SEANFX

I have few friends that were impressed that I’ve put my shows up on iTunes. Let me tell you it’s easy. Believe me if I can figure it out so can you.

It’s really not that hard but if you have a few key pieces of software and a web host you’re almost there. This is just the basics for getting your podcast out there and into iTunes so other people will think your cool.

Here is what you need.

1. Web-host
2. FTP software
3. XML editor
4. iTunes
5. An AppleID or iTunes account. They will want credit info, but nothing will be charged to your account. But heck once you have this you’ll be able to buy stuff from the iTunes Store.  You also need this account to submit a podcast and be able to review other podcasts in iTunes. If you already make purchases from iTunes check this one off the list.
6. Starter files, a list of files you will need for iTunes to approve your feed.

I’ll explain each after this disclaimer.  I’m assuming that if you want to put your podcast out there you already have the tools to make a podcast, video or whatever, so we won’t be going over that here.  Making the content is a different subject.  Your podcast can contain just about any kind of media you can think of, video, mp3 and yes even a PDF for all you comic books artists out there. (hint to filmmakers, if you are doing a behind the scenes you could put PDF’s in your feed of various versions of your scripts for the true enthusiast!)

Back to the list.

1. Web-Host. Why do you need a web host?  Because iTunes does not actually store your files.  You can’t upload your content to Apple and have them do all the heavy work.  It’s really all on you. Hey it’s free. There are a lot of services out there but I prefer to have all the control over my files so I’m self-hosting all my content.

All iTunes does is point to a small XML file (this is just a Text file, like an html page, or word doc. You can even write this by hand.  But I don’t recommend that unless you can code and I wouldn’t do any coding since I have the perfect tool to do it.)

So this WEBHOST is the place where you would upload your files, videos, music or podcast.  In most cases you can put your site there and even install WordPress to make your life even easier. I recommend Lunarpages you don’t have to use them but they have the best price, bandwidth and storage capacity, plus I trust them.

Whoever you go with make sure you have the space you can store big files depending on your show and you have the bandwidth to support it.  If your show suddenly takes off and you don’t have the bandwidth your web host can shut you down. That’s not good news for your show or your fans.

2. FTP software. Well if you uploading content to YouTube or any place else you have a basic idea of what this is. I use FileZilla.  This is how you will get your content to your site.

Tips for Uploading your show: I recommend having one folder per show more about that when I get to the list of files you will need when you are ready to upload.

3. XML Editor. If you don’t code or can’t I highly recommend this $40 app FEED FOR ALL it’s money well spent.  Feed For All lets you create an XML file that iTunes ABSOLUTELY needs for your feed to work.  What’s great about this software is you don’t need to know any code.  If you do know some code there are other features that would make this even more powerful.

It helps you to create the listing and all the supplemental data that can make your show stand out in iTunes.  You can put in show descriptions, tags, show credits and categories to name a few.  It’s just like filling out a form you would find on any website. The “help” in the app is useful and it comes with an example so you can get a pretty good idea of what you need to fill in.  You could bypass the FTP software using Feed For All too.  It has the built in ablity to upload to your web-host.

4. Install iTunes. If you haven’t already you should and you will need it!

5. Files you will need. Before you hit that submit button you will need to have these files in place.  If you don’t you run the risk of being rejected or worse it not working at all!

Make one folder on your web hosts called “show_feed” really you can call it anything you like.  I always like to put the word “feed” in it so I know what I’m putting in that folder.

1. XML file, The text file that iTunes will look at to grab your shows and feed them to your viewers when they click subscribe. You created this with the Feed For All app I recommended.
2. Album Image, This is what shows up in iTunes with that nice little reflection that makes everything look so cool and official.  This image has to be 144×144 pixels in size.  You can start off with any size you like but make sure your final is the 144×144. Feed For All even has a spot in the app so the art gets associated with the show.
3. Starter file, You NEED at least want one file in your feed for iTunes to know your show is the real deal.  The starter file can be anything as mentioned above, PDF, JPG, mp3, mov, mp4 you get the idea.  I call this the “WELCOME FILE” I call it that because I’ve seen so many people do this.  The “Welcome File” for me is the start of everything.  It gives your viewers an idea of what to expect, when shows might be available, what the show is about or who’s involved.  Whatever you make of it.  It’s your handshake to iTunes and your future audience.

Note: this is where you can put your shows and any other content you want in your feed.  It will be nice to have it all in one place.  Eventually you will have many more files in this folder as you make new shows.

YOU’RE ALMOST READY BUT BEFORE YOU HIT SUBMIT!

Test the XML file and your path. Check where you put the XML file on your server and the path will look some thing like this.

http://insert_the_name_of_your_website_here.com/show_feed/your_show.xml

(You can use the above path as a starter path depending on your web host the / folders / will vary and might even be more folders inbetween.)

Once you figure out what it is you can test it in a web browser by just pasting it the URL window.  If the next thing that comes up looks like a bunch of code garbage well then you succeeded!  If you get a 404 or “file not found” the path is wrong.  You’ll need to get that right for iTunes to read it.

Now test you XML with iTunes.

Launch iTunes.  Along the top menu look for a button called “ADVANCED” select that and then choose “Subscribe to a Podcast”. Now paste the URL to the XML file in the little window that pops up and click OK.  If iTunes starts downloading your Welcome file you should be well on your way to having Apple approve your podcast.

I would now delete from that file from iTunes so when Apple really does approve it you can subscribe for real!

iTunes will say there’s a problem if something doesn’t work.  It won’t be specific, but in most cases you have the path to the XML wrong or you don’t have your “STARTER FILE/Welcome” there. This is why you need it itunes might say there is nothing in your feed.

Now that you have all that in place you are ready to HIT the “Submit A Podcast” button or click on PODCAST in iTunes and look for this icon, it’s in the middle.

Paste in the path you just tested into the little window that iTunes provides.  Click “Continue” and follow the instructions from iTunes.  Apple will ask for you AppleID which is the account you just signed up for or the account you already have that you buy music with, SAME THING!

NOW it’s a waiting game.  I have to say Apple is very good at submission requests and in some cases only takes a few days.  But don’t be surprised if it takes 2 weeks.  There are a lot of podcasters out there.

Here are some other Apple links I find are useful when setting up a feed.  “FANFAQ” “Making a Podcast”

One more app you should consider is ID3 Editor. This nice piece of software which is about $15 enables you to add more metadata to your MP3 audio content.  This was a great software recommendation from Maggie McFee you should follow her on Twitter she knows things!

Please comment or ask questions.  If there are better tools out there let’s hear about them.

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If you’re a filmmaker, artist, musician photographer or content creator of any kind you should read this post by Kevin Kelly. It’s a short version of The Long Tail and puts it into simple easy to understand artist terms. I’m not saying it’s easy. Look at my counter 5. I know one of them is me, just to make sure it works…

But it’s a start, and for me it’s more fun to come up with ideas and get them out there. I should have started this 5 years ago when but I guess I was watching too much TV.

For me posts like this and “The Long Tail” have made me think differently about what I’m trying to get out there and who I’m trying to get it too.

The tools that are out there now can make all this very simple and it’s getting better every day. There is a little bit of a ramp up but the waves are starting to settle for me. I’ll be posting my work, and projects I’m working on and my silly observations. Soon I’ll post my list of the basics. Like web host, web OS, various online accounts that are a must or for what I’m doing they are a must. But for now READUP! Oh yeah and create something?

Send me a link to something you made! I want to see and talk about it!

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

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I’ve had my VHS VCR for well about 15 years.  Wait really?  It was great at the time and is still a very nice machine.  But I know I won’t ever use VHS anymore.  Well maybe one more time if I really have too.  I want to make room for something new. 

But I can’t take it out of my system.  It’s the only thing that has a clock on it!

How will I know what time it is, if it’s not there?  Oh wait where’s my cell phone…

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iBiquity and iTunes have figured out a new way for us to buy music over HD Radio.  Personally I don’t know why they couldn’t have done this 5 years ago. 

But now that’s it’s here why can’t the music industry figure out a way to embed the lyrics and liner notes in that file too?  I don’t care about the packaging any more.  All I want is the info to match what I’m listening too. 

The generation is coming that won’t even care about the album art.  I lost interest in that when I switch from LP’s to CD’s.  Heck the art was so small what was the point?  Now they put it on a 2 inch screen.

Really at this point I just want the lyrics so I can figure out what they are actually singing and not some best guess because I’m to old to know what all the kids are saying these days.

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Jerry Seinfeld was on the season premiere of ”30Rock“, great show by the way.  “MUST SEE TV” is back!  The story goes, NBC was going to take his old show and digitally put Jerry in their new shows.  He was not happy about this.  They asked him which show he would like to be on.  He said,  ”LOST, is that one of yours?”

Okay, I’m about to read way too much into this but what I think is funny about his response is not only is it not an NBC show but it’s ABCs.  I want to pretend that he uses TIVO or downloads shows from iTunes… 

What does this mean?  It means it didn’t matter where the show came from or the network.  All that mattered was he heard about the show and it was available and Seinfeld watched it.

This is the future of media.

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I think we are already use to the idea, we just didn’t realize it. 

Most good video podcasts last 3 to 7 minutes.  Then the next day or week you get another.  After all how many commercial breaks are there in an hour show?  About 5 or 6 and each show segment is already about 3 to 7 minutes (depending on how popular a show is and where they want to put a cliff-hanger.  Then there might be more breaks.)

But here’s the great thing about podcast and each episode only lasting say 5 minutes.  I could watch 5 or 6 different podcasts and get much more information and entertainment in less time.  Now if they will just make commercials relevant to my needs then advertising would be useful to me and to the advertiser.

When shows aren’t trying to fill an hour or umm 45 minutes because of the commericals.  They put more concise information in the show whether it’s plot or DIY information.  I’m finding myself more bored when a character walks endlessly down a hall, around corner, down stairs, down another hall, just to bump into a cat; I hit the fast forward button.  Oh yeah I feel the same way about DVD menus!  I’ll save that for later.

I know I’ve made this error in my own films, I won’t anymore or I’ll try not too. 

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Come on Amazon!  No Bob Seger ready for downloading?  I realize I’m over the hill but I don’t want to buy another CD.   There’s no reason it shouldn’t be there.

Maybe Bob Seger isn’t ready to be rediscovered by a new generation, or he doesn’t want the money, or they are still fighting over some rights…

Here’s and idea.  While you are fighting about who gets what, let all the money go into a trust or Amazon gift certificates.  Then maybe when you are done you’ll wonder why you were fighting while you’re walking to the bank.

Well, now I got to go find some old friends that might have some Bob Seger CD’s so I can rip them…

Don’t worry I’ll wait a little longer it’s bound to show up sometime.

Now why can’t the music industry can’t figure why people pirate?

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Yeah and guess what?  It was good!  Check it out right now… Bionic Woman

NBC made some of their of new shows available for download right to my TIVO for free!  Smart move I’m already talking about them!

This concept is right on.  I really don’t even care if they have commercials in them.  I just want the commericals to be relevant to me.  Amazon already knows what I want, why can’t the networks?

Here’s the idea NBC, send me the shows right to my TIVO with commercials for things I like, like; zombies, robots, spaceships, time travel, anything future related did I mention robots?  I also like to shop at Target…

Now just think if NBC could pick commericals for products I like and insert a few of those into the normal breaks.  Then I wouldn’t get ads for men who have ED or female problems maybe another MAC add.  (sorry, you can’t convert a PC user if you are always making fun of them… just so you know…)

The chances of me watching and buying go up!  Way up!  Really how hard could this be?  It’s the future of TV.

Now the Bionic Woman’s tag line should be,  “Some HEROES aren’t born… They’re made”

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