Publish Your Podcast With FeedBurner

FeedBurner is the missing link between creating an audio program and creating a true podcast that your listeners can subscribe to. We’ll guide you through the process of recording, hosting, and publishing an audio program, then show you how to convert this into a podcast with FeedBurner.

Recording Your Content

You’ll need a microphone and audio recording software to make your podcast a reality. Microphones run the gamut from $5 to $500, so choose one that fits your needs. Audacity is free audio-editing software that runs on Windows and Mac. Another option for Mac is Apple’s GarageBand (as explained by a tutorial at Apple.com).

Hosting Your Audio Files

After production is complete, export your podcast as an MP3. Now you need to make it available for download on the web. There are a number of services that will host your podcasts (which may occupy a lot of server space) for free or cheap:

OurMedia provides “free storage and free bandwidth for your videos, audio files, photos, text or software. Forever. No catches.”
Podlot is a “cheap place to park your podcast.” Accounts cost only $5.
Podbus offers more space than Podlot for $5 per month.
Audioblog offers podcast hosting and recording tools for $50 per year.

Publishing On The Web

Podcasts are typically published with a blogging tool like Blogger, TypePad, or MovableType. If you already use one of these services, creating your podcast is as simple as linking to your audio files and using FeedBurner’s SmartCast™ to automatically convert it into a podcast.

If you are completely new to blogging and podcasting, we recommend using Blogger (it’s free!) to tell the world about your new podcast. Check out our Quick Start for Blogger for a brief tutorial.

Creating Your Podcast Feed

So, you’ve created an audio program. You’ve uploaded the files to the web. You’re publishing a blog that contains links to your audio files. What’s next? Enter FeedBurner.

An RSS feed is the final step in transforming your collection of MP3 files into a bona fide podcast! With FeedBurner’s SmartCast™ service, you can use any blogging tool that creates a feed to publish your podcast. Here’s how it works: If your blog post contains a link (<a href=""></a>) to an audio file, we’ll convert it to an RSS enclosure that programs like iPodder, iTunes and NetNewsWire recognize.

Podcasting News has a complete tutorial on publishing a podcast with Blogger and FeedBurner.

Promoting Your Podcast

You can use SmartCast to provide additional information — like category, author, and description — to iTunes and other podcast directories. Just sign in to your account (or burn a new feed), then activate SmartCast™. From there, you can provide the following information, which will be burned into your feed so iTunes and company can make use of it.

You can also promote it like you would any other feed. Our Quick Start for Blogger contains tips on how to tell people about your feed and make sure you are taking full advantage of FeedBurner’s services.