In case you’ve determined to start out a podcast, you might be questioning what Castos affords and if it is value utilizing. On this Castos assessment, I’ll reply all of your questions so you can also make an knowledgeable resolution.
I’ll element:
- How Castos works
- The important thing options
- Who it is proper for
- Pricing
- Does it have buyer assist
- What individuals are saying
- The right way to arrange your first podcast
- The very best options
Let’s dive in!
In case you’re new to podcasting, try our information on tips on how to begin a podcast and earn a living.
In a rush?
Take a better take a look at Castos proper right here.
Castos assessment
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Ease of Use
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Options
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Buyer Service
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Worth
Abstract
Castos is a podcast internet hosting platform ideally suited for small to medium podcast hosts to create, handle, distribute, develop, and monetize their podcasts. It affords the liberty to create limitless podcasts, downloads, and episodes and good options to develop your model corresponding to automated distribution, a podcast web site, free transcriptions, and YouTube republishing. Customers can monetize their episodes with dynamic adverts and donations.
Professionals
- One-click migration
- Create personal podcasts for paying subscribers
- Create limitless podcast and episodes
- Free podcast web site
- Straightforward WordPress integration
- Embed the Castos participant anyplace
- Automated YouTube republishing
- Free transcription credit
- Versatile and reasonably priced pricing
Cons
- Restricted monetization options
- Restrict on personal subscribers allowed
- Video podcasting solely accessible on Professional subscription
Castos Overview
Castos is an all-in-one podcast internet hosting platform that additionally permits customers to create, monetize, distribute, and develop their podcasts.
It has a user-friendly dashboard and an glorious array of options in order that even full newbies can create podcasts shortly and simply.
Utilizing Castos, you’ll be able to publish as many podcasts as you need for a set month-to-month charge and even check out recording longer episodes in several types with out hitting a storage cap.
After you have your podcast episodes prepared, they are going to be mechanically distributed to all main listening directories, corresponding to:
And I used to be actually impressed with the beneficiant Castos options and reasonably priced pricing, which might make this podcast internet hosting platform ideally suited for these simply beginning out.
Let’s take a better take a look at these standout options under.
Castos Evaluate: Key Options
Check out Casto’s distinctive options, which can enable you create, handle, monetize, and distribute your podcast like a professional.
Customized Castos Web site
Each podcast you create in Castos will get a professionally designed, mobile-responsive podcast web site.
This may be simply personalized to match the feel and appear of your present, and you’ll:
- Choose a main model colour to make it distinctive
- Select fonts that align together with your branding
- Import your podcast cowl picture mechanically
Not solely that, however you’ll be able to add host profiles into Castos to point out in your web site and have a subscriber web page so that you frequently increase your follower checklist.
Podcast Monetization
I liked how Castos affords a number of choices to monetize a podcast, and so they do NOT take a minimize of your income, other than a Stripe processing charge.
You may resolve on a donation schedule, together with when and the way a lot listeners can pledge to assist you.
Choices embrace a ‘‘one-off” donation or a ”scheduled” donation.
One other good contact is that you would be able to simply monitor supporter donations in a devoted ”Subscriber Dashboard”.
Podcast Transcriptions
You spend time creating your podcast episode, and Castos will mechanically transcribe the episode right into a word-for-word account.
This can be a wonderful means to make sure your content material is accessible to a wider viewers, like those that communicate a international language or those that are onerous of listening to or deaf.
Not solely that, however your podcast web site might also get pleasure from an web optimization increase and higher rating in engines like google for key phrases, so it will get seen by a bigger viewers and makes you more cash!
Casto’s automated transcriptions are free, and every plan provides you an allotted quantity of credit to make use of.
YouTube Republishing
Castos makes it simple to mechanically republish your podcast episodes into stunning-looking movies for YouTube.
The advantages of YouTube republishing embrace:
- Attain a wider viewers
- Improve your web optimization outcomes
- Earn more money out of your podcast episodes
It is free and straightforward to get began with YouTube republishing. Simply join your Castos account together with your YouTube channel and each time you create a podcast it will likely be transformed to a video file, with a thumbnail, and revealed to YouTube for you.
Nonetheless, it is very important level out that this characteristic is barely accessible to Castos Development and Professional plans.
Dynamic Adverts in Your Podcast
Castos helps you to monetize all of your podcast episodes with a single click on and nil technical data.
You do not have to chase sponsors or edit your episodes – Castos does all of it for you, so you’ll be able to get pleasure from additional income shortly and simply.
Dynamic adverts may even be added to your outdated podcast episodes which might be nonetheless getting site visitors.
I additionally thought it was a pleasant contact that Castos permits you to place adverts, regardless of what number of listeners you may have.
You typically have to attend till you may have tens of hundreds of listeners a month with some platforms, which could be a onerous purpose to succeed in for a lot of.
Detailed Podcast Analytics
Castos internet hosting provides customers entry to an in depth analytics dashboard to observe our podcast’s efficiency.
A couple of issues you’ll be able to monitor embrace:
- Complete listens by podcast
- Finest performing episodes
- Which browsers and apps your viewers pay attention on
Examine our information on tips on how to see what number of listeners a podcast has.
- Simply obtain studies to share with sponsors or companions
- The ‘‘follower” metric reveals who your true followers are
- See the place your podcast listeners are positioned
By getting info in your greatest podcast episodes, you may give followers extra of what they need.
And receiving details about the place listeners are positioned means you’ll be able to discover content material that can resonate with them and even create meetups for loyal followers in that space.
WordPress Web site Podcast Plugin
The Castos embeddable participant permits customers to embed their podcast onto any web site or platform outdoors of the Castos platform.
By embedding the podcast participant onto your web site, your viewers can hearken to it with out having to navigate away out of your website.
WordPress customers could make their lives even simpler by downloading the Castos WordPress plugin onto their website and managing all their podcast work in WordPress.
This plugin permits you to:
- Handle a number of podcasts in your WordPress web site.
- Import all podcast content material in a single click on.
- Add episodes, view analytics, design a number of feeds, and edit your embeddable participant.
- Select between mild or darkish mode relying on what seems greatest in your website.
- Create personalized subscribe and call-to-action buttons for shares on social media.
Seamless Integrations with Different Instruments
Simply combine your Castos podcast immediately with third-party instruments corresponding to:
- Zapier
- Shopify
- ConvertKit
- Elementor
- Stripe
- PayPal
- MemberPress
- Descript
- Many extra…
By linking totally different instruments, you’ll be able to improve your Castos capabilities, provide your listeners the most effective expertise, and take advantage of cash out of your efforts.
Castos Evaluate: Who’s it Proper For?
Castos is the best podcast internet hosting platform for small and medium podcast publishers who’re both beginning out or mid-way by means of their development journey.
New podcasters will get pleasure from having limitless podcasts, downloads, and episodes with out restrictions and the one-on-one onboarding name with an knowledgeable is a pleasant contact.
Nonetheless, bigger podcast publishers could also be pissed off with the restrict on the variety of personal subscribers they’re allowed to have and will need to look elsewhere if they’ve an even bigger viewers.
The primary methods Castos is used embrace:
- Common podcasting. Create, develop, handle, and monetize a podcast on your viewers.
- Non-public podcasting. Simply create personal podcasts on your membership website, group, or on-line course.
- Inner firm podcasts. Create a podcast simply on your staff to move on info in a approach that does not require taking a look at a display.
Castos Evaluate: Pricing
Castos has a pricing plan for podcasters at each stage of their journey.
- Necessities – $19/month. Perfect for podcasters simply beginning out.
- Development plan – $49/month. Finest for these wanting extra promotional options.
- Professional plan – $99/month. Nice for podcasters who produce video content material.
- Castos Premium from $499/month. Made for big organizations and large-volume publishers who need the most effective options and superior analytics.
Does it Have Buyer Help?
One other factor I assumed was nice about Castos was that they provided a one-on-one onboarding name for all plans from Necessities to Premium.
This can be a good private contact and reveals that the Castos group is there to assist all podcasters at each stage, it doesn’t matter what they’re paying.
In case you want additional assist, there are a number of different choices:
- Contact Castos assist by filling out the net type.
- Go to the Data Hub that is stuffed with detailed info on each facet of Castos easy podcasting platform.
- Take a look at the WordPress.org discussion board to ask questions and obtain solutions to all of your Castos questions.
Castos Evaluate: What Are Individuals Saying?
Whereas Castos does have some glorious evaluations of its product by itself web site, I at all times wish to examine third-party assessment websites to search out evaluations that shouldn’t be biased.
Trustpilot had largely 5-star evaluations for Castos, praising its ease of use, nice buyer assist, and monetization options.
Nonetheless, a couple of dangerous evaluations talked about wishing Castos was extra customizable and the way they discovered it onerous to add new podcast episodes.
The right way to Create a New Podcast with Castos?
Whenever you’re able to create a brand new podcast, signal into your Castos account.
From right here, you can be provided three choices to select from:
- Create a brand new podcast
- Import an present podcast
- Connect with WordPress
Click on on ”Create a New Podcast” and fill out the details about your podcast, such because the title and outline.
Add your podcast cowl artwork or choose from a pre-designed cowl supplied totally free in Castos.
Declare your customized podcast web site, full with its personal URL.
Choose a class on your podcast and assessment the submitted info.
As soon as you might be glad, click on ”Create My Podcast”. Now, you’ll be able to select so as to add your first episode or go to your dashboard.
Study extra about making a memorable podcast intro in our information.
Finest Castos Alternate options
Whereas Castos has quite a bit to supply, there are numerous nice options, corresponding to:
Podbean
Podbean is among the greatest podcast internet hosting platforms that gives glorious monetization options.
Generate profits out of your podcast with patron and paid content material, PodAds, sponsorship offers, and the Apple Podcasts Subscription Integration.
Different nice options of Podbean you should utilize embrace simple scheduling publishing, cowl artwork creator, professional podcast web sites, promotional and distribution instruments, Podbean AI, analytics, and extra.
Podbean has all the pieces you should construct and handle your podcasts, and with reasonably priced pricing, it is an important platform for newbies.
Pricing: Begin free. Plans begin at $9/month.
Study extra in our detailed Podbean assessment.
Acast
Acast is one other stable choice for podcast internet hosting. It permits you to create and publish to each podcast app available on the market.
Customers can host and distribute their podcasts, discover and develop an viewers, and analyze outcomes.
You may also reap the benefits of a number of monetization strategies like dynamic advert insertion, month-to-month memberships, and one-time purchases.
I additionally preferred the distinctive monetization choices that might be helpful, corresponding to paid early listening, ad-free listening, and prolonged episodes.
Pricing: Begin totally free. Paid plans begin at $14.99/month.
Buzzsprout
Buzzsprout is a beginner-friendly podcast internet hosting platform with a variety of highly effective options and glorious buyer assist.
It affords all the pieces you should begin a profitable podcast corresponding to publishing, reporting, and analytics, and an enormous listing to get your podcast listed in all places.
Monetization can be easy and you’ll select to obtain donations out of your listeners and run ads in your episodes.
Plus, if you happen to’re new to the podcast world, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of Buzzsprout’s free studying supplies. There are guides, tutorials, podcasting programs, and an intensive group of consultants.
Pricing: Begin totally free. Plans start at $12/month.
Study extra on this Buzzsprout Vs Podbean assessment.
Castos Evaluate: Remaining Verdict
As you’ll be able to see on this Castos assessment, this podcast internet hosting platform is an glorious alternative for small and medium-sized podcast hosts.
With the liberty for limitless podcasts, downloads, and episodes and automated distribution, you’ll be able to develop your podcast viewers shortly and simply.
Plus, you’ll be able to get pleasure from good automation options and first rate monetization choices, corresponding to accepting donations and putting dynamic adverts in your content material, regardless of what number of listeners you may have.
Nonetheless, if you happen to’re a bigger model that wishes additional monetization options and entry to increased subscriber counts, Castos will not be best for you.
Need extra concepts for the place to create and handle podcasts?
Examine our information on 30 of the most effective podcast internet hosting platforms.