Anchor What? Should you use this platform for your podcasts?

We are increasingly being asked by some people new to podcasting about Anchor, and whether we recommend it.

It’s a podcast hosting tool and app that’s fast becoming one of the most popular podcasts hosting and publishing platforms. The reason it’s popular is that it is so easy to use. You can set up everything in minutes.

I gave it a go. I was blown away by how quick and simple it is. Most podcast hosting platforms are like filling out a form. And you know how much we hate forms. I created a podcast just to see how easy it is.  

An anchor makes you feel you’re unwrapping a present. The other bonus is it’s absolutely free. The player looks pretty top-notch, like Omny Studio and Whooshkaa. You can embed the player and share the audio on social media.

The big attraction of Anchor is you can record directly on to your mobile phone and post at the click of a button. It allows you to record anywhere, anytime and upload immediately. 

Entrepreneur and social media guru, Gary Vaynerchuk is a fan. “Anchor is an app that allows you to record and share soundbites of yourself talking,” Gary V writes in this blog. 

Ah, but here’s the rub. Unless you’re Gary V, or Tim Ferris or someone uber-famous, no one’s really going to care about your shared soundbites. Even you’re cottoned-on cult…ahem, sorry, tribal followers might not care for your frivolous spoken meanderings when there is no video to accompany them.

Podcasting is still better suited for well-produced, longer form, deeper-diving issues. After all, the average listening time for podcasts is still around 20 minutes. 

So, where does that leave Anchor? Well, you can still edit, record and assemble your audio with audio software and keep the quality as high as you want. So, Anchor still scores a big tick.

The big issue is that Anchor submits your podcast to iTunes/Apple Podcasts itself, under its own name. If you don’t care about that and care more about saving yourself time, then go ahead and use Anchor.

If you want more control of your audio and your brand wrapped around it — as we do! — then we’d recommend the likes of Omny Studio, Whooshkaa or Libsyn to host your podcasts.