While Libsyn is a media host, Libsyn is also a syndication service. If you are using our OnPublish tools and/or using our Libsyn Podcast Page. You may be interested in generating a ‘text post’, a blog post for your blogging and microblogging channels.
Creating a text post is very similar to creating a podcast episode. Start by going to Content – Add Text Post.
From here, it will be very similar to publishing an episode, minus uploading the media file.
Title
The episode title will display as the blog post title for your Libsyn Podcast Page, as well as for WordPress, Blogger, or any other blogging platform you release to via Libsyn. This is a required field.
Subtitle
The subtitle is primarily used for the RSS feed, any system that will read a subtitle from an RSS feed will display the subtitle.
Description
The episode description will appear as the blog post in your Libsyn blog page as well as for WordPress, Blogger, or any other blogging platform you release to via Libsyn. Anytime the subtitle is not used by a certain podcast directory OR if you choose not to enter a subtitle, the first portion of your description will be truncated and used as the subtitle.
Your description can include URLs, images, and other details.
Thumbnail
The thumbnail, similar to the subtitle, primarily affects the RSS feed. While text posts aren't pulled by Apple Podcasts or podcatchers, for anyone who pulls your feed using something like Feedly, having the image can be helpful. We do still recommend following the standard artwork requirements for consistency and the broadest compatibility.
Additional Details
There are additional details you can add regarding your episode. These are not required, but can enhance your episode in different areas. Each field is explained below.
Category:
Setting a category for an episode will allow organization of content on the Libsyn Podcast Page, or embedding a media player specific to that category (this does not affect your RSS feed). Details on managing categories are outlined here.
Tags/Keywords:
Keywords are words (not multi-word phrases) that are used to help provide search benefits to your show. Keywords are utilized in YouTube so if you are pushing your show to YouTube, you are encouraged to enter words to aid in your ranking inside the YouTube search engine, or other search engines that support the keywords tag.
Permalink Points to:
A permalink is a URL to a blog post that is suppose to never change – it is a permanent link. Generally, your permalink will point to your Libsyn blog post. However, if you are not using our blog page, you may wish to change your permalink to point elsewhere so you have a few options:
- The Shows Blog Page – Will link to the episode on your Libsyn generated Podcast Page
- The episode media file – Not applicable for text posts
- A Custom URL – if you are using an outside blogging platform, you can generate your blog post and get your permalink, then enter your permalink here.
Enable Comments:
Checking this box will enable comments (or disable comments) on your Libsyn generated Podcast Page for this specific episode.
Apple Podcasts Style Rating:
There are two places you can set your rating, at the RSS feed level and at the episode level. Episodes should be set as clean or explicit. The RSS feed should also be set as clean or explicit. A show can be clean, but have one or two episodes that might be explicit, so those individual episodes get marked explicit (or the other way around).
This is important not only for parental controls, but also in that some countries do not permit explicit content. Properly setting your show and your episodes will ensure your show is available where it should be, and not available where it should not be.
Scheduling an Episode
After episode details have been added, the episode can be scheduled for when it is released or expired. Click on Scheduling Release/Expiration to open up the scheduling options. For details on scheduling, checkout this tutorial.
Publishing Your Post
At this point, you are ready to publish your Post.
Publish:
Hit Publish to save your settings. If you have not scheduled your post, this will push your post out to your destinations immediately. If you have scheduled your post, hitting Publish will initiate that schedule.
Save As Draft:
Saving as a draft allows the settings to be saved without actually publishing the post yet. This will allow you to come back, make more changes, and publish when you are ready.
Getting Additional Help
Have questions? Contact our support staff at support@libsyn.com.