Practical guide

The small-network podcast launch checklist

Last materially reviewed 2026-09-19

Quick answerLaunch only after content, ownership, distribution and recovery each have an observable pass.
What to know

Setup checklist: make the launch object clear

Record the exact show, owner, intended feed and first public episode. Identify who gives final editorial approval and who performs the publishing action. Keep drafts and test material distinct from the live release. This prevents a hurried launch from turning into a search through several similar files and accounts while everybody assumes somebody else checked the details.

What to know

Check the listener-facing work

Review the final media, title, description, artwork and release time. Inspect a mobile listening path and the primary website page. If there are sponsors, links or sensitive claims, use the appropriate editorial approval before publication. Hosting software can deliver the file you give it; it cannot determine whether the content is accurate, licensed or suitable for the audience.

What to know

Check the operational work

Confirm account recovery, role assignments, billing responsibility and the directory record. Keep source media outside the host and know where the release confirmation will be saved. For a migration, complete the redirect and reporting-preservation checks as a separate part of the plan. Do not hide a pending directory approval under a general label such as launch complete.

What to know

Close with a bounded verification

After publication, inspect the actual result through a small number of representative paths. Record what passed, what remains pending and who owns the next action. If a result is uncertain, reconcile it before publishing again or creating a duplicate listing. The checklist should reduce repeated decisions, not create an endless ceremony: once the necessary evidence exists, mark the release complete and move attention back to useful episodes and the people listening to them. Our practical release record has five fields: show, approved media version, intended release time, observed public URL and verifier. A blank observed URL means verification is still outstanding.

Continue when useful

Next: A producer-to-reviewer handoff that does not lose the episode

Hand over one identifiable draft, a clear decision and the evidence needed to approve it.

Open A producer-to-reviewer handoff that does not lose the episode →

Sources used for this page

These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.

  1. Transistor distribution — Merchant documentation · transistor.fm · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-19
  2. Transistor team roles — Merchant documentation · transistor.fm · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-19
  3. Transistor import and migration guidance — Merchant documentation · support.transistor.fm · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-19