Podbean Podcasting Review

Whether you are a novice or a pro podcaster, it’s usually difficult to choose the right hosting site for your show – there are dozens of various hosts out there, and you must consider tens of factors! All this makes the selection process nerve-racking and time-consuming.

I’ve decided to take the hard work off your shoulders and created this Podbean podcast hosting review. My goal is to save your time, efforts and arm you with good knowledge about this hosting site.

So, what is Podbean? Podbean is a powerful yet easy-to-use podcast platform that not only stores your episodes but also helps distribute, promote and monetize them. The platform has been in the podcasting game for over 10 years and 600.000+ podcasters, including market leaders (IBM, Hoover Institution, Paychex, etc.) rely on it. Podbean offers everything you need for successful podcast management – from basic to advanced tools like detailed statistics, live stream, dynamic ad insertion technology, and more.

If you still hesitate and struggle to choose between several hostings, keep reading my Podbean review – it’ll provide you with comprehensive info and help you understand whether Podbean suits your needs!

Pricing plans

What I love about Podbean pricing plans is that they cover the needs of all podcasters’ categories – from beginners to pro users. Here’s a quick overview of the tiers available:

Basic plan – free

This plan offers up to 500MB of storage space and 100GB of bandwidth per month, which equates to 7-10k downloads. It also includes tools for developing a website tailored to your program, mobile application, audio player, and basic stats & analytics. If you’re a newbie with a small audience, Podbean’s free plan will provide you with literally everything you need to get started.

Unlimited Audio plan – $14/mo or $9/mo if paid annually

This tier is a perfect pick for those who are ready to expand their show. You’ll receive unrestricted storage space & bandwidth, a mobile application, media player, site, advanced custom design, cutting-edge analytics, numerous podcast channels, and 3 of 4 available monetization instruments.

Unlimited Plus plan – $39/mo or $29/mo if paid annually

Are you interested in starting to make substantial money with your show since your audience is expanding quickly? Then think about the Unlimited Plus package! Everything from the prior plan is included, plus, you’ll be able to create videos, have access to fully customized design, and all monetizing options.

Business plan – $129/mo or $99/mo if paid annually

As its name implies, this plan is created for businesses and networks. In addition to the Unlimited Plus plan’s features, it provides dedicated customer service, a pro app, unlimited logins, and advanced engagement statistics. Besides, this is the only plan that permits Podbean branding removal.

Podbean Pro – contact customer service for the price

This plan is developed for large enterprises that want to modernize their business communications through audio and video podcasts. This plan offers top-level security, convenient accessibility for employees, sophisticated analytics, and 24/7 customer care.

Statistics and analytics

To grow the podcast, you must know its performance patterns well and learn more about your audience. Fortunately, all Podbean plans provide a comprehensive set of statistics and analytics tools.

Additionally, the platform provides Engagement Intel as a separate add-on. It lets you know whether listeners stop mid-episodes or finish them. Keep in mind that the free plan does not provide this reporting.

Distribution and directories

Podbean easily handles podcast distribution through the RSS feed, which will connect you to all popular directories – Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon, YouTube, etc. Submitting to all mediums has to be done once and it’s completely free. Plus, when you submit your episodes, you can order them based on their numbers. You’ll love this feature if you have a serial show!

Promotion

Website

A website is an important component of your brand identification; besides, it provides quick access to all of your content and allows for establishing better relationships with your audience.

Podbean includes a free, customizable website on all tiers! You may select from a variety of templates to complement your brand’s style – each template is mobile-responsive and compatible with custom domains. Furthermore, the site allows you to get notifications for new followings and comments.

Overall, I love the combination of beautiful designs and robust features the Podbean site has to offer!

Audio player

All Podbean’s plans include basic yet attractive and user-friendly media players. You can easily embed the player on your site and connect it to a single episode, multi-tracks, or even a video podcast. Moreover, the player is fully customizable, making personalization of its appearance a breeze.

Newsletter and sharing

Podbean offers at least 3 methods for sharing your episodes. Firstly, the platform will distribute your content automatically on various social media like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Youtube. Secondly, you can direct the audience to your podcast site by embedding Podbean badges. And thirdly, use Podbean’s Mailchimp integration to send emails and newsletters that inform your followers about the latest episodes and posts. To tell the truth, I like sending emails to my loyal audience since I can share some extra stuff with them, e.g., behind-the-scenes material, podcast tips & tricks, etc!

Promotion tools

To get exposure and build listenership, you should promote your podcast, and Podbean gives you several effective instruments to do that.

1. Visit Podbean’s Facebook community. Here you can get to know other podcasters and introduce yourself – it greatly simplifies stuff like advertising your show and seeking cross-promotional possibilities.
2. Cross-promote your show by running paid ads on other podcasts in the same genre as yours. This way you’ll benefit from the downloads and subscriber base of another program.
3. Make people aware of your podcast by promoting it on the Podbean app. Your logo will be shown on the banner that spans the top of the Podbean app’s homepage, giving it significant awareness to anyone who opens it.

Monetization

If you’re a paying subscriber, Podbean provides a few in-house alternatives for monetizing your podcast. Here are these avenues:

• PodAds – you may develop and control your own ad campaigns with DAI (dynamic ad insertion). Plus, Podbean boasts a unique Geo Targeting instrument, allowing you to run advertisements that specifically target particular geo-locations.
• Ad Marketplace – if you sign up for Podbean Ad Marketplace, you’ll be eligible for sponsorship and receive many advertisement opportunities. The ad time periods are entirely customizable, and you can unsubscribe at any moment.
• Podbean Patron – Patron is Podbean’s alternative to the Patreon platform. Your followers can make monthly contributions through Patron in return for “rewards.” Depending on the level of commitment, these rewards vary from unique content to virtual prizes.
• Premium Podcast – using this feature, you can build an exclusive channel that subscribers will access for a one-time fee.

Files and formats

Podbean free plan supports .mp3 and m4a, while higher plans allow you to submit virtually any file format.

Other features

I love Podbean because it’s generous with useful features, making it stand out against many rivals out there. Here are my favorite ones:

• Mobile app – it enables you to effortlessly manage your episodes, record them straight from your phone, or upload previously created material. You can also quickly find and enjoy shows made by other people.
• Private podcast – it’s available for Business plan and allows sharing of internal correspondence, communications, video tutorials, etc. All company’s sensitive information is protected due to the installed enterprise-level security tools. Even better, a specialized Podbean Pro App is available so that business users may access confidential audio and video podcasts on the go.
• Transcription and closed caption tool – it helps optimize the show’s SEO and ensure straightforward content accessibility.
• Audio live streaming – thanks to this feature you can talk to your listeners in a more personal way. Connect with them in real-time, and share “raw”, “uncut” material. In other words, spoil your followers with exclusive content!
• Video podcasting – although not many podcasters experiment with videos, having the option is always a huge benefit. Podbean boasts video support, unlike its many rivals.

Unfortunately, Podbean doesn’t have its API, but on the other hand, it’s a minor drawback given all the above features.

Premium podcasts

Premium Podcast is Podbean’s unique monetizing instrument that makes it outshine competitors out there.

With Premium Podcast, you can sell some of your materials to listeners. Your paying customers will get exclusive content, for instance, special episodes, access to communities, or even you!

Summing up