# Uploading Episodes to Buzzsprout — the actual clicks

You do **not** need Dropbox. Skip it entirely. The MP3s live on your own website and you can
download them straight to whatever device you're on.

---

## Step 1 — Get the files (2 min)

On the same device you'll use for Buzzsprout, open:

**optimizedairway.com/download/podcast**

Every file is on that page with a play button and a download button:

| File | What it is |
|---|---|
| `podcast-cover-3000x3000.png` | Cover art |
| `00-trailer.mp3` | Trailer |
| `01-myo-as-an-rdh.mp3` | Episode 1 |
| `02-implementing-into-practice.mp3` | Episode 2 |
| `03-benefits-to-hygienists.mp3` | Episode 3 |
| `04-you-dont-have-to-leave.mp3` | Episode 4 |

Tap the download button on each. Where they land:

- **On a Mac/PC:** your Downloads folder. Done.
- **On an iPhone:** they go to the **Files** app → *On My iPhone* → *Downloads*. Not Photos —
  Files. You'll pick them from there when Buzzsprout asks.

**Do this on a laptop if you have one.** Uploading a 12 MB MP3 from a phone browser works but
is more fiddly than it needs to be.

---

## Step 2 — One episode, start to finish (10 min for the first, 4 min after)

In Buzzsprout, click the purple **+ New Episode** button (top right of the Episodes screen).

**2a. Drop the file in.**
Big dashed box that says "Drag and drop your audio file." Click it → pick `00-trailer.mp3`
from Downloads. A progress bar runs. Wait for it to say processed — don't navigate away.

**2b. Title.**
Copy exactly from the table in Step 3 below.

**2c. Show notes / Description.**
The big text box under the title. Open the matching `*-show-notes.md` file (they're also on the
download page), copy everything, paste it in. Buzzsprout keeps the formatting.

**2d. Scroll down to the small fields.**

| Field | Trailer | Ep 1 | Ep 2 | Ep 3 | Ep 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode Number | *leave blank* | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Season Number | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Episode Type | **Trailer** | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Explicit | No | No | No | No | No |

**2e. Artwork.** Leave it. It inherits the show cover automatically. Only upload per-episode art
if you want it, and you don't right now.

**2f. Magic Mastering.** Toggle it **on**. It's the switch near the audio file. Levels your
volume, cleans up the room. This is the single biggest quality upgrade available to you.

**2g. Publish.**
Bottom of the page there are three choices:
- **Publish Now** — goes live immediately. ← use this for the **trailer only**
- **Schedule** — pick a date/time. ← use this for Episodes 1–4
- **Save as Draft** — nobody sees it

Hit the right one. That's the whole episode.

---

## Step 3 — Titles and files, in order

| # | File | Title | Publish |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | `00-trailer.mp3` | Welcome to Optimized Airway | **Publish Now** |
| 1 | `01-myo-as-an-rdh.mp3` | Myofunctional Therapy as an RDH | Schedule — first Tuesday, 6:00 AM ET |
| 2 | `02-implementing-into-practice.mp3` | Implementing Myo Into Your Practice | Same Tuesday, 6:00 AM ET |
| 3 | `03-benefits-to-hygienists.mp3` | What This Work Does for You | Same Tuesday, 6:00 AM ET |
| 4 | `04-you-dont-have-to-leave.mp3` | You Don't Have to Leave Hygiene. You Have to Expand It. | Following Tuesday, 6:00 AM ET |

Episodes 1–3 all drop the same morning on purpose — Apple's New & Noteworthy surfacing favours
shows with more than one episode, and new listeners binge. Episode 4 the week after starts your
weekly cadence.

---

## Step 4 — Order of operations for today

1. Publish the **trailer**. Right now. It's the only thing blocking directories.
2. Go to **Directories** → submit to Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube Music, iHeart, Castbox,
   Podcast Index.
3. **Don't wait for approval.** Go straight back to Episodes and schedule 1–4.
4. Copy your **RSS feed URL** from the Directories page and send it to me.

Apple takes 1–5 business days. Spotify is usually same-day.

---

## If something goes wrong

**"Upload failed" / it stalls.** Almost always wifi dropping mid-upload on a phone. Retry on a
laptop, or on the phone switch off wifi and use cellular (or vice versa).

**"File format not supported."** You downloaded the show-notes `.md` file instead of the `.mp3`.
Check the file name ends in `.mp3`.

**Can't find the file on iPhone.** In the Buzzsprout upload picker, choose **Browse** →
*On My iPhone* → *Downloads*. Not "Photos," not "Recents."

**You published something by accident.** Open the episode → **Unpublish**. It's reversible and
nobody will have seen it.

**You want to change a title after publishing.** Fine, edit and save. Apple refreshes the feed
within a few hours.

---

## When you're done

Send me the RSS URL and I'll wire the live Apple + Spotify buttons and the episode player into
the `/podcast` page, and push the launch captions.
