 00:04:25 upload, it's strictly limited by features, which
00:04:25 --> 00:04:29 is, I think, how most services should work. You
00:04:29 --> 00:04:33 pay more money to get more stuff. And if you
00:04:33 --> 00:04:38 are offering a free plan that is not billed as
00:04:38 --> 00:04:43 a free trial, then it shouldn't be handicapped
00:04:43 --> 00:04:48 by stuff like that. So the Local and niche plan,
00:04:48 --> 00:04:52 the free local and niche plan has unlimited episodes,
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 unlimited audio. You get the embeddable podcast
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 player, a website, episode scheduling, promotional
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 tools, analytics for up to 90 days. That is,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:05 that's one of the limits, right? I think that's
00:05:05 --> 00:05:09 a perfectly reasonable limit. If data and analytics
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 are really important to you, then it is reasonably
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 something that you should pay for. And what you
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 get on the paid plans, right, are things like
00:05:19 --> 00:05:23 the paid ads, right, programmatic ads inserted
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 dynamically, the ability to use Apple podcast
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 subscriptions, converting your audio to video
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 for YouTube videos, show collaborators and other
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 power ups. So that's what you get when you upgrade
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 to a paid plan. And then there's also the podcast
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 networks plan, which for less than 20 bucks a
00:05:39 --> 00:05:45 month gives you unlimited podcasts, unlimited
00:05:45 --> 00:05:49 team members. Analytics for up to 365 days. I
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 should say the all -in -one podcasting plan gives
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 you analytics up to 180 days so you can kind
00:05:54 --> 00:06:01 of see a and it says I should say advanced analytics
00:06:01 --> 00:06:06 So, you know advanced analytics, you know gives
00:06:06 --> 00:06:10 you location time trends and things like that,
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 so You can see like what your downloads look
00:06:13 --> 00:06:17 like over a certain amount of time But the advanced
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 analytics, again, I think is something worth
00:06:19 --> 00:06:23 paying for. So. And then the other side of this,
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 right, which is like a service that's completely
00:06:26 --> 00:06:31 free is probably using you, right? RSS .com has
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 a business model. Just like you can use Notion
00:06:34 --> 00:06:39 for free and then pay for extra stuff. RSS .com's
00:06:39 --> 00:06:48 paid plans give you more stuff. Spotify for creators
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 doesn't have a paid upgrade path. And they actively
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 get people who aren't hosting them with them
00:06:56 --> 00:07:00 to move to them for free. So they're definitely
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 playing on, you don't want to pay for podcasting,
00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 right? So I love that RSS .com has launched this
00:07:07 --> 00:07:11 plan. It makes podcasting more truly accessible.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 to as many people as possible. We're calling
00:07:15 --> 00:07:20 it the free local and niche plan because, you
00:07:20 --> 00:07:25 know, local journalists or small audience podcasters
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 who just want to get their message out there
00:07:28 --> 00:07:33 shouldn't have to pay a bunch of money a year
00:07:33 --> 00:07:37 for it. And so we've enabled that at RSS .com,
00:07:37 --> 00:07:42 which I love. The other thing I'll say is I've
00:07:42 --> 00:07:46 been seeing other services start to wade into
00:07:46 --> 00:07:52 podcast hosting. So like Kit, formerly ConvertKit,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:57 put out a survey asking about, you know, where
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 do you host your podcast and would you use hosting
00:08:00 --> 00:08:06 if we offered it? I will be very disappointed
00:08:06 --> 00:08:12 if Kit decides to start hosting podcasts. I am
00:08:12 --> 00:08:17 big on a do one thing well mentality, and there
00:08:17 --> 00:08:21 are a lot of things that Kit can improve before
00:08:21 --> 00:08:26 they wade into the very difficult business of
00:08:26 --> 00:08:30 hosting podcasts. It's not just about throwing
00:08:30 --> 00:08:34 audio up there and having an RSS feed. It's about
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 being reliable and offering a number of services.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 Otherwise, if that was the case, I would just
00:08:40 --> 00:08:44 put all my podcasts episodes on on AWS, right?
00:08:44 --> 00:08:50 If I just need a place to host MP3 files, right?
00:08:50 --> 00:08:54 And so, like, I fear that podcast hosting would
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 be an incredible distraction for kit .com. And
00:08:57 --> 00:09:01 I'm, this isn't hyperbole. If they start to do
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 that, then I'm going to look elsewhere for an
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 email service provider that's truly focused on
00:09:06 --> 00:09:10 email. But I've also noticed that Riverside rolled
00:09:10 --> 00:09:15 out podcast hosting. I love Riverside. I think
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 that they are the best remote recording tool.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:22 It makes a little bit more sense for them to
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 possibly try their hand at podcast hosting, but
00:09:25 --> 00:09:30 my early experience is poor. They are missing
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 some core features like the ability to replace
00:09:33 --> 00:09:37 audio and video for scheduled posts. There's
00:09:37 --> 00:09:42 No website. It's kind of hard to find the RSS
00:09:42 --> 00:09:46 feed. They're really it's not really podcast
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 hosting. They're billing it as a way to publish
00:09:48 --> 00:09:54 to three places. Spotify, YouTube and Apple podcasts.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 And that's great because publishing to those
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 three places is hard. But, you know, I'm not
00:09:59 --> 00:10:05 seeing. I haven't seen anything that makes me
00:10:05 --> 00:10:11 think. Riverside is worth recommending. Even
00:10:11 --> 00:10:15 if there are workflow gains by not having to
00:10:15 --> 00:10:20 publish in three separate places. And I have
00:10:20 --> 00:10:24 a lot of opinions about podcast hosting. The
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 reason I work for RSS .com in the first place,
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 right, or I do work for RSS .com in the first
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 place, is because I think they offer a really
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 great product. With a lot of great features and
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 and they care about the podcasters experience
00:10:38 --> 00:10:46 And so All of this is to say that if you haven't
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 launched your podcast yet because it's been Cost
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 prohibitive or you're worried about the long
00:10:51 --> 00:10:56 -term investment I would encourage you to Check
00:10:56 --> 00:11:01 out the free local and niche podcast plan It
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 gives you so much more than any other free plan
00:11:04 --> 00:11:09 out there. And it gives you a clear upgrade path
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 when you are ready to start paying for podcast
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 hosting, which I strongly think you should do,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:19 right? If you are building a business or making
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 your podcast part of your business. You know,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:25 I talked about this in the hobbies episode. Invest
00:11:25 --> 00:11:30 in your hobby, but Also, if you are making your
00:11:30 --> 00:11:33 podcast a business or part of your business,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:39 invest in that as well. The free local niche
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 plan allows you to invest those funds elsewhere,
00:11:42 --> 00:11:50 like in a VA or maybe in an editor. But this
00:11:50 --> 00:11:54 makes it easier to get started. And I think that
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 when you're ready, you can do the upgrade path
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 and You'll be in a much better position because
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 you won't have to change hosts or migrate anywhere
00:12:01 --> 00:12:08 or feel like you got spurned or screwed by Spotify
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 for creators because they've changed the way
00:12:11 --> 00:12:15 they measure things or they did things in the
00:12:15 --> 00:12:19 interests of themselves and advertisers. You
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 know, the podcast hosting companies that charge
00:12:21 --> 00:12:26 for hosting, their customers Their business relies
00:12:26 --> 00:12:30 on their customers. Advertisers are not their
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 customers. Their board is not their customers.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:38 We are their customers. And that's a good thing.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 So anyway, check out, it's over, you know, I'll
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 have a link in the show notes. This show is hosted
00:12:44 --> 00:12:48 by RSS .com. So, you know, you can head over
00:12:48 --> 00:12:52 to josee .pro slash RSS. That's my affiliate
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 link. Or not. Just go to rss .com slash pricing.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 If you want to see the free and local plan, check
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 it out. I'm really, you know, I, nobody asked
00:13:01 --> 00:13:05 me to do this episode. I just think it's in the
00:13:05 --> 00:13:11 grand scheme of how I approach podcasting and
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 podcast workflows and things like that. And what
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 people ask me about hosting is a consideration
00:13:18 --> 00:13:23 that everyone needs to make. And this offers
00:13:23 --> 00:13:28 a really great opportunity for people to launch
00:13:28 --> 00:13:32 their podcast with a little bit less stress.
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 So it lowers the risk of starting a podcast,
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 which is a great thing. All right. Well, that's
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 it for this episode. Let me know what you think
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 over at streamlinedfeedback .com. Thanks so much
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 for listening. Are you going to try the free
00:13:46 --> 00:13:51 and free local and niche plan? Let me know that
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 too. I really appreciate you. And until next
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 time, I hope you find some space in your week.