How to Distribute My Podcast

Distributing your podcast allows your Web site visitors to subscribe to podcasts you publish on a daily or weekly basis. It is very easy to distribute your podcast using RSS technology.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Web site or blog
• Internet access
• Audio editing software
• MP3 files

1. Create your podcast with your favorite audio editing software. Be sure to convert it to MP3 format, which is the standard format for podcasts.
   

2. Upload your podcast to your Web server using FTP.
   

3. Create a new article on your Web site or your blog for your podcast.
   

4. Create the RSS feed for your podcast. The RSS feed should include the podcast title, description and link. This can be done in a text editor, or you can use the free RSS Feed Generator script from TD Scripts. You can also simply copy a sample RSS podcast .xml file and replace it with your podcast information.

5. Upload your RSS feed to your Web site. Your RSS feed will usually be an .xml file. You will have to update this file each time you post a new podcast, unless you have a script to automatically update it for you.
   

6. Add an orange XML RSS icon to your Web site that links to your RSS feed. Visitors will recognize the orange button as an indicator that you provide syndicated content on your Web site.
   

7. Add your podcast to a podcast distribution service such as iTunes or Melodeo.com.
   

Tips & Warnings

• If you use WordPress, many of these steps will be taken care of for you. For example, WordPress will automatically include a link to your file when you create a post, so you will not have to create the RSS feed manually. WordPress will also have a link to your RSS feed automatically available on your blog homepage. Other blogging software will have similar features.
• Update your podcast regularly to gain more subscribers and increase its popularity.
• When uploading your podcast to your Web server, be sure to upload it in binary format. In any other format, you will risk corrupting your file.
• Always test your MP3 file link to make sure it is pointing to the correct file and that the MP3 opens.