Thinking of creating your own podcast but don't have a clue about RSS, XML and iTunes tags? Then read on as this article will show you how to create a podcast using free online services.
Creating the Shows/Episodes/Media files
Well, you should really be good at this already, but if your serious at doing a podcast show then you will need decent recording equipment such as a condensor mic, audio interface and pop shield. These will give your show more professional sound quality.
Hosting MP3 Files.
The hosting of MP3 files are important as you must judge whether your current web host is suitable for hosting large MP3's. Will your web host ban you for hogging resources due to an influx of bandwidth usage? Check with your web host and if they will ban you then you must shop around for somewhere to host your files.
If you are running a podcast that uses free netlabel music then you can check out Archive.org as they allow the upload of open source audio.
Creative an XML File.
Once you have sorted where your MP3's are going to be hosted then its time to create the XML file that you are going to use for your podcast. There are plenty of online XML or podcast generators out there, but I prefer podcastblaster.com's RSS feed generator.
Simply go to the website and click on "RSS Feed Generator", create an account. Once you have logged into the RSS feed generator you can then "Edit Podcast Details". Enter the name of your podcast in "Podcast Title", the fill out the rest of the form with your website address in "website URL" and describe your podcast in "Description".
The iTunes tags are a must if you want it to show correctly in the iTunes software, so fill in those details as well. Remember though, if you use the iTunes keywords tag then make sure that you don't use phrases such as "folk music" as they wont work. Just keep it to keywords and separate each one with the comma. Your iTunes summary should be the same as your podcast description. Once you have filled in the information click on "Save".
Now you need to create an episode, click on "add new episode". Same as before, this page is really simple and self explanatory so put in your episode title and description. Some podcasts have separate pages on their website for each episode, my advice is for you to do the same and when you have done this you can add the URL of your episode to "Episode URL" in this section.
Episode date/time is when the podcast episode has been published, it's a very good idea to add this for maximum reader compatibility. To find out the file size of the mp3 (or any other file you may be using) simply right click on the copy on your hard drive and select "properties". Again, edit your iTunes tags are these are a must for being included in iTunes. Now click on "Save".
Once you are happy with the details you have saved into your podcast, you will now download the xml file by clicking on "Download Podcast Feed". Once you have done this you can now upload it to your website.
Distributing Your Podcast.
Once the XML file is ready you now have a choice, get people to subscribe to the XML file itself or use another service such as Feedburner to do this. I personally use Feedburner as it gives me subscription info and it won't have any affect on my websites bandwidth.
So if you want to use feedburner then go to Google's feedburner website, log in using your Google account. Look where it says "Burn a feed right this instant", type in the url of your podcast feed and put a tick in the box next to "I am a podcaster". Take the time to go around all of feedburners options and get familiar with them. If you have already put iTunes tags into your XML file then there is no need to use the iTunes tags options in Feedburner. Feedburner will also give you a URL to your podcast, take note of this as you will need it later.
Also, you might want to add the RSS meta tag into the source code of your website as this allows easy subscription via the web browser. Google "RSS meta tag".
Now all you need to do is make sure everyone know how to subscribe, so start putting a link to your podcast onto your website. Also getting listed in Podcast directories is a must.
Now maybe in a years time you will be a podcasting star.
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