A Podcast Directory Submission Checklist That Works

Directory submission is the step that puts your show in front of listeners. The big names are Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music, and the rest reach smaller but real audiences. Submit everywhere your show can live.

Most directories pull from your RSS feed, so you submit that feed once per platform. The work is mostly filling out forms and confirming ownership.

Start with the big directories

Apple Podcasts is still the index many other apps borrow from, so start there. Spotify accepts a feed directly and has its own flow. YouTube Music now takes audio feeds too.

After those, add Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, Overcast, and Podcast Addict. Each one is a short form and a confirmation email.

Some tools offer one submission that pushes to many directories. Read what they cover before paying, because the list changes over time.

Get your details ready first

Have the show title, a short description, a long description, and your category choices written down before you start. Retyping them fifteen times invites typos.

Pick categories carefully. They drive some recommendation features, and they are a pain to change later.

Keep a spreadsheet of which directories you submitted to and when. When an episode fails to appear somewhere, this log saves you guessing.

Confirm ownership and watch for errors

Apple may ask you to prove you own the feed by sending a code to the email listed in it. Make sure that address is one you can open.

After submission, search each app for your show and play an episode. A listing that exists but will not play is worse than no listing.

Approval can take from hours to a couple of weeks. Do not resubmit in a panic, since duplicates cause problems.

Submitting to one directory is easy. Submitting to all of them and knowing your show works in each is the real job.

Key takeaways

• Submit your feed to Apple, Spotify, and YouTube Music first, then the smaller apps.
• Write your show details once and reuse them to avoid typos.
• Confirm feed ownership and test playback in each app.
• Keep a log of submissions so missing episodes are easy to trace.