Exploring Acast: Unveiling the Podcast Experience on This Diverse Platform

Exploring Acast: Unveiling the Podcast Experience on This Diverse Platform

Acast describes itself as “the podcasting home.” It’s a platform for hosting and distribution that aids podcasters in monetizing and expanding their podcasting businesses in addition to helping them post their material. Acast, which bills itself as the top independent podcast firm in the world, has high expectations. This tutorial explains Acast, its features, and whether it’s worth the money. To help you decide if Acast is the best platform for you and your podcast, we also take you through important procedures utilizing the platform.

How we’re reviewing Acast 

We would like to briefly describe how we evaluate podcast hosting services before getting into the specifics. Since it might be challenging to compare various services, we have developed a review structure that consists of seven essential components:

Pricing 

The cost of a podcast hosting platform should be one of your main priorities. We consider the variety of pricing ranges that a platform supports as well as whether the features it offers are worth the money.

Analytics 

Podcasters may gain valuable information about their content’s performance and audience development through the use of podcast analytics. We examine the kind of data that a platform provides to its users and the ease with which these insights may be put into practice.

Media Player

Although it might seem superfluous, an embeddable media player enables podcasters to distribute their content on websites and social media in addition to the main streaming services. We search for easily navigable and customizable media players.

File Hosting 

While many podcasters won’t find this to be a huge deal-breaker, we search for platforms that support lossless file formats. This is due to our conviction that podcasters ought not to have to sacrifice audio quality in any way. Furthermore, we like systems that support podcasts in both audio and video formats.

Distribution 

A podcast hosting platform needs to facilitate rapid and effortless dissemination. We examine a platform’s ease of use in terms of publishing and whether it offers any tools to assist in submitting to the major directories.

Monetization 

A podcast host with a wide range of user-friendly monetization options is essential for podcasters trying to make money from their material. We consider what forms of monetization a platform supports and whether it has any eligibility limitations.

Usability and Additional Features 

Lastly, we evaluate this platform’s usability. We anticipate seeing, at minimum, a simple and intuitive user interface. However, we also like elements that actively enhance the user experience, such as simplified UX/UI.

What is Acast? 

In Sweden, Acast was established in 2014. It serves as a platform for advertising, distribution, and hosting. Within its ecosystem for podcast advertising, it collaborates with both creators and marketers. The company claims that they have paid their podcasters directly more than £150 million to far. The platform’s listening platform for podcast listeners is called the Acast app.

How much does Acast cost? 

Starter – FREE

Episode downloads and hosting are unlimited.
Distribution to all podcast directories and apps
Support from listeners in the form of donations and subscription fees
Podcast website
Custom web player
Sophisticated analytics for podcasts
Quickly and simply move from another host to Acast

Influencer – $14.99 /month 

Starter plan + 

Earn money with sponsorships and advertisements.
Audio-to-video tool for headlines
Personalized podcast website

Ace – $29.99 / month 

All of the above + 

Management of teams and networks
Transcribing
Advanced support 

Advantages of Acast 

Easy distribution 

Upload your podcast to popular websites like YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts.

Easy social sharing 

With Acast’s connection with Headliner, you can easily post your material on social media and make short films that are ideal for social media promotion.

Media Embed Player 

Adaptable embeddable player that lets you post your podcast to social media or your website. You may experiment with the fonts, colors, sizes, and sequences of the episodes. The replay speed may be adjusted by listeners, and if they’d like, they can select to share your work on their own social media accounts.

SEO podcast website

You may create a podcast website with Acast that is automatically optimized for search engine optimization and is fully customizable.

Acast Creator Network 

Consider joining the Acast creator network if you’re a more seasoned creator, network, or podcast publisher. You’ll get personalized marketing help and growth support.

Unlimited storage and uploads 

File sizes and storage quotas are not a concern. There are no restrictions on how much you may upload or save on Acast.

24/7 customer support 

Acast provides multilingual, round-the-clock customer service and assistance in case you need it.

Monetization 

Use sponsorships, branded material, memberships, and subscriptions to generate revenue for your podcast. It is possible to generate income from a variety of sources that make use of every facet of your content production.

Well-pitched pricing plans 

Acast offers a range of price tiers targeted at various sorts of artists and budgets. To begin monetizing, you may make use of a robust variety of services even under the FREE plan. Simply upgrade to the Influencer plan for $14.99/month to get started.

Transcription tool 

You may quickly and simply produce podcast transcriptions with Acast’s transcription tool. Thus, in addition to reusing their podcast and enhancing their SEO, artists may make sure their material is as accessible as possible.

Disadvantages of Acast

No video podcasts 

Regretfully, video podcasting is not presently supported by Acast. You might want to look elsewhere if you’re planning to venture into visual podcasts or if you have already done so.

Lossy file formats and upload limit 

Acast has an internal upload limit of 150 MB and only handles MP3 and M4A files.

No creation capabilities 

It will be necessary for podcasters to search elsewhere for a one-stop shop where they can create and host their podcast. Despite being a robust product overall, Acast does not address the production side of the podcasting process.

Charged per show 

Several shows can be controlled from a single account. You will be charged for each concert, though.

Key features of Acast  

Acast + 

You may produce material using Acast that is only available to subscribers who have paid for it. Your private, paywall content may be hosted and managed in the same place as your public content. Acast+ is compatible with the majority of podcast players, including Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and others. Currently, Spotify does not accept private podcast feeds. This implies that if your listeners want to upgrade to a paid subscription, it won’t interfere with their experience in any way.

Your membership levels may be adjusted to suit both you and your listeners. As you establish a reliable and consistent revenue source, provide your audience with early access, supplementary material, and ad-free streaming.

Keep in mind that Acast keeps 15% of all subscription revenue. Stripe is used to conduct extra financial transactions; each transaction incurs an additional 2.9% and a $0.30 fee.

Acast marketplace

Advertisers and Acast’s podcasters can interact through the Acast marketplace. When it comes to your podcast, you always have the last word. This implies that you have complete control over the placement of advertisements inside your content and the kinds of businesses you want to collaborate with or not.

There are no prerequisites for participation in the Acast Marketplace. This implies that to increase their revenue, even aspiring podcasters might try their hand at advertising.

Acast is an all-rounder 

As seen, Acast presents itself effectively on all fronts. Podcasters who want to test out Acast before committing fully may do so with its basic plan, while those who want to grow and make money can use its Influencer and Ace memberships. Acast is a solid choice for any podcaster looking for their next podcast host because it offers limitless storage and uploads in addition to a plethora of other strong features.

First look at Acast

Acast’s interface is clear and easy to use. All of your shows are shown when you log in, along with three tabs: insights, monetize, and shows.

You may view all of your released episodes and change the parameters unique to that show by clicking on your show.

How to get started with Acast (desktop)

Step 1: You will see this screen when you initially join up. 

Step 2: You must first produce a brand-new program. Choose “Create a new show.” If you’re moving from another podcast host, adhere to the guidelines provided below. 

Step 3: Include information about your show, such as its title and category.

Step 4: Navigate to your program and select “+ New Episode.”

Step 5: Put your recording online.

Step 6: Enter the details for your episode, such as the title, number of episodes in the season, and cover art. 

Step 7: Decide if you want to publish right now or later.

Step 8: Make sure you input your ad marks if you’re monetizing. 

How to migrate your podcast to Acast 

A “smart migration tool” offered by Acast facilitates the retrieval of all of your stuff. The goal is to minimize discomfort throughout the migrating process. Select “I want to import my existing show” when creating your account, then follow the prompts.

For more assistance, you can also contact Acast’s customer service or consult one of their helpful guides on their Help Center.

How to distribute your podcast using Acast 

The submission and dissemination procedure is simplified by Acast. Click “distribution” on your dashboard, then choose from the list the listening platform you like to submit to.

How to monetize your podcast using Acast

Acast Marketplace 

Collaborate with popular companies to develop fresh segments or entire branded episodes for your program. Any paying Acast plan can access it. The sole condition is that your podcast must have no “non-brand safe content” or commercial music.

Here is where you may register for Acast Marketplace.

Inserting Ad Markers into your content 

Ad markers must be carefully incorporated into your audio if you want to guarantee that dynamically injected adverts are seamlessly integrated into your material. Ad markers come in three varieties: pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll.

Please take note that mid-roll advertising is only available for podcasts that last longer than ten minutes.

Ad markers are located in your episode dashboard’s publishing settings. Using Acast’s “snap to silent areas” function, which automatically finds natural pauses in your audio, is a more convenient option than manually playing through your audio and pausing when you discover a good spot for an advertisement.

How to publish an episode with Acast + 

As previously indicated, your standard dashboard has all of your Acast+ administration features.

You may set aside episodes for Acast+ viewers solely in two different methods. You have two options: either assign individual episodes to the appropriate tier while in the standard publication procedure or add them in bulk to one of your Acast+ tiers.

You may utilize the alter access tool to give your Acast+ members early access to your episode but subsequently wish it to publish normally. This allows you to block access to a certain episode for a predetermined amount of time and then make it available to your “general audience.”

Acast Supporter

You may ask your listeners to donate by using Acast Supporter. All Acast plans have access to it.

Please take note that there is a 12% fee on all transactions in addition to Stripe’s transaction costs.

Acast podcast analytics 

Go to your show on the Acast dashboard after logging in, then select Insights. The many areas that analyze the performance of your podcast, including Overview, Performance, Behavior, Demographic, Listeners, Podcast Players, Location, and Audience, may be modified here.

You can watch audience fluctuations and keep an eye on your reach—that is, the total number of distinct devices that have listened to your content—under Listener.

There are two distinct categories under Audience: “Your Listeners Also Listen To” and “Followers.” You’ll be able to go deeply into your audience and gain insights into the important age and gender demographics as well as information on the other podcasts that your listeners are enjoying.

You may view information about the devices, websites, and apps your listeners are using to access your podcast in Podcast Players.

A global map that divides your audience into regions may be found in Location. To get more specific information about the cities where your audience is based, you may enlarge the image.

You can compare the performance of your episodes and your listen-through rate—a crucial indicator of listener engagement—under Performance.

Final thoughts on Acast 

Acast is an excellent platform that is a good all-arounder. With features and a subscription plan to suit any requirement, Acast is the perfect choice for podcasters just starting out or those with a following. With its three-pronged monetization capabilities, Acast offers the most enticing option for content producers looking to maximize the value of their work. An added feature of the platform’s ease of use is its simplicity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Acast has a free plan that includes most of its functionality. If you want to monetize your podcast, however, you’ll need to upgrade to the Influencer plan. 

Create an account, upload your first episode or migrate your content across. It’s extremely easy to get started. 

It depends on what you’re looking for. Some podcasters will be more discerning in what they’re looking for or have specific requirements. Acast performs strongly in most categories, however. 

Easy. Make an account and start publishing! Simple as that. 

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