PowerPress

PowerPress Version 7.1 has Launched

~ jen

PowerPress is the number one podcasting plugin, with over 1 million downloads worldwide. PowerPress version 7.1 has launched. Here is a look at what to expect from this new version.

One thing to be aware of is that PowerPress 7.1 requires WordPress 3.6 or newer. WordPress 4.8+ is recommended.

PowerPress 7.1 now supports the new tags that Apple added in iOS version 11 including:

  • iTunes:type, iTunes:episode, and iTunes:season – These tags were added by Apple to support serialized content.
  • iTunes:episodeType – This tag adds a way to mark special episodes of your podcast.
  • iTunes:Title – This is Apple’s solution for podcasters who add episode numbers and other extra information to their blog post titles.
  • content:encoded & iTunes:summary – This is a value containing the show notes for your episode.

PowerPress version 7.1 also contains other upgrades and improvements:

Subscribe on iTunes has been changed to Subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

Secure HTTPS website using Blubrry Podcast Media Hosting are now automatically supported. Media URLs are now automatically converted to HTTPS. You no longer have to edit past episodes if you switch from HTTP to HTTPS.

The Windows Media Player embed for wmv video and wma audio has been removed. Chrome, Safari, Firefox as well as Microsoft Edge browsers do not support the Windows Media Player embed, so providing support for the Windows Media Player embed is no longer practical. In its place will be a play link which will open the media on the device’s default media player.

PowerPress Tops One Million Downloads

~ jen

PowerPress is a free podcast publishing tool from Blubrry that powers more podcasts worldwide than any other plugin. On March 10, 2017, PowerPress surpassed one million downloads.

PowerPress was launched in 2008 and quickly became the most popular plugin on the market. Approximately 18 percent of all podcasts found on iTunes use PowerPress, more than any other service or platform. The plugin now powers more than 65,000 podcast websites ranging from single podcasts to radio stations and podcast networks, the biggest having more than 600 shows on a single install.

There are many reasons why PowerPress has been downloaded 6 times as much as any other podcasting plugin. Perhaps the most important is the ease of use and all-in-one experience it allows.

For thousands of podcasters, PowerPress has served as a free, easy-to-use introduction to the top notch services Blubrry provides. But, the real magic happens when PowerPress is used in tandem with other Blubrry products, such as hosting and professional podcast stats. The products work seamlessly together, allowing podcasters to create, publish, and distribute their podcasts – plus share new episodes on social media and check analytics – all without leaving their WordPress dashboard.

Clammr Support Added to PowerPress Plugin

~ Shawn Thorpe

CLammr logoSometimes billed as the “Twitter for audio,” Clammr is a social-sharing app that focuses on short audio clips. These clips can be either new recordings or they can be taken from existing audio files. Many podcasters have embraced Clammr as a way to share clips from their own shows, as well as other shows they follow. Clammr users have been able to access the service thru either a web or mobile app, where they could create or curate their audio clips to be shared on the social web. Now the Clammr service is also supported by the popular PowerPress podcasting plugin for WordPress:

Clammr Audio Sharing is embedded within the Blubrry player and allows podcasters and listeners to share a segment of their audio on social networks. Web-based users now have the same features as those that are using the Clammr mobile application. The share button posts an audio highlight that is playable natively in Facebook and/or Twitter with a link back to the full podcast.

In order to use the Clammr feature with PowerPress, users will need to be running both the current versions of PowerPress (6.2) as well as the Audio Player by Clammr (1.1.0) WordPress plugins.

Disclosure: I work part-time with the Blubrry support team. Podcaster News Executive Editor Todd Cochrane is CEO of Rawvoice, Blubrry’s parent company.

PowerPress Update Provides Direct Crowdfunding Support to Skipcast App

~ Shawn Thorpe

Blubrry LogoPowerPress, the popular podcasting WordPress plugin developed by Blubrry, was recently updated to include direct crowdfunding support within the Skipcast app. This means that PowerPress users can add links to PayPal donate buttons, dedicated “support” pages, or services like Patreon to their RSS feeds. Then, Skipcast will use that information to create direct crowdfunding links within the app. This makes it very easy for listeners who are using Skipcast to provide donations or other crowdfunding support to the podcasts they love.

After updating to PowerPress 6.1, users will see a new Donate Link section under the Feeds tab in PowerPress settings:

PowerPress Donate Link

By checking the “Syndicate a donate link…” box, filling out the fields below, and then clicking the Save Changes button, the donate links will be added to the podcast RSS feed. Note: The links are designed for syndication within supported apps, so they won’t appear directly on the pages of a WordPress website.

Learn more about the new PowerPress Donate Link feature at this Blubrry support page.

Disclosure: I work part-time with the Blubrry support team. Podcaster News Executive Editor Todd Cochrane is CEO of Rawvoice, Blubrry’s parent company.

Blubrry Introduces PowerPress Sites with WordPress Hosting

~ Shawn Thorpe

Blubrry LogoBlubrry, the podcasting services company best known for its PowerPress plugin for WordPress, announced a new service today called PowerPress Sites. This latest offering from Blubrry provides a full-service solution for podcasters who want professional media hosting as well as managed WordPress hosting all in one place.

Previously, Blubrry offered only media hosting and professional statistics as paid services. Users would have to self-host their own websites along with certain levels of integration with Blubrry, depending on the services they used. PowerPress Sites changes all that by putting the WordPress, media and statistics hosting all in one place.

The PowerPress Sites program offers several different options, depending on a podcaster’s needs. Users can start with the Basic plan for $12/month that includes 100MB of monthly rollover storage and a free WordPress installation hosted at examplesite.blubrry.com. From there, users can upgrade for features like adding a domain name, SSL certificate, WordPress Multisite and more.

Existing Blubrry customers will see no change in their current service. They can migrate over to the new PowerPress Sites service or continue on with their current setups. PowerPress Sites will begin to officially roll out next month. For more information on product plans and pricing, visit the PowerPress Sites page on the Blubrry website.

Disclosure: I work part-time with the Blubrry support team and Podcaster News Executive Editor Todd Cochrane is the CEO of Rawvoice, parent company of Blubrry.

Blubrry Launches Patreon Campaign to Support PowerPress

~ Shawn Thorpe ~ 2 Comments

Blubrry LogoPodcasting service and media hosting company Blubrry launched a Patreon campaign to help support ongoing development of its popular PowerPress plugin for WordPress. Blubrry has provided the plugin to podcasters completely for free since the plugin was first released in 2008. Since then, PowerPress has been used to create tens of thousands of unique podcast RSS feeds. Blubrry is hoping that the podcasting community will return the favor by supporting its efforts thru Patreon:

…we want to do more for you, the content and the content creators you love. We are deeply committed to providing this free tool to the podcasting world; our ambitions for our podcast content creators and their audiences are endless, and we want you to come with us for the ride.

As a Patron, you’ll find Blubrry has an extensive road-map of upgrades and new enhancements to the plugin in the works. We provide regular insider looks at our features before they are released and are committed to considering and implementing ideas from sponsors.

Blubrry’s Patreon campaign has several reward levels to offer when specific funding goals are reached. This include things like producing a detailed PowerPress tutorial as well as redesigns to the PowerPress setup page and user interface. Blubrry also states that the Patreon campaign will help the company in these key ways:

  • Maintaining a 30-60 day enhancement cycle for all products (including PowerPress)
  • Feature requests submitted by patrons will get higher priority than other requests
  • Continuing to provide free technical support to users
  • Hiring dedicated PowerPress developers (in addition to Angelo Mandato, the original and current lead developer of PowerPress)

To learn more about Blubrry’s Patreon campaign and become a patron, follow the link at the top of this post.

Disclosure: I work part-time with the Blubrry support team and Podcaster News Executive Editor Todd Cochrane is the CEO of Rawvoice, parent company of Blubrry.

Migrate Podcast Media Easily with PowerPress

~ Shawn Thorpe

Blubrry LogoBlubrry PowerPress, the popular podcasting plugin for WordPress, added some cool new features with the release of version 6.0 last month. One of those features being an easy-to-use media migration tool. From a Blubrry press release:

…the Blubrry team has added a media migration tool to PowerPress, the most popular podcast plugin for WordPress.
The new process is easy, said Todd Cochrane, CEO of RawVoice, Blubrry’s parent company. ‘It removes the hassle of migrating media,’ he said. ‘It used to be difficult to migrate, but this new tool makes it simple and no-hassle.’

The new media migration tool will come in handy for podcasters who are looking to move from their current media hosting platforms to Blubrry services and/or a self-hosted WordPress site. Once again, from the press release:

Podcasters aiming to migrate their shows to Blubrry Podcast Hosting service can do so in a simple, three-step process:
1. Request migration
2. Wait for migration to complete
3. Update the site with with just one click
By design, the system migrates each file linearly; this is optimal for podcasters who are currently hosting their media on their website or with a service that cannot serve multiple files at a time. Depending on the source, the process could take a few minutes to a few hours. Once completed, the website and podcast can be updated to the new media URLs with just one click.

Continue reading →

Podcasting Plugin PowerPress 6.0 Is Here

~ Shawn Thorpe ~ 1 Comment

Blubrry LogoPowerPress, the popular WordPress podcasting plugin from Blubrry, has been updated to version 6.0. The new PowerPress comes with some changes to established functions as well as some new features. First among these are the new subscriber tools. From the PowerPress blog:

PowerPress 6.0 includes three new subscribe tools to help you convert your Web visitors into podcast subscribers.

Subscribe Page and Shortcode Embed: With the new subscribe page and shortcode, you can create a static page using an embed that displays a box, which provides subscribe options for the most common devices. You can create the page with one click that inserts a subscribe page template. The shortcode embed is responsive and features mobile device friendly buttons designed for high resolution “Retina” displays. Learn more about the PowerPress Subscribe Page and Subscribe Shortcode Embed.

Subscribe Sidebar Widget: We now include a “subscribe to podcast” sidebar widget. The widget features mobile device friendly buttons and includes a “More Subscribe Options” button that links to your subscribe page.

Subscribe Links: Below each player we now include subscribe link options that include iTunes, RSS and a “More Subscribe Options” that link to your subscribe page.

Continue reading →

Be Ready For The New Windows Phone 8.1 Podcasts App

~ Shawn Thorpe ~ 3 Comments

Windows Phone LogoThe upcoming release of Windows Phone 8.1 looks to be a major rework of the OS that runs Windows-enabled mobile phones. While the release date for Windows Phone 8.1 has not yet been announced, developer previews of the operating system have been available for a couple months. Those with access to this preview version of Windows Phone 8.1 have noted that the OS comes with a podcast aggregator app as a standard feature. This is good news for podcast listeners and producers, as it’ll create an easy way for Windows Phone users to subscribe to podcasts. If you want to ensure that your podcast will be easy to add to this new aggregator, you’ll need to follow one simple guideline: Be sure your podcast’s RSS feed is discoverable by Microsoft’s search engine, Bing.

The new Windows Phone 8.1 Podcasts app won’t be powered by a built-in directory like most other podcast aggregators. Instead, when a user wants to add a new show, they’ll enter either a show title or a subject of interest into the Windows Phone Podcasts app’s search box. From there, the app will do a Bing search for the show title or subject. And from those results, it’ll help the user get subscribed to new shows. For this reason, the search engine must be able to easily locate your podcast’s RSS feed. And while it may seem like an obvious requirement to have your show’s RSS feed linked from your main podcast website, there are still a lot of podcasters who (for whatever reason) don’t do this.

Continue reading →