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Plan a Podcast Before Launch Ready soon ​
Not on your account yet?
Pre-launch planning is rolling out gradually and will be available to every account soon. If you don't see Design your new podcast in your podcast list yet, it hasn't reached your account.
You can start with a draft podcast before it has an RSS feed or a platform listing. Use it to develop your positioning, choose keywords, research competitors, and prepare episodes. A draft uses one of your plan's podcast slots; normal keyword, competitor, and Planner limits still apply.
Create a draft ​
From your podcast list, choose Design your new podcast and enter its title. Its home opens as Design, with a launch-readiness checklist instead of live performance statistics.
- Save a title and description explaining who the show is for and what it covers.
- Work through Positioning and select your topics.
- Add at least one Primary keyword in Keyword Strategy.
- Open the Planner to prepare at least one episode.
- Add at least one competitor to establish the market you want to enter.
Draft details, positioning, and a Primary keyword unlock the planning and competitor steps. Follow the checklist if a section is locked.
While a podcast is a draft, the sidebar is simplified to the areas you can use before launch. Traction, AI Visibility, Social Publishing, PR & Media Coverage, and Charts are hidden because they rely on a live show. Competition appears locked until you complete your draft details, positioning, and keywords. You can upload and crop a cover image, but a cover is optional for connecting your live show.
Understand launch readiness ​
The percentage measures completed setup steps. It is not your Visibility Score and does not predict audience size or search performance. A draft has no live rankings, reviews, distribution results, or published feed episodes yet. Those views become relevant after you connect the actual show.
Free accounts can hold up to three active planned episodes; paid plans unlock AI Producer, episode keyword targeting, and AI suggestions. Draft planning does not remove those restrictions.
Connect the published podcast ​
Publish through your podcast host and get the show listed on Apple Podcasts. Once the required setup steps are complete, choose Connect live podcast on Design and select the correct live show from the catalog.
Connecting keeps your existing workspace, including the strategy and planned episodes, and adds the live show's data as it becomes available. Use this action instead of adding the same show as a second podcast. If PodSEO says you already track it, resolve the duplicate workspace before connecting.
PodSEO's draft is a planning workspace; creating it or connecting a listing does not publish audio to your host. After launch, continue with First Steps and the PodSEO workflow.