Overview top
Hipcast doesn't require you to download any software or store anything on your own computer (other than a web browser). Everything you need to start and maintain your podcast can be found on your website.
Access your Files Anywhere
You can upload, record, and manage your episodes from anywhere with internet access. You can even record your next episode live from your local coffee shop and post it to your podcast, without getting up!
Scheduled Releases
You can schedule any post in any podcast to be released at any time, on any day. When it's time, our servers will automatically update your podcast RSS and notify all the top services, like iTunes™ and Google Podcasts, that a new episode has been released.
On All Your Computers and Devices
If you do all your recording and uploading in a home studio, that doesn't mean that you have to manage your files there as well. You are no longer limited by the creativity you can muster from a single location.
Stay Creative, and We'll Stay Technical
Podcasting is a creative process, and with Hipcast, that is where your work starts and ends. Simply focus on generating content, and let us manage all the complicated details.
If you ever feel like we're stifling your creativity, let us know, and we will do our best to keep up with new ideas.
Podcast Hosting top
Hipcast makes it easy to start, manage, and build up your podcast.
Tons of Ways to Create Multimedia
There are many ways to get started when you're setting up your first podcast, but we ensure first of all that you can get your media to us.
-
Record by Phone (Mobcasting)
Mobile podcasters have it easy. The only thing you need to get started is a telephone. Simply dial our number, record, save, and your audio will magically show up in your Hipcast Audio List. You can even publish to your podcast directly from a phone call without even logging in!
-
Record by WebRecorder™
If you don't have any recording software on your desktop, you can record directly from our Web Recorder. All you need is a Web Cam or a Microphone.
-
Upload your Multimedia
For those of you that are already set on multimedia, simply upload your files, and we'll encode them into a web format so that they can be enjoyed by everyone.
-
Use Remote Multimedia
If you have media on another service, you can use that too. We provide the ability to create posts using remote media urls. No need to upload anything.
Hipcast is iTunes™ Ready
When you make a podcast with Hipcast, submitting your feed to iTunes™ is simple. We supply an iTunes-ready RSS feed, and all you have to do is copy it into iTunes. Worldwide syndication has never been so easy.
Podcast Importer
If you're moving from hosting yourself or are dissatisfied with your current hosting provider, we can help you transition all of your media to our servers. We'll provide you with a verification key to place anywhere in your RSS feed, and then begin downloding your catalogue for you. It really is that simple.
We track Stats
If you're just starting out, or you found some new advertising, it's important to track your daily popularity. That's why hipcast has a dashboard that updates you every time you log in. We keep track of all your podcasts, as well as your most popular files and display them on graphs that are simple to read.
Podcast Directory top
The most difficult part of creating a new podcast is trying to attract subscribers.
Let Subscribers Find You
When you start a podcast with Hipcast we take steps to ensure that you are visible to anyone looking.
On Demand Streaming
When someone stumbles across your podcast in our directory they will be able to listen to or watch your multimedia instantly with our web-players. They can also browse through all of your episodes easily without downloading anything in advance.
Podcasts are all about listeners, and the Hipcast Directory is the easiest listening experience yet!
Search Engines Love Podcasts
Search Engines crawl popular websites more often than new websites, so when you add a new podcast to our directory, the likelihood that Google will pick it up and index your content quickly is much higher. The more relevant your title and description are, the more likely that you will be found by potential listeners.
Featured Podcasts
Our Silver and Gold users' podcasts are listed in the featured section of the podcast directory automatically. This increases the likelihood that both visitors and search engines will discover them.
Our podcast directory can be found here.
Podcast Pages top
We've set up a new way to deliver your podcast episodes to your subscribers and potential fans without depending on iTunes™ or podcast directories.
An example of a podcast page can be seen on our Podcast Directory.
Podcast Pages for Facebook Fans
We've integrated with Facebook so your fans can be more involved than ever with your podcasts. Once you link up your Facebook account with Hipcast, you can add a comments section and moderate it on the fly! Learn what your subscribers want and gain valuable input.
A sample of our Facebook integration in action can be seen on Our Facebook Page.
Simpler Podcast Distribution
The main flaw of normal podcasts is that they rely on notoriously buggy software to retrieve. We solved this problem by making entire podcasts functional directly from a link.
That Means Social Networking
Share your Podcast Page link in:
- Google +
- Linked in
- and more!
Physical Pages Mean SEO
Since each of your podcast episodes will have their own physical page on Hipcast.com, they can be indexed by search engines and expand your audience organically.
Fast Download Speeds top
Unlike many of the low budget file hosts out there, we can deliver your podcast to subscribers at high speeds to ensure that your podcast can be listened to as quickly as possible.
Don't Let Your Host Bring You Down
There is nothing that can kill the momentum of a podcast like long download times. Remember, your subscribers have to download your episode first before they can even decide if they like it.
We have amazing up-time, and consistently blazing upload speeds so you can be sure that you aren't losing people before they even know what you're about.
File Optimization
Everything you upload to Hipcast runs through our encoders to minimize the file size while retaining quality. Once these files are optimized (transcoded) into web formats, they can be published on your blogs and podcasts where anyone can get them.
Over 99.9% Uptime
Speed can only get you so far if your podcast goes down, but with Hipcast this won't be a problem. Our architecture has been consistently stable for over a decade, and we certainly don't plan on getting any worse!
15-minute Backup top
If you've ever had a computer crash in the past, you know how frustrating it can be to lose all your irreplaceable media.
Keep Your Media Safe
We keep three copies of all the audio and video you upload to ensure that you don't have to worry about losing your podcasts if your hard drive decides to quit. Our backup process runs every 15 minutes to help ensure that we don't lose anything. In addition, we keep two copies in our datacenters, and another in the cloud...
We're Crazy for Backups
It doesn't matter how good the quality of your media is if you don't have it, so we've gone to great lengths to ensure that once you upload something, it's there until you tell us to remove it. We've battle tested our methods for over a decade.
Thats What the Cloud is For
When you keep your episodes on Hipcast, they're immune to local failure. Keep everything on the web so if you decide you need a new computer, you don't have to install any new software. Reformat your computer at will, and we will hang on to your old episodes.
Unrivaled Stability
Hipcast.com has been running strong and stable since 2004. You can be sure that anything you host with us will remain on our servers as long as you're with us. Backups and file security are our top priority.
User Experience top
Subscribers are the most important reason why we podcast, so we will never clutter up your content with ads or promotions. That's just not cool.
No Ads Means You Control Your Content
Everything that your users hear or see comes without strings attached. Publish as many or few episodes as you want without ever seeing an advertisement.
Although we will never insert ads into your content, that doesn't mean you can't. Our target is for our users to have full control over what your subscribers see and hear.
Lightweight Media Players
Our HTML5 media players are compatible with 99.9% of internet users, and if your audio file is being listened to on a iPhone, iPod, or iPad then we will make sure they get a compatible file format. Our goal is to help our members get their podcast to anyone, and everyone, who can enjoy it.
We Want You to be Popular!
Our goal is to enable our subscribers to get their message to the world, and we go to great lengths to make sure that message isn't diluted by our own agenda.
Mobile Users top
Publish all your multimedia to your blogs and podcasts without even sitting down! Once you set up your hipcast account and blog/podcast information, you can post straight from your phone.
Podcast on the Go
Hipcast's site is optimized for small resolutions and mobile browsing, so you don't even need an application to manage your media. Depending on your device, you may never even need to touch a PC to publish your podcast, and our directory is fully mobile compatible so your listeners don't have to either!
Authenticated Access top
Limit access to your podcast by username/password, or keep it internal using Network Address Filtering features built into every podcast.
