Update: Smart Podcast Player is now rebranded to Fusebox. Pat Flynn has combined Smart Podcast Player and the newly launched podcast transcript plugin into a single subscription plan under the brand name Fusebox.
This means you’ll gain access to both the old Smart podcast player plugin and the new transcript plugin with Fusebox’s monthly or yearly plan. The rest is all the same.
Here’s an official update:
Podcasts are a great way to connect with your audience.
Not only does it make them feel like you’re sitting around talking to them, but it also makes your business presence stronger.
Since 2015, Pat Flynn has been using his very own plugin to publish it on his blog – the Fusebox Smart Podcast Player (FPP). It is so unique that none of the podcast plugins are near it.
In this review, I’ll tell you why it is the best podcast plugin out there and one of the marketing tools you should use if you have a podcast show.
About Fusebox Smart Podcast Player
https://youtu.be/_AA0Gp1ez3c
Fusebox Podcast Player (FPP) was created by Pat Flynn and Matthew Gartland of Winning Edits. Both of them are podcasters themselves.
Pat Flynn uses this same plugin on his blog Smart Passive Income & Ask Pat.
FPP is a feature-packed podcasting plugin that lets you publish and display your podcast episodes, media tracks and other sorts of audio files on your WordPress blog easily.
It was created by a podcaster, to let podcast listeners enjoy listening to a podcaster’s new episodes conveniently. It allows your users to toggle between new and old episodes, and search for their favorite podcast.
It also makes it easier to download and share your episodes.
For podcasters, it is a must-use tool if they want to grow their email list, get more shares and increase brand value. It’s because FPP is built to accomplish these results.
Features
Fusebox Podcast Player is different from other plugins like PowerPress and Seriously Simple Podcasting. There are many features that make it stand out.
1. Built-in Email Capture Tool
Fusebox Podcast Player comes with a built-in list building tool that lets you capture emails by popup models. This lets you embed a sign-up form in your Podcast Player without the need for a third-party plugin.
The players on your blog will show a button your listeners and visitors can click to sign up for your email list. Email integration includes all popular email marketing services including Aweber, ConvertKit, MailChimp, etc.
Using this email integration tool, you can generate leads and add more subscribers to your mailing fast.
2. Smart Track Player
FPP comes with a custom track player. The single-track player is named “Smart Track Player”.
This player allows you to highlight specific single episodes of your podcast anywhere you want using shortcodes. You can access these shortcodes right from your WordPress editor.
This lets you highlight specific single podcast episodes or any media that you want which you can use to feature in your website’s hero section.
3. Interactive Full Player
Out of several podcast plugins for WordPress, FPP is the only plugin that has a customizable full player. It is highly customizable, letting you almost change the way it looks completely.
Head over to Fusebox.fm and you can try the new live demo of their 2.0 podcast player. You can also customize the demo version however you may want.
Take a look:
The full layer supports and displays:
- Description
- Search box
- Tags
- Full Past Published Podcast List
- Sort Options
- Speed Settings
- Logo Area
- Skip Forward & Backward buttons
The player is very beautifully designed I feel its very user-focused because of its ease of use. I also saw how easy it is to customize the player’s looks and with a few basic changes, it becomes completely different, which is best if you focus on brand building.
4. Download & Share Options
Fusebox Podcast Player comes with an inbuilt download execution.
Your users will be able to start downloading tracks by simply clicking on the download button. You can decide if you want the download button to appear on your player or not.
Sharing your podcast episodes on social networks is also easy and FPP comes with custom share buttons embedded on your track player
You can manage how your buttons will look right from the customization settings.
5. Subscription Buttons
If you publish your podcasts on Itunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, etc. (which you should), then this feature will let your users subscribe to the right from the FPP player.
You can set various networks in the Fusebox Podcast Player settings and enter the subscription URLs.
6. Responsive And Multi-Device Friendly
FPP is mobile friendly. It’s responsive and changes its size automatically to fit the user’s screen size.
This lets your listeners and visitors have the best experience listening to you on any device.
7. Shortcode Elements
The is one of the best parts of FPP is shortcodes and its elements.
[smart_podcast_player] and [smart_track_player] are the main WordPress shortcodes to show your full track player. However, there is a massive list of other shortcode elements you can find here.
You can hide the download button, RSS subscription, tags, description, change color, and do many things by adding different elements into your main shortcode.
You don’t need to memorize it. The shortcode button appears in your WordPress editor right after you install Fusebox Podcast Player.
8. It Loads Fast
You’ll have to admit that other podcast players load slow and sometimes even fail to load. FPP is fast and loads quickly.
Looking at its CSS, you’ll be able to tell that it’s very lightweight despite being feature-rich.
There are many more features you’ll find in Fusebox Podcast Player that’ll help you increase your podcast’s value, plays, and downloads.
Pricing
Fusebox Podcast Player is a premium plugin, but it’s worth it.
They have recently launched the Fusebox transcript plugin, which comes free with the podcast player. The new plan includes a free account as well that allows you to test the plugin before you buy it.
It includes so many features that it has to be premium. Pat Flynn has kept its pricing simple and there are two plans for you to choose from:
- Annual subscription
- Monthly subscription
If you choose the annual subscription plan, you’ll have to pay $97/year. Choose to pay yearly to get a 33% discount on the annual plan.
I would recommend you choose the annual plan because if you choose to pay monthly, you’ll have to pay $12 per month, which is $144/year.
With an annual plan, you’ll save $47 per year.
For $8/ month, Fusebox Podcast Player is a great deal. Your plugin won’t stop working if you don’t renew your license, but you will also not get important updates and support from the FPP team.
Discover Fusebox Podcast Player
Support
You will get support from FPP Labs (the parent company behind Fusebox Podcast Player) from Monday to Friday.
They also have a huge support center with detailed documentation on everything you need to know about FPP and make it work. Support is email and document-based.
Support from SPI labs is quite fast and you won’t have to wait for ages to get your issue resolved. However, I would have loved chat support.
You can reach their support team at [email protected].
60 Day Money Back Guarantee
If you feel like Fusebox Podcast Player isn’t made for you, you can ask Pat for a refund within 60 days of your purchase.
60 days is a big time and this is enough for you to judge if you are comfortable using FPP or not. In other words, you get 60 days of trial and something goes out of the way, your money gets back to you.
If you are a beginner, the best thing you could do is buy a monthly subscription to Fusebox Podcast Player and see if you are satisfied with it or not. You’ll still have 60 days to claim your refund.
You can reach the team at [email protected] to request a refund as well.
Why You Should Use FPP Over Other Podcasting Plugins
There are many other podcasting plugins for WordPress. Some are free as well.
But none of them come close to Fusebox Podcast Player. It’s unique, customizable, user-friendly and conversion-focused.
It is the only plugin that lets you capture emails of your visitors and listeners efficiently. It’s not so costly and works fast.
The initial configuration and installation are pretty simple. You have to download the plugin ZIP files (from the receipt or your account dashboard) and install it on your WordPress blog.
Few customizations to match the player look with your website theme and brand, and you’ll be ready to go live.
Podcast Host Compatibility
Fusebox Podcast Player works with every podcast hosting provider. You only need to have your podcast feeds.
The simplest way to find your podcast feed is by asking your podcast host. If you upload your podcast files directly to your WordPress media, you should stop doing it immediately.
It will cost you high bandwidth and storage space. You should use a dedicated podcast hosting service. I personally recommend Blubrry and they even agreed to offer you guys a free month.
Multi-Platform Compatibility
The Fusebox 2.0 players work across multiple platforms.
Fusebox 2.0 supports platforms like WIZ, Squarespace, Teachable, Webflow and virtually any HTML wesbite.
The same player that comes with the WordPress plugin is now an embeddable player that can be used with any website or LMS software.
This makes Fusebox one of the best podcast players that works for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re using WordPress, you will still get the same features even if you have a custom website.
Conclusion
Final Verdict: You should definitely check out Fusebox Podcast Player at least once.
Discover Fusebox Podcast Player
Start using it and you’ll appreciate how well it works for you and your business. It is very easy to use but powerful as well.
If you run a podcast and want to grow our business and generate more money out of it, this is for you.
Hey Aayush,
The player loads fast and is mobile-responsive; this makes it ideal for new-age podcast listeners. Another major advantage of Fusebox is that it works like any other WordPress plugin. Where can I host a podcast for free?
Hi Raja,
Indeed!
You can opt for free plans at Podbean to get started.
Hi there!
I’m Jonathan, the Customer Success Manager at Fusebox. You’ll be happy to know that all paid subscriptions to the new Fusebox now include podcast hosting at no extra cost. Additionally, we introduced a new tier at a lower price point.
-Jonathan