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Step-by-Step Tutorial

Publishing Your First Episode

By Dispatch Team
5 steps ~13 min total
Part of a series
Launch Your Podcast
Article 2 of 3
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Tutorial Steps

1
Prepare your audio file ~2 min
2
Create a new episode ~3 min
3
Upload your audio ~5 min
4
Add episode artwork (optional) ~2 min
5
Publish or schedule ~1 min
Total time: ~13 minutes

Now that you've created your podcast, it's time to publish your first episode. This tutorial covers everything from uploading your audio to scheduling your release.

1

Prepare your audio file

~2 min

Before uploading, ensure your audio meets these requirements:

  • Format: MP3 (recommended) or M4A
  • Bitrate: 128-192 kbps for spoken word, 256 kbps for music
  • Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
  • Channels: Mono for spoken word, Stereo for music podcasts

We recommend using a DAW like Audacity, GarageBand, or Adobe Audition to export your final audio.

2

Create a new episode

~3 min

From your podcast dashboard:

  1. Click "New Episode"
  2. Enter your episode title
  3. Add a description (supports Markdown formatting)
  4. Set your episode number and season (if applicable)
3

Upload your audio

~5 min

Drag and drop your audio file or click to browse.

Upload progress:

  • Your file will be processed and optimized
  • We automatically detect duration
  • ID3 tags are extracted if present

Large files may take a few minutes to upload depending on your connection speed.

4

Add episode artwork (optional)

~2 min

You can add unique artwork for each episode:

  • Same requirements as show artwork
  • Falls back to show artwork if not set
  • Great for guest episodes or special series

Click "Add Episode Artwork" and upload your image.

5

Publish or schedule

~1 min

Choose when to release your episode:

  • Publish Now: Episode goes live immediately
  • Schedule: Set a future date and time
  • Draft: Save without publishing

Click "Publish Episode" when ready. Your episode will appear in your RSS feed and podcast directories will pick it up within a few hours.

You're all done!

You've completed all the steps in this tutorial.

Categories:
Episodes

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