Documentation

A list of participants is a section of the app that displays the names and roles of the people who contributed to the creation of the episode, such as hosts, guests, producers, editors, etc. A list of participants can help users learn more about the people behind the podcast, follow their social media accounts, or find other podcasts that they are involved in.

A list of participants is a feature that allows podcast creators to showcase their team members and collaborators, and podcast listeners to discover more information about them. By adding a list of participants to each episode, you can:

• Increase the credibility and professionalism of your podcast
• Acknowledge the work and contribution of your team members and collaborators
• Provide additional context and background for your podcast topic and content
• Enhance the engagement and loyalty of your audience
• Promote your social media presence and network

Depending on the settings, a list of participants is displayed on the episode details screen, below the episode title and description, or at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, you can also use the "Ideal Podcasts - Participants" module and assign the module to the com_ipodcasts-episode-left or com_ipodcasts-episode-right module positions. To access the episode details screen, tap on an episode from the podcast home screen. The list of participants shows the name, role, and profile picture (if available) of each participant. To view more information about a participant, tap on their name or profile picture. This will open a participant profile screen that shows their bio, social media links, and other podcasts that they are involved in. To return to the episode details screen, tap on the back button.

To add a list of participants to an episode, you need to provide the following information for each participant:

• Name: The full name or preferred name of the participant
• Profile picture: An optional image file that represents the participant visually
• Bio: An optional short text that summarizes the participant's background, expertise, interests, etc.
• Social media links: Optional links to the participant's social media accounts, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
• Other podcasts the participant is involved in or has appeared on will automatically be displayed on the participant's page.
• The role or function that the participant performed in the episode, such as host, guest, producer, editor, etc, should be defined in each episode.

The best practices and guidelines for using the feature

To make the most of the list of participants feature, you should:

• Use clear and consistent names for your participants
• Provide profile pictures that are high-quality and recognizable
• Write concise and informative bios that highlight the relevant aspects of your participants
• Include social media links that are active and updated
• Avoid adding too many participants or too much information that may overwhelm or distract the user

How to Access

• Home Dashboard → Components → Ideal Podcasts → Participants. Then...
• To Add a new Participant:
  • Select the New button in the Toolbar.
• To Edit an existing Participant:
  • Select a Participant title in the Title column.

Screenshot

Form Fields

In this section, you can enter information about the Participant, such as title, bio, picture, social media, and so on. The options allow you to control settings such as what information gets displayed for each Participant.

• Name. The full name or preferred name of the participant. You can use up to 255 characters, but it's good to keep it under 100 characters for the title.
• Alias. The internal name of the item. Normally, you can leave this blank and Joomla will fill in a default value Title in lowercase and with dashes instead of spaces. Learn more.
• Headline:  One of the most common questions that podcast listeners have is what the podcast participants do for a living. You can enter here a short and catchy headline then add more information in the description/bio.
• Description / Bio.  A podcast participant bio is a brief introduction of the participant to share with the podcast audience. It should highlight relevant background, expertise, achievements, and interests in relation to the podcast topic. A podcast participant bio can help you establish your credibility, connect with the listeners, and promote your work or brand. To write a podcast participant bio, you should follow these steps:
  • Identify the purpose and audience of the podcast. What is the main theme or goal of the podcast? Who are the listeners and what are they interested in? How do you fit into the podcast's vision and mission?
  • Write a catchy and concise headline that summarizes who you are and what you do. For example, "Jane Smith: Award-winning Author and Entrepreneur" or "John Doe: Cybersecurity Expert and Podcast Host".
  • Write a few sentences that expand on your headline and showcase your qualifications, accomplishments, and personality. Use specific examples and numbers to demonstrate your value and impact. For example, "Jane Smith is the author of the best-selling book 'How to Start a Successful Business from Scratch', which has sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. She is also the founder and CEO of ABC Inc., a leading company in the e-commerce industry. Jane is passionate about empowering women entrepreneurs and mentors aspiring business owners through her online platform and podcast."
  • Include a call to action or a way for the listeners to contact or learn more about the participant. For example, "To get in touch with Jane or to access her free resources, visit her website at www.janesmith.com or follow her on Twitter @janesmith."
  • Proofread and edit your bio for clarity, accuracy, and tone. Make sure your bio is easy to read, grammatically correct, and professional. Avoid using jargon, slang, or acronyms that may confuse or alienate your audience. Adjust your bio according to the length and format requirements of the podcast.

• Status: Published status of the item. Possible values are:
  • Published: The item is published. This is the only state that will allow regular website users to view this item.
  • Unpublished: The item is unpublished.
  • Archived: The item has been archived.
  • Trashed: The item has been sent to Trash.
• Access. The viewing Access Level for this item.
• Language. Item language. Used in multi-lingual features of Joomla.
• Version Note. Optional field to identify this version of the item in the item's Version History window.

Images and Links

This section lets you display images and links in your episodes using standardised layouts.

Intro Image

A good profile image is an essential element for a podcast participant, as it can influence the audience's perception of the speaker and the content. A profile image is the first impression that a listener gets of a podcast participant, and it can convey information such as the speaker's personality, credibility, professionalism, and style. A good profile image can also help to attract and retain listeners, as it can create a sense of connection and engagement between the speaker and the audience. A good profile image can also enhance the branding and identity of the podcast, as it can reflect the theme, tone, and message of the show. Therefore, a podcast participant should choose a profile image that is clear, high-quality, relevant, consistent, and authentic.

• Intro Image. Image to display for this participant. Select an image file from the drop-down list box. This lists images in the 'images/com_ipodcast/participants/' folder. Images can be uploaded using the Media Manager.
• Image Description (Alt Text). Set the alt attribute for this image. A few descriptive words for screen readers.

Social Links

Social media is a powerful tool for podcast participants who want to reach a wider audience, engage with their listeners, and grow their brand. Social media platforms allow podcast participants to share their content, interact with their fans, and get feedback on their episodes. Social media also helps podcast participants to discover new topics, trends, and influencers in their niche, and to network with other podcasters and potential collaborators. By using social media effectively, podcast participants can increase their visibility, credibility, and loyalty among their target audience, and ultimately, boost their podcast's success. You can enter as many Social Media links as you wish.

• Social Media. Select one of the Social Media platforms from the dropdown menu. Currently, the Social medias supported are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Skype, Telegram, TikTok, Twitter, and Youtube.
• User or Link. Enter the username handle or the link to the social media user profile.

Links

You can display as many links are you wish for each of your participants

• URL. The URL for the link to be displayed in a fixed location in the participant page. This must be a full URL, not relative. For example, it normally would start with 'https://'.
• Text. The text used for the link. If blank, the URL will be displayed.
• Target Window. Sets the default value for the target for the first Link in this episode. Choices are:
  • Open in a parent window: Opens the in the main browser window, replacing the current Joomla participant page.
  • Open in a new window: Opens the link in a new browser window.
  • Modal: Opens the link in a modal pop-up window.

Publishing 

• Start Publishing. This is the date and time when you want your participant to be available for listeners. You can choose to publish your participant immediately or schedule it for a later date and time. 
• Finish Publishing. Date and time to finish publishing. Use this field if you want to have content automatically changed to Unpublished state at a future time (for example, when it is no longer applicable).
• Created Date. This field defaults to the current time when the participant was created. You can enter a different date and time or click on the calendar icon to find the desired date.
• Created By. Name of the Joomla User who created this item. This will default to the currently logged-in user. If you want to change this to a different user, click the Select User button to select a different user.
• Modified Date. Date of last modification.
• Modified By. Username who performed the last modification.
• Revision. The number of revisions to this item.
• Hits. The number of times an item has been viewed.
• ID. This is a unique identification number for this item assigned automatically by Joomla. It is used to identify the item internally, and you cannot change this number. When creating a new item, this field displays "0" until you save the new entry, at which point a new ID is assigned to it.
• Meta Description. An optional paragraph is to be used as the description of the page in the HTML output. This will generally display in the results of search engines. If entered, this creates an HTML meta element with a name attribute of 'description' and a content attribute equal to the entered text. Nowadays this is optional for SEO.
• Keywords. These are words or phrases that describe your participant. You can add up to 10 keywords for each participant, separated by commas. Keywords can be used to help Search Engines and other systems classify the content of the participant.

• Robots. The instructions for web 'robots' that browse to this page.
  • index, follow: Index this page and follow the links on this page.
  • noindex, follow: Do not index this page, but still follow the links on the page. For example, you might do this for a site map page where you want the links to be indexed but you don't want this page to show in search engines.
  • index, nofollow: Index this page, but do not follow any links on the page. For example, you might want to do this for an events calendar, where you want the page to show in search engines but you do not want to index each event.
  • noindex, nofollow: Do not index this page or follow any links on the page.
  • Use Global: Set in Global Configuration: Metadata Settings.
• Content Rights. Describe what rights others have to use this content.

Associations

Language associations in case you have a multi-lingual website. 

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