6 Crucial Reasons to Host a Podcast on SoundCloud that Every Creator Must Know

Most music enthusiasts are already aware of the influence of SoundCloud in the music industry. However, the platform is not only limited to online music streaming only as there are plenty of opportunities for podcast creators to grow. While most creators are looking forward to finding a suitable platform for hosting their episodes, SoundCloud is proving its worth in the market. Podcasting has become one of the most popular trends and mediums for entertainment. In order to reach a larger number of targeted listeners, SoundCloud is perhaps the most convenient platform.

Here are the top six reasons why you need to host your podcasts on SoundCloud:

1. Get more brand recognition

One of the biggest advantages of hosting on SoundCloud is that it offers an exponential amount of brand recognition. The platform has more than 175 million active monthly users and it is one of the biggest listener bases considering all the major music and podcasting platforms. Even you check through a viral tweet or a Facebook post, you will see most posts end with a "Check out my SoundCloud" which means most creators these days are trying to gain more exposure through this platform.

If the podcasts are uploaded with dedicated tags, SoundCloud makes it very easy to reach a larger number of target audiences. Within a shorter span of time, your podcast will become crowded with interested listeners and they will further share, follow or create playlists with your channel just like they do in other music streaming platforms like Spotify and iTunes.

2. One of the most affordable platforms

Every podcast creator would agree to this fact they are often worried about the expenses regarding hosting the episodes. While the creators feel troubled to take financial decisions, SoundCloud has kept its hosting costs to a nominal amount to empower everyone. You are able to get access to a Pro Unlimited account on SoundCloud by spending only $12 per month. The SoundCloud Pro offers a similar offer with fewer benefits for $6 per month. Other than that, there is also a basic plan that comes absolutely free of cost.

Thus, you will be able to own the creator’s controls along with access to maximize storage space on the platform. You will be able to upload as many episodes as you need and anytime you want. A low-cost pricing system is very crucial when you are considering the initial sunk cost before monetizing your creations for profit. If you are able to pull a lot of attention with a huge loyal listener base, SoundCloud will help generate more profit through royalty scores.

3. Easy user-friendly interface

One of the greatest attributes of the platform is its interface. The easy-to-use interface is preferred by most creators. There are a lot of podcast creators who are aware of the basics of recording but not necessarily everyone would be tech-savvy enough to handle complex website settings. Creators also prefer a website that is not just user-friendly but also very easy to maintain since creators have a tough schedule with their creation.

SoundCloud is very easy to maintain and there is a step-by-step upload guide on the website to help the users to upload their episodes in a hassle-free manner. Other than the streamlined profile, there are other tools to communicate with your listeners as well. There is no learning process to the creators’ profile and it is so easy that a creator can get to know about it while the content is getting uploaded. As easy as that!

4. Customizable options make it more unique

While concentrating on audio podcast files, you might have forgotten to take good care of the overall appearance of the profile. But SoundCloud offers ample opportunities to put a visual impact among the listeners. There are options to put a header along with album art and channel icon to keep the purpose of branding intact. It also helps the listeners to recognize you and your channel pretty easily.

 You are also able to customize the links that are displayed alongside your profile. You can add the social media links in the description as well. The profile owners can customize their playlists with the right order of podcast episodes. Thus, you are able to make an impact on the listeners through almost everything present on the page and your SoundCloud profile.

5. Better metrics for tracking

SoundCloud has one of the best metric systems to track audience engagement on your artist profile. It is one of the crucial aspects especially for the emerging creators who need to figure out whether their podcasts are engaging an adequate amount of listeners. Without the data and analysis of the metrics, it is nearly impossible to find out whether the podcast hosting is running successfully.

Good news for the creators as SoundCloud does not fail the shed light on the matter. Through your stat channel, you are able to know the number of total plays as well as plays in a particular time and episode. With precision and accuracy, the statistical report can also confirm from which country or region most listeners of your podcast are belonging. It helps to know many listens are generated from the RSS feeds.

6. Engage with your audience more

SoundCloud is one of the exceptional mediums that allow connecting with the listeners directly. The platform is designed in a way that it provokes the users to interact more right after they hear some podcast or music with the options of comment, likes, and reposts. It is even more crucial for the initial phase as the creators are trying to stand out among all while engaging the listeners to the content as if they are also part of the team, investing themselves in it. Engagement is a part of the metrics as well but it is more than just numbers. This robust commenting tool allows listeners to comment with specific timestamps which enable other listeners to go through the episodes as well.

However, SoundCloud understands there are spammers too, and has provided an option to ban them from your profile. Simply click on the profile and report the user with cause to band them permanently.

Final thoughts

Cumulating all the beneficial aspects, Soundcloud surely seems one of the most effective platforms to host podcasts. However, if you are still not convinced and want to witness the benefits with your own eyes, create a basic account and upload your content to see the change. If you are satisfied with the response, you can upgrade your basic profile to an unlimited Pro account that can provide the benefits at a greater magnitude. SoundCloud is creating a launchpad for every creator to grow by streaming their online podcasts.