Powerpress plugin not showing up on previously posted posts

[Susan Hanaford]

This all sounds good Shawn...thanks so much! I wont be getting into it until tonight or tomorrow but, it all sounds do-able.
Question: if itunes does nothing with the "ID3 tags" aspect of the mp3, why are we tagging them? Where is this tagged info showing up? (I'm tired so I'm prob missing something)

[Shawn Thorpe]

There are a lot of podcast-consumption apps out there, so it's difficult to track how all of them handle metadata. And there are still a fair number of podcast listeners out there that simply download files directly to a computer and listen there. If the files have no ID3 tags, those listeners won't get any metadata from the file. So, it's not technically necessary to add the ID3 tags. But, in terms of best practices, it's a still a good idea.

[Susan Hanaford]

Ok, Gotcha...thanks for the info Shawn.

So, I went into each individual post (17), and removed the file from the PP plugin. Within an hour, all but 2 were removed from the itunes playlist. For some crazy reason, 2 are hanging on and won't leeeeeeve. I think they are the last 2 that were in the list...maybe you can only delete 15 eps at a time? I go into those 2 posts and the PP plugin url field is empty. I keep checking the itunes playlist thinking that they will be gone but they're still there. I think I'm experiencing some kind of Podcast Karma.
Any words of wisdom for me today Shawn? (or tomorrow because today is Sunday:-)

[Shawn Thorpe]

The podcast RSS feed has only two enclosure tags in it, both pointing to LibSyn-hosted files. So, those should be the only two to appear in the iTunes Store listing. What's the URL to the show's iTunes Store listing?

[Susan Hanaford]

Here is our new itunes link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wildly-alive-weight-loss-coaching-podcast-fun-sane/id1223821361
And, here again is our feed:
http://wildlyaliveweightloss.com/feed/podcast/?wpmfeedkey=349;57a6e67a14c79d5919d06c99880b9100

The 2 eps I want posted (and have put libsyn urls into the post PP plugin are:
1. How most exercise programs set you up to quit.....- [E1]
2. Working out doesn't have to be a struggle (for reals) - [E2]

"How your intention...." and "How to lose weight....." are still showing up even tho the urls have been removed from the posts' PP plugin. Are those 2 coming up for you as well?

Yesterday I added that 2nd EP libsyn mp3 url into the older post hoping that, now that we're itunes approved, it would show up in itunes without have to do a NEW re-post of the post but, I dont see it. Apparently you see it as an enclosure tag within the rss feed.

[Shawn Thorpe]

The podcast RSS feed only has two items in it. So, there shouldn't be three items displayed in the iTunes Store listing. This is definitely an iTunes Store issue. Here's one thing you can try that may help:

Go to http://podcastsconnect.apple.com/ and log in with your Apple ID. Click the artwork for your show and then click the "refresh feed” link. It may take up to 24 hours for your iTunes Store listing to update.

If that doesn't work, the only thing left would be to contact iTunes support:
http://itunespartner.apple.com/en/podcasts/overview (click the "contact us" link at the bottom of the page)
Let them know there's an extra episode showing up on the listing. They may have a way to remove it.

Overall, I feel like this problem will clear up on its own over time, no matter what. The last time the iTunes Store refreshed the RSS feed, something didn't take on iTunes' side. I suspect that once more episodes are added to the feed, the errant episode will disappear from the listing. One of the difficulties in troubleshooting these types of issues is, iTunes Store listings don't update in real time. So, you have to make a change and then... wait. Regardless, I do believe the problem is entirely on the iTunes Store side.

[Susan Hanaford]

Hi Shawn...your long lost Podcast friend Susan here :-)

Just wanted you to know that all is well in my Podcast world...as you'd said, with patience, it should work itself out. (which it did!)
I guess you mostly hear from people with problems...and, once they are "good to go" they disappear.  Sorry to have been 1 of those people. It's been on my mind to get back with you, tell you all is good and THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your help. I came out smelling like a rose to my client and I only have you to thank for that. :-) <3 :-) <3 !!!

I'm sure you will be hearing from me again when I have my next podcast disaster, so, until then, I wish you the very best!!!
P.s....haha...reading back, this is quite a thread we've created!
P.s.s  I'd love to fill out a survey/review or whatever for you...let me know.

[Shawn Thorpe]

Thanks for reporting back, Susan! I'm really glad to see things are going well and that I was able to help you out. If you ever have any questions about PowerPress or other Blubrry products/services, you know where to find me!

One thing you can do that'd help out a lot would be to leave a review of PowerPress on the WordPress Codex. Here's the link:
https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/powerpress/reviews/?rate=5#new-post
You can post any positive thing you'd like regarding the plugin and/or the support you've received.

Happy podcasting!

[Susan Hanaford]

https://wordpress.org/support/topic/i-love-powerpress/#new-post

Hope that works for you!

[Shawn Thorpe]

Just saw the review come thru my e-mail, Susan. It's perfect. Thanks!

[Susan Hanaford]

You're so welcome Shawn!
Here's another question:
My client is taking over the weekly posting of her podcast. She asks:

"So it looks like the description for the episodes are the entire blog, is there any way to edit that?"

If you want me to start a new thread for this question, let me know.😊

[Shawn Thorpe]

No need for a new thread.

Different podcast-consumption apps use different sections from the podcast RSS feed to display descriptions. This is frustrating but it can't be avoided. (Even Apple does this between the desktop iTunes application and its iOS Podcasts app.)

There's a couple things you can try if the goal is to keep the entire blog post from showing up as the podcast description:
1.) Go to PowerPress >> Settings, Advanced Mode >> Episodes.
2.) Check the box next to iTunes Summary Field and click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.
This'll create an iTunes Summary field that appears within the Podcast Episode box. Your client can enter the desired episode description there and that'll show up within some applications instead of what's in the main blog post.

Also:
1.) From the WordPress dashboard (not PowerPress) go to Settings >> Reading.
2.) Switch the "For each article in a feed, show" option to Summary and save the changes.
This changes the behavior of how RSS feeds work within WordPress (including the podcast feed) and may produce the result you're client is looking for, regardless of whether or not the iTunes Summary Field option described above is in use. You may want to actually try this one first.

[Susan Hanaford]

This sounds great Shawn, I will pass the info on to her.  You continue to blow me away...thank you!

[Susan Hanaford]

Hi Shawn!

I have a client who has eps disapearing from her itunes list. She says:
"the episode posts fine. Is up for a couple hours. Then disappears. Then I refresh on iTunes connect and within an hour it shows back up."

Any ideas on this one? I've given her the itunes support contact you gave me but, I thought I'd run it by you.  Ever "seen this before?"

Thanks!😊

[Shawn Thorpe]

That is unusual. And no, it's not one I think I've encountered before.

My first thought is that your client may have a caching plugin that's messing around with the podcast RSS feed. The only way to test this would be to look at the source code of the feed during one of those times the latest episode has vanished to see if the latest episode is still in the feed. If it's in the feed during an iTunes disappearance, then the problem is on iTunes' end.

Apple is also doing some work on the iTunes Store and this often causes these types of odd quirks to arise without explanation. When Apple decides to do this kinda stuff, they don't tell us when or for how long. We just kinda discern it on our own based on things they've made public combined with trends we see in support requests. You can always reassure your client that anytime someone subscribes to their show thru iTunes, they'll *always* get the latest episodes, regardless of what's being displayed on their iTunes Store listing.