In this guide
Why notes break in a move
Show notes look like text and are stored as HTML. Bold, links, bullets: all tags underneath. When one host exports and another imports, the two do not always read those tags the same way, and you end up with lists that lost their bullets, links flattened into raw text, and formatting that quietly disappeared.
It shows up worst on the episodes you worked hardest on. Timestamps, guest links, sponsor codes. A one-paragraph description survives almost anything. So check the detailed episodes first rather than trusting the import across the board.
What to check after an import
The RSS importers on Buzzsprout, Transistor, and Captivate all do the same broad job well and the fine detail unevenly. Open five to ten episodes from across the archive, not just the recent ones, and read them next to the originals. Hunt for broken lists, vanished hyperlinks, and mangled affiliate or sponsor codes. Those last ones carry actual money.
Timestamps typed into the description, the 12:30 guest introduction kind, come across as plain text and are fine. Real chapter markers, the tappable kind, are a separate metadata field and often do not transfer at all. Check whether the new host supports chapters before you assume they made it.
Transcripts are separate files
Transcripts, whether Otter.ai made them or a human did, live as files rather than inside the description. Plain text, SRT, and VTT are what you will meet, and the difference matters more than it sounds.
SRT is the old, simple subtitle format: timestamps and text, no styling. VTT is the web standard version of the same idea, with room for styling and metadata, and it is what most modern players and accessibility tools mean when they say they support transcripts. If your new host advertises searchable or interactive transcripts, check which one it wants before you upload a pile of SRT files and wonder why nothing renders.
Re-upload rather than regenerate
If you already have the files saved, upload them. Most hosts that support transcripts take a manual SRT or VTT per episode, and paying to redo work you already own is silly.
If you never saved them and only ever saw them inside the old player, you are regenerating from audio, with Otter.ai or whatever the new host bundles. On a long archive that is real time or real money, so decide upfront whether the whole back catalogue needs transcribing or only the episodes people actually open.
Make the next move easier
Standardize how you write notes from here on. Short paragraphs, plain bullets, full URLs instead of clever link text. Boring formatting survives platform imports. Styled text with custom fonts and colors does not.
And keep a rolling backup outside every host, a folder of text files or a shared doc updated when you publish. It turns the next migration, whenever it comes, into copy and paste instead of a salvage operation.
Before you start
- Spot check five to ten episodes across your archive after any RSS import
- Check that hyperlinks and sponsor codes survived the import intact
- Confirm whether embedded chapter markers transferred or need rebuilding
- Check whether your new host wants SRT or VTT for transcript uploads
- Upload existing transcript files rather than paying to regenerate them
- Decide upfront how much of the back catalogue is worth transcribing
- Keep an ongoing backup of notes and transcripts outside any single host
Common pitfalls
- Assuming a bulk RSS import preserved every link and bullet point
- Uploading an SRT file to a host that expects VTT and getting broken display
- Losing sponsor and affiliate links buried in show notes formatting
- Paying to regenerate transcripts you already had saved somewhere
Product references and review status
This guide is editorial guidance. It does not yet have claim-by-claim verification notes. Use these original product references and the dated linked reviews to check requirements before committing.