Since version 4.9, which was released in June 2005, Apple iTunes has support for Podcasting. I’ve written countless times how this event has been such a milestone to the podcasting industry. iTunes Podcast subscriptions topped one million in the first two days after the software release. Is there a way podcaster can tap into over 10 million iTunes users worldwide?

The answer to the above question is Yes. If you can get your podcast into iTunes Music Store, users can now browse and subscribe to your podcast, just like the way they use to find other podcasts. Your listeners can subscribe, download and transfer your podcast to their iPod for listening on the go.

As of this writing, iTunes currently supports video podcasting (in version 6 and above) and many other interesting features. For podcasters, not only they can start submitting their podcast for inclusion, but also let customers review their podcast.

Publishing your podcasts to the iTunes Music Store is easy. As with any other software from iTunes, the interface is easy to follow and intuitive.

1. Login and start submission process

On the left hand side of the window is a list of items titled Source. Clicking on that opens a screen, of which you can click on Submit a Podcast on the upper left side of the menu.

You need to create an iTunes account and login to submit your podcast. iTunes want to make sure that every podcast has a valid cantact information attached to it. No credit card will be charged for podcast submission.

Enter your podcast RSS feed into the field and click Continue.

2. Select category

On the second step, you can select category for your podcast. This screen will also display the associated metadata found in your feed. It is important that you fill in complete information and have your feed generated properly before submission.

3. That’s all

Yes, that’s all you need to do. Basically what we’ve done was requesting the podcast to be reviewed for inclusion in iTunes Directory. Now all you have to do is wait your podcast to appear in the directory.

Podcasts which are added to the iTunes Directory will appear in iTunes search first, and later in iTunes browse. The latter can take up to two days.

According to Apple, podcast may be rejected for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Technical problems, usually the lack of episodes or the inability to download or play episodes. These problems can almost always be avoided by testing your feed using Subscribe to Podcast in the Advanced menu prior to submission.
• Strong prevalence of sexual content.
• Use of explicit language in the title or description of the podcast.
• Use of explicit language in the podcast when the tag is not set to “yes”.
• Apparent misuse of copyrighted material or other violation of third party rights.
• Inclusion of offensive material, such as racist content or child pornography.

Some podcast publishers reported that the process can take up to two weeks, but definitely worth waiting.

With the recent iTunes 6 and 7, your listeners can rate and review your podcasts on the iTunes Music Store.

Read more podcast promotion ideas.

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