Starting a podcast can be a great way to connect with your fans and community

Starting an adult industry oriented podcast can be a great way to connect with your current fans and new fans or to connect with the adult community on a larger scale. When you’re hit with the idea for an adult podcast it can seem like a great idea to jump right in, but before you get your microphone set up and press record, let’s go through a few things that can help ensure your podcast will be successful and worthwhile.

Decide what kind of podcast you will be hosting

The first question you should ask yourself is what kind of podcast you are interested in hosting, and for starters will it be a video or audio podcast? Video podcasts have the benefit of luring more attention because adult industry podcasts usually feature adult industry creators and entertainers which customers love to look at. Audio podcasts have the benefit of requiring less editing, less storage space required, and more options for posting because when you talk about the adult industry through audio you don’t have to worry about getting flagged or reported for things like cleavage or inappropriate gestures. When you come to the decision of video or audio the next thing you should consider will be if you will be hosting your podcast solo, with a set group of people each time, or rotating guests. Your needs for a platform will greatly vary by the amount of participants and if you are doing audio or video.

Where to host and post video podcasts

Video podcasts can take place on many various platforms, if you’re looking for a podcast that you record and edit before publishing then you will most likely be comfortable with using something like Zoom or Skype. You can record your session and easily edit it in your preferred editor after the show, you don’t have to worry about rule breaking as you can edit out infringing topics or words, and you can record them at your own pace and cancel releases if they become no longer relevant. If you’re looking to host a live video podcast, Streamyard might be a great fit for you. Streamyard allows up to 6 participants and allows you customization options like changing your background, including banners, intro videos or photos, and more. Streamyard allows you to stream to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and more.

Posting adult industry podcasts can be tricky because there is a large stigma around the adult industry as a whole, while posting to typical video platforms like YouTube might get you lots of views initially, they are constantly updating their flagging system to censor topics that are adult oriented. Recently YouTube has begun banning creators from using the names of adult sites in their descriptions or links, even if the description or link does not lead to an adult platform. You may find success on YouTube as a “story time” podcast where you leave out specific names from descriptions, but anything that is specifically made to address the industry in any way that requires specific name usage can leave you vulnerable for flags and potential suspension/bans. XBIZ TV is a great adult friendly video hosting platform that was made specifically for the adult industry, it can serve as a good home base for your video podcast and you can syndicate your posts to many different video sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Pornhub, and more) while having the ease of mind your collection will always be available directly on XBIZ TV. Another great alternative would be to start your own dedicated site for your podcast but we would highly recommend trying podcasting and building an audience before taking on a major investment.

Where to host and post audio podcasts

Audio podcasts are definitely much easier to share online even when they are adult industry oriented, if you are running a video podcast we highly recommend also turning your recordings into audio and posting them as an audio podcast. Audio podcasts require less active focus because the viewer knows they aren’t missing anything by not having their eyes glued to the screen, which allows your podcast to be listened to more often in scenarios where generally people wouldn’t think to pull up a video podcast (like in the car.) You can host audio podcasts anywhere you host video, and simply pull out the audio. Skype and Zoom both allow for audio only for those who don’t want to do a live podcast, and Streamyard also allows audio only for live streams.

You can host your audio podcast on BluBrry which is a podcasting platform where you can request to syndicate your podcast across all podcasting networks like iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and more. If you have your own dedicated website you can also use the BluBrry PowerPress plugin to host your podcast on your website as well as automatically take the information from your website to fill out the podcast page information on BluBrry. Audio podcasts can also be posted to video platforms if converted into a video with an image as the video placeholder, which can be the name of the podcast episode or the podcast name/logo.

Consider a fan website / membership site for a paid podcast

Depending on how adult your podcast will be, considering a paid fanclub website or membership site for your podcast can be a great option to make your podcast financially sustainable. Whether the topic of discussion will be super explicit or you just want to do some casual flashing or “nude discussions” you can turn your podcasting experience into a money making opportunity by hosting your podcast on a subscription site. Some fanclub websites will allow you to post free to view content in conjunction with paid content so you can also do partial podcasts that are SFW that you post for free with the upsell of unlockable explicit content for the subscription fee.

Make your podcast profitable by seeking sponsorship

If you already have a large following then you will likely have a lot of eyes and ears on your podcast which leaves you in an incredible position to seek out sponsorships. Companies will often work with podcast hosts for paid opportunities or free items in return for a mention on the podcast or for allowing a representative from their company to guest star on the podcast. If you are someone who is uncomfortable promoting companies for direct payment you can also place advertisements into your podcast for products or sites that you know and trust and utilize their referral programs to make it profitable for you.

Adult or not: get a model release

If you will be hosting guests it is very important that your guests complete a model release document because your podcast will contain either their voice, image, or both. Friendships can end but model releases are forever. This is especially important if your podcast will be a “series style” with documented episode numbers, needing to delete an episode because a guest no longer wants it hosted can be inconvenient for consistency as well as a loss of traffic.

Get comfortable promoting

If you podcast but no one listens, do you actually podcast? Get comfortable marketing your podcast on social media and consider joining adult industry groups on Reddit and Facebook to spread the word about new podcast episodes. If you do mention specific websites, tag them in your podcast posts for the potential traffic boost if they re-post.

Interesting podcasts triumph over high quality audio / video podcasts

Listeners would rather listen to something interesting in lower quality audio than something absolutely boring in high quality. While having good equipment can definitely help the legitimacy of your podcast, if you are just starting out then you should be fine with a basic webcam and microphone set up which is something most adult performers usually have already. Once your podcast becomes profitable, investing in a high quality microphone can make the listener experience better, but don’t sweat it if you’re just starting out!

Use link shorteners to track clicks and avoid flags/bans

Using a link shortener like Bitly can help you to not only track your traffic but also avoid bans on sites that flag for keywords. You can use this tool to see what topics get the most interest and outgoing clicks to decide what topics to cover in future podcast episodes, and you can also use this to link out to news articles or guides where flagged words are in the URL.