Creating a Show

There are two ways to create a show in Benecaster: through the Setup Wizard on first activation, or manually via the Shows screen.

Path 1: Setup Wizard (First Run)

On first activation, Benecaster launches the Setup Wizard. Step 1 of the wizard covers your first show’s essential fields: name, artwork, and description. There’s also an optional field for your old feed URL if you’re migrating from another podcast host — Benecaster uses this to help you redirect existing subscribers to your new feed.

Setup wizard step 1: show name and artwork fields

You don’t need to configure everything during the wizard. Any setting you skip can be updated after the wizard completes. The wizard creates the show and moves on to connecting your subscription plugin.

Path 2: Add a Show Manually

Go to Benecaster → Shows → Add New. The show editor opens with a two-column layout: a left navigation lists all settings sections (General, Subscription, Feeds, Emails, etc.), and the right area shows the fields for the selected section. Fill in at least the required fields in the General section — name, artwork, and feed slug — and click Save.

Show editor with required fields filled in

Required Fields

Show name
The title that appears in podcast apps and in your RSS feed’s <title> channel element. Use the full name of your podcast as you want it listed in directories.

Feed slug
The URL path segment used in every RSS feed URL for this show. Benecaster auto-generates a slug from your show name — you can customize it before saving. Use lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only.

The feed slug is part of every subscriber’s personal feed URL. Changing it after subscribers exist will break their feeds. Set this carefully before sharing feed URLs with anyone.

Artwork
A square image used in podcast apps and directories. Apple Podcasts requires a minimum of 1400×1400px; 3000×3000px is the recommended upper limit. JPEG or PNG.

Description
Your show description for podcast directories. This appears in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and similar apps on your show’s listing page.

What Happens After You Save

Benecaster generates your RSS feed URLs — one per tier — and makes the show available in the show switcher. From here you can:

Create episodes under this show
Configure tiers in Benecaster → Settings → Subscription
Connect a subscription plugin if you haven’t already

See Show Settings for the full list of configurable fields, and Mapping Your Membership Tiers for connecting tiers to your membership plugin.