Hello future podcaster!

Welcome back to the “So You Want To Start A Podcast” series.

In this article you are going to learn how to get your podcast on the internet so that people may listen to it.

Your total cost to upload your podcast to the net will be: Zero dollars!

Everything mentioned in this article is free.

Before we get started, be sure you have reviewed parts 1 and 2 of this series.

In part 1 we discussed the hardware you will need to record your podcast.

In part 2 we discussed the software you need to record your podcast.

If you missed them, check them out here:

• How To Start Your Own Podcast Part 1: Best Podcast Equipment
• How To Start Your Own Podcast Part 2: Recording Your Podcast

If you have read parts 1 and 2 you will now have you mic, your audio interface, you will have already recorded your very first podcast, and you will not have an MP3 file of your podcast ready to upload to the internet.

So where do you upload your podcast?

There are many options to upload your podcast and in this article I will focus on the best 3: iTunes, Soundcloud, and YouTube.

• There are many other places you may want to consider uploading your podcast to, and here is a quick guide for those: How to Submit Your Podcast to Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Spotify

Congratulations! Your podcast is now live in the internet. You can give your listeners the direct link and they can listen to it at their pleasure.

But what if they want your podcast available on iTunes?

Glad you asked…

How To Add Your Podcast to iTunes

Cost: $0

iTunes is the go to place for millions of podcast listeners around the world and ignoring the potential of having your podcast available on iTunes would be foolish. It's not difficult to do and costs you nothing.

What will you need to add in order to add you podcast to iTunes?

• You will need at least 1 episode of your podcast that has been uploaded to a podcasting host such as Soundcloud, Simplecast, Libsyn, etc. To be clear, iTunes does not host the files for your podcast and merely functions as a sort of podcast feed aggregator.
• That brings us to item number two - You will need the RSS feed URL for your podcast which is provided by your podcast host. Locate the feed URL and copy it somewhere for easy reference. If you plan to add your podcast to multiple outlets you'll be using this URL often.
• You will need an Apple ID. If you don't already have an Apple ID you'll need to download iTunes and create one.
• You will need to make sure your podcast information that has been entered into your podcasting host meets the iTunes requirements.

iTunes requirements:

• Podcast artwork must be between 1400 x 1400 and 3000 x 3000 pixels, JPG or PNG, in RGB color space.
• The information about your podcast should be completely filled out at your podcast host (title, description, summary, categories and contact information).

Once you have made sure you have the items required and your podcast meets the specifications outlined above you are ready to get started.

Step 1 – Go to Podcasts Connect (iTunes Connect) and log in with your Apple ID

Step 2 –If it is your first time logging into Podcasts Connect you'll need to agree with the Terms of Service.

Step 3 –Click the Podcasts Connect icon on the right side of the Get Started with iTunes Connect screen.

Step 4 – Enter the RSS Feed provided by your podcasting host into the URL field and click the Validate button at the top right corner of the screen.

• To find your RSS Feed on Soundcloud, follow this: Settings -> Content. Your RSS feed will be the first thing you see on the Content page.

Step 5 – All of your podcast data should be pulled from the RSS feed and will be displayed on screen. If everything checks out the status should say Prepared for Submission. Click the Submit button at the top right corner of your screen.

That's it. You've submitted your podcast to iTunes. It will need to go through an approval process (usually a matter of hours) and once approved you'll be notified via the email address affiliated with your Apple ID.

Note - In Step 4 if the status says Failed Verification there should be one or more error messages explaining the issue. Open another browser tab and correct these at your podcasting host before returning and attempting to validate again.

Congratulations! Your podcast should now be live (or nearly live) on iTunes.

But what if your audience prefers YouTube?

Glad you asked…

How To Get Your Podcast On YouTube

YouTube is a video medium. To get your podcast onto YouTube you will need to do 2 things:

1. Sign up for a YouTube account and
2. Create a video of your podcast.

Creating an account at YouTube should be self-explanatory. Creating a video is a bit more difficult, but still quite easy.

Let's take a look at the steps involved to create a video for your podcast (I'll show you the easiest way).

All video editing software is drag and drop. Essentially all you will need to do is drag and drop your MP3 podcast and drag and drop whichever photo you wish to use. This will create a video that you can upload to YouTube.

If you already use Apple products you probably have iMove installed on your computer. To create your video with iMovie check out this resource:

If you do not have a mac, or don't like iMovie, I recommend the free video editing software called OpenShot Video Editor.

• Download OpenShot Video Editor (Free)