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The RSS feed is your podcast’s home, and it’s pretty integral to podcasting as a format. In fact, many podcast purists say a podcast isn’t a podcast unless it’s on RSS! It’s up to you whether you agree with that, but needless to say as a podcaster it’s best to understand what they are and how they work. This blog will explain everything you need to know when it comes to podcast RSS feeds, so let’s get stuck in!
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RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and in basic terms an RSS feed is a group of XML files which are automatically updated in real time. This allows sources from across a range of websites to be easily read in a single location.
This process is called aggregation – pulling content from a range of sources into a single location to make your life easier. RSS has been around since around 1999, and is a pretty fundamental part of website design.
It’s basically a link to a stream of content. You can have RSS feeds for a blog, website, podcast etc, and allows subscribers to view or listen to new content when it’s published, without the need to manually check the source website.
In terms of podcasting, RSS allows you to upload your podcast details (so your art, podcast name, bio, etc.) and your new episodes to a single place – your host site – and for these episodes to then appear in multiple podcasting apps, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else.
Every hosting site, Captivate included, uses RSS feeds to submit your show to the places you want it to go so that listeners can find, download and listen to your episodes.
RSS feeds need to be added to an RSS feed reader or aggregator – for podcasters, these are directory apps like Apple and Spotify. Once added to the feed reader, it will check regularly for any updates, which is how your new episodes track through.
Using a podcast host like Captivate means you don’t have to worry about creating an RSS feed – we do that for you, along with a whole suite of other things like ad insertion, monetization, analytics reports and much more. Check out our full list of podcasting features here.
For those curious about how you can manually create a podcast RSS feed, here’s how:
The difference with doing it yourself is you’ll need to submit your feed to every directory individually, which as you can imagine won’t be a quick job. With Captivate, you save time. Head on over to Distribution in the platform and submit your show to multiple directories at the same time with a click of a button. So much easier!.
Again, for those curious of how to submit your RSS feed manually, below, we’ve used Spotify as an example.
Doing this for each directory individually will be a bit time consuming, so we’d strongly recommend using a hosting provider like Captivate.
Your RSS feed contains all the relevant information about your podcast so that directories can display it properly. You’ll upload some key aspects at show level, so if you’re using something like RSS.com you’ll do this during set up. This includes:
You’ll then upload episode specific information each time you upload an episode. This includes things like:
Again, if you use Captivate, you don’t have to worry about any of this – we take care of it all for you during your show and episode creation processes.
If you’re creating your own RSS feed, you’ll need to follow some pretty specific requirements. If you’re using Captivate, don’t worry about this – we’ve got it sorted. Here’s what Apple has to say about RSS requirements:
“Your hosting provider should be able to help you address technical requirements. If the feed does not comply with these requirements, it will result in feed validation errors. RSS feeds can be self-generated and hosted, or can be issued via a hosting provider.
Here’s how the podcast RSS feed looks for Captivate’s show, Captivate Insider. Click on it and take a look:
https://feeds.captivate.fm/insider/
Additionally here’s Apple’s example of a “well-formed RSS feed”, which is also worth a look.
If you’re not with Captivate or another hosting provider, you’ll need to validate your RSS feed. Here’s what Apple says about the process:
“To validate your show, follow these steps:
Review and fix any validation warnings or errors, if applicable. Then, select Submit For Review again. If your feed validates successfully, Apple Podcasts Connect will submit your show to Apple for review.”
You can also validate your feed using this tool.
After validation, you’ll see more information in the case that there were any errors with file formatting, connectivity or tagging.
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If there are any errors, you can use something like Cast Feed Validator to get detailed insights into the problem and how you can fix it.
Yes, you do need an RSS feed to podcast in the traditional sense. It’s absolutely essential in getting your show out there to directories like Apple, Spotify and more.
In recent years, though, podcasts have expanded onto YouTube – in the sense that a podcast is just on-demand audio, you don’t need an RSS feed to upload your podcast to YouTube. While some purists would argue the lack of RSS means that it isn’t a podcast, your average listener isn’t going to care about that one bit – they’re just interested in accessing your audio wherever they get their content.
Creating a podcast RSS feed manually is completely free. You also get an RSS feed when you create a podcast with Captivate, and the same is true for every other hosting provider. Your RSS feed is a truly fundamental part of your podcast, so it’s natural that whichever provider you choose will create one for you.
What Captivate does is take all of the stress out of your podcast RSS for you – we create all the metadata from the information you put in when you create your show and upload your episodes and make sure it’s formatted correctly and there are no issues. There’s no need to worry about all the technical stuff, you can just focus on growing and monetizing your podcast.
RSS has been fundamental to podcasting since it began – it’s a super handy way of distributing information to multiple locations after it’s been uploaded to one central place. You can create and manage your own RSS feed, distributing data to all directories yourself, or any hosting site you use will do this for you.
If you’re creating and managing your own RSS feed, you need to ensure that it meets the technical requirements outlined above, and that it’s validated using the tools provided. If you’re with Captivate, you don’t need to worry about any of that – we’ve got you covered.
Ben is a content writer and podcast support expert for Captivate, and has been with the team since 2021. He has a first-class degree in Journalism, and uses these skills to help new and veteran podcasters alike level up their content: reviewing tech, crafting product guides and sharing cutting edge podcasting news. Ben is always on hand to help Captivate podcasters with anything they run into, from when they first import their show to advanced questions like how to grow your audience or where to start with monetization. He loves what he does, and is committed to helping podcasters grow their show using Captivate. He’s always been a podcast fan - current favourites include Steven West’s ‘Philosophize This’ and Bob Mortimer’s ‘Athletico Mince’.
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