Get Your Podcast Noticed in the iTunes Store.

Tech Tips from CSU Long Beach (CSULB)

Welcome to Episode fifteen of TechTips from the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Today's topic is “getting your podcast noticed in the iTunes Store.” Listing your podcast in the iTunes Store makes it easy for people to seek you out by entering your name or podcast title, your podcast category, or even key words in the iTunes Store search field. Getting included in the iTunes Store isn't difficult and there is no charge. Apple has posted detailed instructions. Find the instructions from inside the iTunes Store. Launch iTunes. Click on iTunes Store in the left navigation column. Inside the Store, click on Podcasts. At the bottom of the bottom of the podcasts page, under “Learn More,” click on “Podcast Technical Spec.” That will bring up the “Making a Podcast” page in your web browser. The first topic listed on that page is “Submission and Feedback Process.” Here's what's involved. You first have to make sure that you have a valid podcast. If you followed my instructions in Episode 14 and you were able to subscribe to your own podcast from within iTunes, you are ready to submit that podcast to Apple for inclusion in the iTunes Store. Before you do that, use your text editor to once again look at the XML file you created. The “Making a Podcast” web page you just opened has hints on how to fine tune your XML file (Apple calls it “your feed”) to help people search for your podcast. For example, they suggest making your podcast title as explicit as possible. Also make sure you've selected an appropriate iTunes category. You're limited here to the 16 categories listed at the bottom of the Making a Podcast page. On the other hand, the iTunes Keywords can be any words of your choosing, up to twelve words, each separated be a comma. Think carefully about which keywords people might enter to find your podcast. This might even include common misspellings of your name as well as your University's nicknames and initials. I include CSULB in my list of keywords. After you've made these minor adjustments to your XML file, replace the original version with this newly edited version and then try once again to subscribe using the iTunes “Advanced/Subscribe to podcast . . .” from the top menu in iTunes. If your podcast still works, you are ready to submit it to Apple to be listed in the iTunes Store. In iTunes, click on the iTunes Store and then on the Podcasts link to go to the podcasts page. In the left column of the Podcasts page, in the Learn More box at the bottom, click on the Submit a Podcast link. If you don't already have an Apple account that you use for purchasing songs off iTunes, you will be asked to create one as part of the podcast submission process. This includes providing Apple with credit card information. There's no charge for posting podcasts but Apple insists you set up an account anyway. You will also be asked to provide the podcast feed URL. This is the full address of your the xml file you've been editing. A couple of days after submitting your request to Apple, you will receive notification that your are now included in the iTunes Store. However, you'll have to wait several additional days before the iTunes Store search engine knows how to find your podcast. Be patient and good luck. I'm Walter Gajewski for TechTips from the California State University, Long Beach.