How to Publish Newsletter Audio to Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Spotify and Apple Podcasts together account for the overwhelming majority of podcast listening. If your newsletter audio is not on both, you are missing the audience that prefers to listen inside the apps they already use. The good news: getting listed is a one-time setup. Once the feed is approved, every future episode propagates automatically with no further submission work.

This tutorial walks through the full workflow — from rendering the first episode through Apple Podcasts validation and post-launch maintenance. The whole process takes about 30 minutes of active work spread across one to three days of Apple's review time.

Step 1 · Create the first audio episode

You cannot submit an empty podcast feed. Apple Podcasts and Spotify both require at least one valid episode before they will list the show. The first episode is also what their review teams listen to when they validate the feed, so it should be representative of what subscribers will hear going forward.

In InkToAudio, create a new piece of content from a recent newsletter issue. Paste the text or HTML, forward the issue to your dedicated inbox address, or use Import Content to pull it in from a URL. Choose a voice — either a studio voice from the library or a clone you have already trained. Click generate. A typical 1,500-word issue renders in under 90 seconds.

Listen to the first 30 seconds. Confirm the pacing feels right, the host voice sounds like your show, and the script handles your domain-specific terms correctly. If anything is off, edit the script in the editor or swap the voice and regenerate. This first episode is the listening sample reviewers will hear; spending five extra minutes polishing it is worth it.

Step 2 · Generate the podcast RSS feed

In the dashboard, open RSS Feeds and create a new feed for the show. The feed is the public file that Spotify and Apple Podcasts will read on a recurring schedule — every show-level field you set here appears in the directories.

You will be asked for show name, show description, language, primary category, host email, and cover artwork. After saving the feed, attach your first rendered episode to it. The feed URL is now yours; copy it and keep it handy. You will paste it into both directory submission forms.

Step 3 · Prepare show metadata

Apple Podcasts and Spotify both enforce specific metadata requirements. Getting them right before submission avoids rejection and a back-and-forth that adds days to the launch.

Show name

Keep the name under 60 characters so it does not get truncated in directory listings. If your newsletter and podcast share a name, append "Podcast" or "Audio" — for example, "Stratechery Audio" rather than just "Stratechery". Search ranks reward keyword relevance, so include one descriptor of your topic if it fits naturally.

Description

Write 2–4 sentences. Sentence one: what the show is. Sentence two: who it is for. Sentence three: what listeners take away. Do not stuff keywords; both Apple and Spotify penalize obvious SEO copy in show descriptions.

Cover artwork

Apple Podcasts requires artwork between 1400×1400 and 3000×3000 pixels, in JPG or PNG format, in RGB color (not CMYK). 1400×1400 is the recommended size. The artwork must be legible at 55×55 pixels — that is the size it displays in podcast app subscription lists. Avoid small text and detailed illustrations.

Category

Pick the primary category closest to your newsletter topic. You can choose subcategories, but the primary category drives directory placement. Apple Podcasts allows up to three categories; Spotify uses one.

Owner email

Apple Podcasts requires a valid email address listed as the show owner. This address is not displayed publicly — it is used for verification and for Apple to contact you if there are issues with the feed. Use an inbox you actually monitor.

Step 4 · Submit to Spotify for Podcasters

Spotify is typically the faster of the two approvals. Open Spotify for Podcasters and sign in (or create an account). Click "Add a podcast" and paste your RSS feed URL when prompted.

[SCREENSHOT: Spotify for Podcasters "Add a podcast" form with the feed URL field highlighted]

Spotify validates the feed and shows you a preview — confirm the show name, description, artwork, and category all look correct. Click "Submit". You will receive a verification email to the address listed as the show owner. Click the link in that email to confirm ownership.

Once verified, Spotify typically lists the show in a few hours. You will see a Spotify show URL in the for-Podcasters dashboard — link to it from your newsletter and your site.

Step 5 · Submit to Apple Podcasts Connect

Apple Podcasts Connect requires an Apple ID — preferably one tied to a business email, not a personal account. Sign in, accept the podcast publisher terms, and click "Add a Show" → "From RSS Feed". Paste your RSS feed URL.

[SCREENSHOT: Apple Podcasts Connect "Add a Show" dialog with the RSS feed URL field]

Apple validates the feed immediately. Common failures at this stage include artwork below 1400×1400, missing owner email, missing category, or an invalid episode enclosure URL. If anything fails, fix it in InkToAudio, save, and resubmit — the feed updates immediately.

If validation passes, you can choose the show's availability in App Store territories (leave at default — worldwide — unless you have a reason to restrict). Click "Publish". The show enters Apple's review queue.

Step 6 · Validation steps and approval timing

Spotify and Apple both perform automated feed validation up front and human review afterward.

Spotify approvals usually clear within a few hours. The validation focuses on feed parsability and content guidelines — explicit content flags must match reality, and obvious policy violations get caught here.

Apple Podcasts approvals typically take one to three days, sometimes up to a week if reviewers have a backlog. Apple reviewers listen to a sample of the first episode and confirm the show meets their content guidelines. They also check that the artwork, description, and category accurately describe the content.

You will receive an email when the show is approved. The email contains the Apple Podcasts URL — link to it from the same places you linked the Spotify show.

Step 7 · Troubleshooting common issues

Apple rejects with "artwork does not meet specifications"

Cause: artwork is below 1400×1400, in CMYK color, or in an unsupported format. Fix: re-upload artwork at least 1400×1400 pixels, up to 3000×3000 pixels, in RGB JPG or PNG. Save and resubmit.

Spotify cannot fetch the feed

Cause: the feed URL returns a 4xx or 5xx error, or the host responds slowly. Fix: confirm the feed URL is correct, open it in a browser to verify it loads, and resubmit. If you are using a hosted platform like InkToAudio, this almost never happens — but custom feeds can hit it.

"Missing required field: itunes:owner"

Cause: no owner email in the feed. Fix: add the owner email in your feed settings. Resubmit.

Episode appears on the website but not in the apps

Cause: podcast apps poll the feed on a delay, typically every few hours. Fix: wait. If 24 hours pass with no propagation, manually trigger a refetch in Spotify for Podcasters and Apple Podcasts Connect. Hosted platforms can also ping Apple and Spotify when you publish.

Cover artwork looks fuzzy in the app

Cause: the artwork is below 1400×1400 and gets upscaled. Fix: re-export at 1400×1400 or 3000×3000 and save the feed.

Step 8 · Post-launch maintenance

Once the show is approved and published, the heaviest work is done. Day-to-day maintenance is minimal — most of it can be automated.

• Publish new episodes through the same feed; both directories pick them up automatically within a few hours.
• Update show artwork or description as needed — directories re-fetch the feed and update without resubmission.
• Monitor listener analytics weekly: plays, completion rate, drop-off. Episodes with low completion may need shorter scripts or tighter intros.
• Watch for "feed error" notifications from Apple Podcasts Connect — they indicate the feed temporarily failed validation. Fix the underlying issue and the directory recovers on the next refetch.
• For multi-section publications, add new feeds as the publication grows. Each section can have its own show in the directories.

What gets easier from here

The submission process is a one-time hurdle. After that, your podcast is a continuous extension of your newsletter — every issue you publish becomes an episode in the same feed, the same audio host, and the same listener relationship. The work compounds: every new piece of writing reaches both readers and listeners with no additional effort.

If you have not generated the first audio episode yet, that is the only blocker between you and a podcast on Spotify and Apple. Everything else in this tutorial follows from a single rendered file and a valid feed URL.