Ghost is a modern CMS platform that has built-in features to make it easier for users to monetize their content. While the features are designed to monetize blog posts and newsletters, you can also use it to monetize other content types, including podcasts.

Podcast, as you know, is a trending content type. Ghost supports audio file (MP3), meaning that you can add audio content to a blog post or page. You can make use of this feature to offer paid podcast episodes if you think the fee you earn from your current podcasting platform (e.g., Spotify) is not worth it.

Best Ghost Themes for Podcasting

Ghost is a CMS that offers minimum customizations, contrary to WordPress. Due to this, the selection of theme is even more crucial when you want to create a blog with Ghost. Ghost itself offers about 13 official themes. If none of these themes suit your needs, you can use a theme developed by a third-party developer. We have curated the Ghost themes designed specifically for podcasting blogs.

Please note that if you host your blog on Ghost.org (read: best Ghost hosting), you can only install third-party Ghost themes if you use the Creator plan or the higher plans. The cheapest plan (Starter) doesn’t allow you to unlock the third-party theme install feature.

1. Hue

• Price: $149

The first podcasting theme for Ghost we recommend is Hue. It is a Ghost theme designed specifically for podcasting blogs. It has a built-in feature to filter (by post tag) the content (blog posts) into two types: podcast and regular blog post. All blog posts with a podcast tag will be displayed on the homepage with an auto-generated number for each post (Episode)(E1, E2, …).

Meanwhile, all blog posts with a blog tag will be archived on a separate blog page (yourblog.com/blog). Thanks to this feature, your blog visitors can explore the podcast episodes more easily as the podcast content is not mixed with the regular blog posts.

Unlike most Ghost themes which typically only display blog posts on the homepage, Hue has a static section on the top side (the hero section) of the homepage which you can use to write a brief intro about you (or your brand). The section contains text, image, email subscription form, and podcasting platform icons (Apple Podcast, Spotify). Other features offered by Hue include dark mode and search.

2. Pidkast

• Price: $59

Pidkast is another Ghost theme that is great for podcasting blogs. It has no filtering feature like Hue above, but your visitors can effortlessly distinguish which are regular blog posts and which are podcast content thanks to a label on each blog post. Also, the theme comes with a page dedicated to archiving the podcast episodes. Pidkast offers two homepage layouts you can choose from. Pidkast is especially a great option if you are looking for a Ghost theme that has a sticky header feature and drop-down menu.

Drop-down menu is a simple, yet useful feature to create an uncluttered navigation menu. Ghost has no built-in option to create a drop-down menu (sub-menu). So, if it matters to you, Pidkast is a great theme for you. Other features offered by Pidkast include search, off-canvas menu. Furthermore, Pidkast comes with well-designed static pages (about page and contact page).

The Bottom Line

Ghost is a CMS that has a built-in feature to monetize your content. While it is mainly designed to monetize blog posts and email newsletters, you can also use Ghost to monetize podcasts as Ghost has an element to add a podcast to a blog post, newsletter, or page. If you have a podcast channel on platforms like Spotify and SoundCloud, you can also embed a podcast episode to a blog post.

In Ghost itself, the selection of theme plays a vital role when you are creating a new blog as Ghost offers minimum features and customization options. Both Hue and Pidkast are two of the best themes to create a podcasting blog with Ghost.