Podcasting is the next step up from blogging. While blogging is done by armies of pajama-clad ordinary people, podcasting is done by many of these same people, though less often in pajamas, in front of a digital or audio recorder. Short pieces are recorded, then distributed via RSS to their website, typically a blog site. Listeners and viewers can then download podcasts using podcast clients. A good podcast client (for example iTunes) will allow you to subscribe to the RSS feed of your favorite podcasters and automatically download the content to a computer or to a portable audio player when new items are available.
Most podcasters create their content in MP3 or MP4 audio or video files and upload them, linking to the file in a blog post. Users can then click the link to download the content if they’re not automatically subscribed to the RSS/Atom feed. The problem has never been in getting the content to the web page, but in getting the content to work through the feed systems. WordPress, in most cases, will automatically include new podcasting data in your RSS/Atom feed system. This makes it easy for you to deliver content and for your users to subscribe to that content.
For most people, WordPress will podcast easily and automatically but here some plugins that can help:
PowerPress Podcasting plugin by Blubrry
Developed by podcasters for podcasters; features include Simple and Advanced modes, multiple audio/video player options, subscribe to podcast page embeds and sidebar widgets, podcasting SEO features, and more! Fully supports Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Blubrry Podcasting directories, as well as all podcast applications and clients. PowerPress users who use Blubrry Podcast Hosting may also submit their shows to Spotify.
Seriously Simple Podcasting
Seriously Simple Podcasting is an easy-to-use podcasting solution for WordPress that is as powerful as it is simple. It uses a native WordPress interface and has minimal settings so as not to distract you from what you really need to do – publish your content.
Podlove Podcast Publisher
We built the Podlove Podcast Publisher because existing solutions are stuck in the past, complex and unwieldy. The Publisher helps you save time, worry less and provides a cutting edge listening experience for your audience.
Official Site: publisher.podlove.org
Buzzsprout Podcasting
Buzzsprout is the best way to publish a podcast online. From secure and reliable hosting to full iTunes support, HTML5 players, show statistics, and of course, this WordPress plugin, Buzzsprout has everything you need to publish and promote your podcast!
In earlier versions of WordPress, automated links work for posts only, not for static pages. Because WordPress needs to maintain accurate file size information, if you change a linked file you should be certain to republish the post containing the link. If you’ve linked to a file that for any reason is not fully accessible from your blog, your podcast won’t work properly when it is up because WordPress won’t have the correct file size information.
For Apache servers and others that use the .htaccess file, you’ll need to add a directive to the config file or .htaccess file to get the server to recognize podcast files (m4a and m4b) properly. You can simply add this line to the file you use: