New to Steady as a podcaster? Check out our introduction how to use Steady as a podcaster
This page is about how to use the RSS feed. You can use the feed, regardless of how you publish, that is:
Publishing (and hosting) a podcast episodes on Steady
Activating the RSS feed is a prerequisite for distributing your paywalled episodes to podcast apps and Spotify.
Choosing the right hosting service: Steady’s audio RSS feed, Spotify or Podigee?
With so many podcast hosting options, it can be hard to know which to pick. A few pointers.
If you already publish a free podcast on Podigee or Spotify, it usually makes most sense to deliver your members-only episodes there too. That way listeners don’t have to switch apps to hear your exclusive episodes. Check which platform the majority of your audience already uses to find the right option for you.
If your podcast is brand new, on the other hand, and is meant to be supported by paying members from the start, it can be more effective to send episodes straight to your supporters by newsletter — which Steady handles seamlessly. In that case Steady’s own audio RSS feed is probably the best fit, so your members never miss an episode.
How to activate the audio RSS feed for your podcast
You can activate the RSS feed if you already have a podcast set up on Steady. If you don't have one yet, start with one of the options above, depending on where you want to publish and host.
On the Podcast page, select the podcast for which you want to activate the RSS feed
On the Podcast edit page, switch the toggle to activate the feed to on
Activating the RSS feed is a prerequisite for submitting your podcast to Spotify via Spotify Open Access.
Once your podcast is submitted to Spotify, you cannot de-activate the RSS feed.
How can members use the RSS feed
Your paying members can use the RSS feed to subscribe to your exclusive podcast. To subscribe, we partnered with Podlove to allow members to easily add the RSS feed to the podcast app of their choice.
After purchasing a plan, members see a button to subscribe to the podcast
on the Thank You Page,
in the confirmation email sent to them after purchase
on the Membership card in their Steady backend
Clicking on that button, opens the Podlove widget, which will look something like this, showing your podcast cover art and title.
In the following step, users can choose where to subscribe to your podcast. Choosing one of those options will open the respective app and allow the user to subscribe there, never missing a new episode.
If the user chooses "Other app", they see the premium RSS feed to copy and paste into the app of their choice manually.
This is also explained in our member-facing help article here. Please do share this help article with members.
FAQ
What happens if a member cancels?
They lose access to the exclusive audio feed when their membership expires. Their individual RSS feed is no longer active.
What happens if I select “Visible to: everyone” when publishing a post?
The episode is then accessible to everyone through your posts, including non-members.