1.6 – Distributing Your Podcast Lesson

Lesson Overview

Making your podcast accessible wherever people listen is a key part of growing your show. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use Spotify for Podcasters, a free service that not only puts your podcast on Spotify, but also helps distribute it to major platforms like Apple Podcasts. Learners will see why setting up your distribution channels at the beginning saves time in the long run—future episodes get pushed out automatically so you’re not uploading the same file over and over. This lesson is especially useful for anyone new to podcasting or anyone who wants to reach as many listeners as possible with minimal manual effort.

Whether you record with Riverside.fm or another app, you’ll see how to upload podcast files, fill in important episode details, and make the most of interactive audience features. We’ll also cover how to use AI—such as ChatGPT and YouTube transcripts—for generating professional show notes quickly. Real-world podcasters use these techniques to keep their workflow efficient and their audience growing. This lesson helps you set up those time-saving systems from the start.

Who This Is For

If you're looking to reach listeners wherever they tune in, this lesson will be a good fit. It’s designed to support:

• Podcasters launching a show for the first time
• Content creators wanting a streamlined distribution workflow
• Marketing professionals supporting branded podcasts
• Educators making educational audio content available widely
• Anyone interested in growing podcast engagement through built-in tools

Where This Fits in a Workflow

Distributing your podcast comes right after you’ve finished recording and editing. Once your files are ready, setting up distribution means your content can reach listeners everywhere—Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more—without repeating manual uploads for every platform. For example, after releasing an episode, you can use Spotify for Podcasters to push it out broadly at once, whether you want immediate release or to schedule it for later. You’ll also be able to easily gather analytics and add interactive elements that drive audience participation, such as polls after a discussion-filled episode. This lesson ensures distribution isn’t a stumbling block, but a routine part of launching each new show.

Technical & Workflow Benefits

In the past, distributing a podcast required submitting your RSS feed and files to each listening platform separately—a repetitive and time-consuming process. With the methods shown here, you’ll configure all major channel connections just once using Spotify for Podcasters. After set up, each episode you upload can be published across all selected services automatically. This not only saves significant time but also helps keep your release schedule consistent and error-free. If you use AI-generated transcripts (from YouTube or Riverside.fm), creating show notes is just a matter of copy-paste and a few prompts, rather than manual writing. For podcasters releasing weekly shows or managing multiple series, this unified workflow delivers both efficiency and higher-quality, audience-ready releases.

Practice Exercise

Apply what you’ve learned by preparing your own distribution-ready episode. Use a short audio file—such as an intro or trailer for your podcast.

1. Create or log into your Spotify for Podcasters account.
2. Set up your podcast settings (name, description, cover art, category, language).
3. Upload your audio file, add an episode title and AI-generated show notes (try using a transcript with ChatGPT).
4. Optionally, add a Q&A prompt or poll related to your episode.

After uploading, review your podcast’s availability settings. Is your episode set to publish to all major platforms? Compare this process to how you might share podcast files manually—is it more efficient?

Course Context Recap

This lesson builds on what you’ve learned about recording and editing podcasts, showing you how to make your work accessible to the widest possible audience. Understanding fast, reliable distribution is part of building a professional, repeatable podcast workflow. Coming up, you’ll look at marketing strategies using AI-driven tools to help promote your show. Continue with the course to connect these technical skills with effective podcast growth and audience-building tactics. There’s more to explore, so keep moving forward with the next lessons.