When you're starting a podcast, you may run into some words you're unfamiliar with. Actually, sometimes the most seasoned podcaster may need a refresher from time to time. Bookmark this glossary to make sure you're always in the know!
Acast+: A way for Acast creators to make private feeds for their paid followers.
Advertiser: A company or individual that pays to promote their product or service within a podcast
Ads: Advertisements from brands that work with Acast’s shows to get their message into podcasts. These ads are typically crafted by the advertiser themselves.
Artwork (Cover Art/ Show Art): The image you create that will displayed when listeners search for your podcast in a directory. There are specific requirements that must be followed to be accepted.
Audiogram: A social media-friendly video that couples your podcast artwork with a small audio snippet from your show.
Baked-in Ads: Advertisements that are permanently part of your podcast's audio content.
Branded content: A form of advertising using content (such as a podcast episode) to promote the brand funding its production.
Category: Most podcast apps will require you to choose a category for your podcast such as news, comedy, sports, etc.
Commercial Music: Music produced that is being marketed directly to the general public by any medium. Typically, this refers to music that you may hear on the radio and is not usually allowed for use on podcasts.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW’s): the software you use to record into and edit your audio.
Distribution: The process of submitting your podcast’s RSS feed to multiple directories.
Dynamic Ad Insertion: The process of using an ad server to ‘stitch’ ads into podcast content in real-time, instead of the advert being ‘baked’ into the audio file for good.
Embed player: A piece of code that, when inserted into a website or app, displays an audio player for site visitors to hear your podcast through
Episodes: Each new installment of your podcast is an episode. Think of it as your podcast is a book, and each episode is a chapter.
Episode Notes: Notes for each episode, containing important information such as sources or guest’s information. Can include links and pictures.
Feed migration: The act of moving all of your podcasts from one hosting platform to another. This is a relatively simple process using 301 re-directs, permanently sending listeners from your old RSS feed to your new one.
Follow: Formerly “subscribe”. When a listener follows a podcast in their desired podcasting app they will be notified of new open ecosystem episodes.
Format: Style of podcast you have decided to create (interview, storytelling, etc…). Choosing a format will help you stay organized.
Headliner: A tool to share short, engaging sections of your podcast called audiograms.
Hosting Sites: Media hosts (like Acast) that host your RSS feed and audio files to distribute them to podcatchers.
IAB: The Interactive Advertising Bureau is an advertising business organization that develops industry standards, conducts research, and provides legal support for the online advertising industry.
Insights: Our tool for podcasters to see how many listens their content has, where their listeners are located, and how they are listening by device
Intro/ Outro: A saved introduction and concluding section of your podcast, that is typically used on each episode.
IP address: An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a number assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication, and helps us identify unique listens
Logline: A one-line description of your podcast.
Mid-roll ad: When a dynamic ad is inserted in the middle of a podcast's episode.
MP3: A type of audio file. Most hosting sites will require your podcast be formatted as an MP3 to publish.
Podcatcher: A podcast player or software used to play podcasts, such as Apple Podcasts or the Acast app. Listeners can follow your show on these apps and receive notifications when there are new episodes.
Post-roll ad: When a dynamic ad appears at the end of a podcast's episode.
Podcast: An audio file that is downloaded or streamed, and listened to on a smartphone or computer, usually via an RSS feed
Pre-roll ad: When a dynamic ad appears at the beginning of a podcast's episode.
Private Feed: Feeds that contain episodes that you want to keep exclusive and private—not listed on directories such as Apple Podcasts—allowing you the ability to share with specific listeners.
Redirect/ 301 Redirect: When you move your podcast from another hosting site to Acast, you need to redirect from your old host so podcatchers know where to find your RSS feed.
Remote Recording: When you and your cohost are not in the same room, you will need tools to record remotely.
RSS feed: The basis of your podcast, updated whenever you publish a new episode or make changes to your show. When you create a podcast, you’ll be given a specific RSS feed URL — this is where podcatchers will get your content from.
Show: Your podcast is your “show”, which you release episodes of. Like a book has chapters. Your podcast is the book and episodes are the chapters.
Sponsorships: Campaigns, often read by the podcast creator directly.
Sponsored Stories: Dynamically inserted sponsorships that are longer than the traditional sponsorships. They give creators greater flexibility in how they work with advertisers and at a higher price point.
Submit: You must submit your podcast’s RSS feed for distribution to major podcasting apps (like Apple Podcasts and Spotify).
Subscribe: When a listener subscribes to a podcast, this generally means they have joined a subscription-based program (such as Acast+ or Patreon). This subscription usually comes with a monthly or yearly fee.
Transcription: When the audio speech of a podcast is transcribed into a text document.