FTP in Windows Using “My Computer”

Please notice this method only works in Windows Explorer(by clicking “My Computer”). It does NOT work in the Windows Internet Explorer.

1. Double Click “My Computer” and open an Explore Window.
   
2. Type “ftp://ftp.podbean.com” in address bar and hit “Enter”.
   
3. Fill in your ftp user name and ftp password in the Popup window and check “Save Password” option.
   
4. Drag and Drop the files(Not the File Folder) that you want to upload into the FTP addressed Window. A small window will pop out and shows the files copying status.
   
   

Yes, you can by logging into your Podbean account and then clicking on the ‘Upload’ tab located in your Dashboard main menu. Then click on the menu tab entitled ‘Upload’ (as pictured below) and follow the prompts on this page.

A podcast is similar to a blog in that it enables your reader to read your posts via an aggregator, however the podcast goes one step further in that it also includes audio or video, a feature that a blog does not.

A podcatcher is a program that scans podcast feeds and automatically downloads new programs; iTunes, iPodder, iPodderX, Nimiq, Doppler, and BlogMatrix are just some of the popular podcatchers available today.

At Podbean, we clearly see an ever growing demand on the storage space used by regular podcasters and video/audio bloggers. Typically, the regular podcaster/blogger will use all of their 1 GB allowance of space in around 10 months and 2GB’s of space in approximately16 months. Thus, we offer an intuitive Podbean hosting plan to match your continually expanding storage needs — with your storage space growing every month with your frequency of usage.

The Podbean solution is simple - to enable you to meet your podcast demands without running out of space and possibly considering which files to delete – Podbean have designed plans that suit your requirements. Therefore, you never need to worry about running out of space. All you need to do is to choose one of the Podbean plans that match your anticipated growth pace and you will have an unlimited storage space that grows with you.

Customizing your podcast themes using widgets in Podbean.com is easy.

Drag and Drop

Configure

All done!

1. Configure widgets by clicking on ‘Layouts’ in the main menu located at the top of the page, and then clicking on ‘Sidebar Widgets’ in the sub-menu situated under the main menu. You may then drag and drop the sidebar widgets you want to use. Some widgets can be specifically configured by clicking the ‘configure’ button located on the right side of the bar.
2. Should you like additional sidebar widgets, you may also activate these by clicking on the appropriate listing situated at menu: ‘Settings->widgets’.

Using the Podcast to iTunes Music store is easy with Podbean.com, and it only takes 5 steps to submit your podcast to the iTunes Music Store:

1. Step 1: Create a podcast episode in either audio or video format, remembering that iTunes supports files, such as, .mp3, .mp4, .mov and .pdf.

   Tips –

   1. Good recording software is Audicity. Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. Learn more about Audacity…
   2. Always prepare a podcast logo to be displayed in iTunes as this becomes a selling point for potential listeners and will be displayed in iTunes hereafter. The maximum sized image you can use is a 400×400.
      • 
   3. Embed artwork into your MP3 files
      • You can embed an image file into your MP3 file which will be displayed as the artwork in iTunes. (see below)
      • 
      • To embed the image.
        • First, import your MP3 file into iTunes:
        • 
        • Second, in Library - Music, Right Click the imported file and select “Get Info” in the pop up menu.
        • 
        • Third, fill your MP3 related info at “Info” section.
        • Fourth, Add the image file into the MP3. A 54×54 image size is recommended to be used in the artwork.
        • 
2. Step 2: Publish your podcast episode. An iTunes supported RSS Feed will automatically be generated for you in Podbean. Your Feed URL will be http://yourname.podbean.com/feed/
3. Step 3: Set iTunes options. Podbean provides an easy-to-use iTunes Setting preview page. You can easily change all iTunes related options in this single page by clicking on ‘Settings’ in the main menu, then selecting ‘iTunes/Advanced’, as seen below.

   

4. Step 4: Testing your Feed.
   1. Launch iTunes.
   2. In the Advanced menu, select Subscribe to Podcast.
   3. Enter your feed URL(http://yourname.podbean.com/feed/) in the text box and click OK.

   iTunes will display your Podcast play list, which will show all of the podcasts you have subscribed to. Next to the new podcast subscription, you should see an orange circle, which indicates that iTunes is downloading your most recent episode. When the orange circle disappears, you should be able to see your podcast title; a list of all the episodes referenced in your feed; a check next to the most recent episode - indicating that it has been successfully downloaded. Double-click on the episode to play it in iTunes. If you can successfully play the episode, then your feed is working and you can submit your podcast to iTunes.

   However, if the orange circle is replaced by an ‘i’ in a black circle, iTunes encountered a problem with your feed or episode, and you will need to troubleshoot in order to find the problem before re-submitting your episode and feed. Please do not submit your feed until you can successfully subscribe using the ‘Advanced’ menu.

5. Step 5: Submitting the RSS Feed URL to iTunes. Make sure you have iTunes 4.9 or later installed. You can click here to add your podcast as iTunes will launch and take you to the right page, or you may do as following:
   1. Launch iTunes.
   2. Step A: Click ‘iTunesStore’ located in the left navigation column to enter the Music Store page.
   3. Step B: Click ‘Podcasts’ in the left navigation column of the iTunes Store to enter the Podcast page.
   4. Step C: Click “Submit a Podcast” icon in the middle of the page to submit a Podcast.
   5. Then follow the instructions on the Submit a Podcast page.

If your podcast is accepted, customers will be able to discover it in the iTunes Music Store via search or browse. But you can also create links directly to your podcasts and share those via your website or direct marketing email.

There are two preferred linking methods that you are able to use, these are:

Music Store Link: The following link goes directly to your podcast page in iTunes, where users will have the opportunity to subscribe to the podcast. This link can be found for any podcast by holding down the control button on your keyboard and clicking on the podcast artwork or symbol on the feeds main page within the store (or right click in Windows on the artwork)

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=FEEDID

Direct Subscribe Link: The following link automatically subscribes the user to the podcast in iTunes. Note - this method fails for Windows users who do not have iTunes installed, so it should be understood that the link is intended for subscription with iTunes only.

itpc://FEEDURL

Should you need to request that iTunes update information about your podcast immediately, you can ping the iTunes server in one of two ways: using an XML POST or by entering a URL in a browser.

1. Entering URL into a broswer

   You can ping the iTunes server instructing them to update your podcast information by entering the following URL into a browser:

   https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast?id=FEEDID

   - Where FEEDID refers your iTunes podcast numeric ID use -

   https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast?feedURL=http://FEEDURL

   - Where FEEDURL is the URL for your feed use -

2. XML POST method

   The XML POST should be addressed to https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast and formatted as follows:

   weblogUpdates.ping

   PODCAST_NAME

   http://FEEDURL/

   - Where PODCAST_NAME is the title of the podcast, typed exactly as it appears.

Whenever you create a new podcast episode, a new section will be automatically added in your Podbean.com podcast feed. The iTunes directory will list the episode the next time it reads your feed. The order in which the episodes appear is usually based on the publishing date or PubDate for each item, with the most recent episodes appearing at the top of the list.