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Squarespace for podcasts

Squarespace for Podcasts – How to Start a Private Podcast in 5 Simple Steps

/ By / Podcast, Squarespace
Picture of Haiden Hibbert

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

Podcasts can bring huge value to an online business – building authority, sharing your message, and better engaging with your audience. But why put in the extra work to make a paid, private podcast on your Squarespace site? There are a few key reasons!

  • Share members-only content – A private podcast gives you a channel to deliver exclusive content just for paying members. This makes your subscribers feel valued and a part of an exclusive community!
  • Earn recurring revenue – A private podcast can generate monthly or yearly revenue from ongoing subscriptions. 
  • Improved subscriber engagement – Since subscribers pay to access your podcast, they tend to be much more invested and engaged versus casually listening to free content. 
In this post, we’ll cover exactly how to use Squarespace for private podcasts and start attracting subscribers!

Launch a private podcast on Squarespace!

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Table of Contents

Step 1: Choose a podcasting platform

There isn’t a native podcasting feature on Squarespace, so you’ll need to set up a few tools to help you get started:

  • A podcasting tool of your choice, like Transistor or Castos
  • A MemberSpace account to manage your subscription, payments, and access to content
  • A Zapier account (this is how you will sync MemberSpace and your podcasting tool in order to handle payments, subscriptions, and permissions for your podcast)

✨ Podcast Tip: You can also host your podcast directly on your Squarespace website if you don’t want to use a third-party tool. Simply upload your audio files to MemberSpace and embed your episodes to a protected podcast page. 

Step 2: Create a podcast subscription with MemberSpace

Next, open up your new MemberSpace account and create a subscription plan. This will allow you to choose a price for your podcast episodes and determine how you plan to accept payments (a monthly or year fee, a one-time payment for lifetime access, etc.). 
 
Private podcast Squarespace MemberSpace
Creating a subscription plan for your private podcast allows you to choose how you will accept payments, whether that's recurring, one-time, or multiple payments - or free!

Step 3: Connect your podcast to MemberSpace using Zapier

Now, use your Zapier account to connect your podcasting tool and MemberSpace. This will allow the tools to communicate with each other and automatically stay up-to-date when someone subscribes or cancels from your podcast. 

You should create two Zaps so that:

  1. When a new subscriber signs up for your podcast, they get access to your private episodes.
  2. When a subscriber cancels, they lose access. 
Private squarespace podcast with Zapier
To create a new Zap, open up your account and click the orange Create Zap button.
Zapier MemberSpace for Squarespace podcast
Creating a trigger in Zapier to fire when a new subscriber signs up for your private podcast.

We recommend using Transistor or Castos for private podcasts and have step-by-step guides on how to integrate them with MemberSpace, but if you choose another tool, reach out to our support team, and we’ll help you get started!

Need help setting up your private podcast?

Connect with our friendly team, weekdays 10am - 6pm ET.

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Step 4: Add the subscription link to your Squarespace site

Once you’ve created your subscription and connected your podcast to MemberSpace, it’s time to add the signup link to your Squarespace site! You can find it under Get Sign-up Link in Member Plans. 
 
We recommend creating a podcast sales page and adding the sign-up link there, as well as anywhere else you’d like to share about your podcast (your blog, social media, email campaigns, etc.).
Add a signup link to your Squarespace podcast
Add your sign-up link to a podcast sales page for new subscribers, or include it in your members-only content for an existing membership.

Step 5: Promote your podcast! 

Now on to the fun part – producing great episodes and getting the word out about your podcast! Here are some easy-to-implement marketing ideas:

  • Share snippets of podcast episodes on your social media channels. Let people get a small taste of what they will experience as paying members!
  • If your podcast is a part of a membership, feature it prominently on your membership sales pages.
  • Send emails to your current email list introducing the new, private podcast – they are already fans of your work!
  • Offer the first episode or two for free before gating the rest, then promote those on all your channels
  • Run simple boosted social media posts targeted to your existing audience and followers – an easy way to spend a little promoting to warm leads.

Final Thoughts

Whether you want to create a private podcast on its own or add it to an existing membership, doing so is simple with the help of MemberSpace! You can embed your audio files directly on your website, or use your favorite third-party podcasting tool to host your episodes. If you need any help setting things up, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We also have tons of helpful resources on  MemberSpace University, your one-stop hub full of step-by-step guides, educational videos, technical tips and tricks, and more.

Launch a private podcast on Squarespace!

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