Apple Podcasts Connect has been upgraded with subscription analytics, a new feature intended to allow podcast creators to see how listeners engage with premium subscriptions.
In addition, Apple Podcasts has additional Delegated Delivery partners. And Linkfire for Podcasts is coming in the autumn.
Improving Apple Podcasts Connect
Apple Podcasts Connect is an online dashboard where podcast creators manage and monitor their shows. Apple adds new features periodically to make the tool more useful.
The just-added subscription analytics feature reveals the number of paid subscriptions, plus how many listeners started a free trial and the percentage of listeners who went from a free trial to a paid subscription. It also displays estimated revenue generated from paid subscriptions.
The tool can show subscriptions by geographical area and by status, such as monthly versus annual plans. Plus, a trends tab includes visualization tools for seeing the performance of subscriptions over time.
Subscription analytics is available today for all creators worldwide with at least one active subscription. The feature also requires the user to have an admin, finance or legal role in Apple Podcasts Connect.
New Delegated Delivery partners and Linkfire for Podcasts
Apple Podcasts launched Delegated Delivery in early 2023, allowing creators to publish subscriber episodes directly from their participating hosting provider dashboard. On Monday, Apple listed five hosting providers that will support Delegated Delivery by the end of the year:
- Audiomeans
- Captivate
- Podbean
- Podspace
- Transistor
Another new feature coming to Apple Podcasts Connect is Linkfire for Podcasts. This will enable creators to generate an unlimited number of smart links to landing pages for their podcasts and — most importantly — measure the ways listeners engage with them.
Creators will also be able to link to their shows on other apps and feature related products, such as social channels, newsletters, merch stores, and live events.
“Linkfire for Podcasts is an absolute game-changer for podcast marketing,” said Jeppe Faurfelt, Linkfire co-founder and CCO, in a statement. “Through our exclusive partnership with Apple Podcasts, the world’s leading podcast platform, Linkfire for Podcasts delivers all-new engagement insights that unlock new marketing capabilities for creators while respecting listener privacy.”
Linkfire’s integration with Apple Podcasts will be available to all creators worldwide for free this autumn. Additional features can be unlocked with a subscription starting at $9.99 per month.
