One of my clients, Barbara Bradbury, emailed me today to let me know that her podcast, Relationship Matters is a Staff Pick in the UK Podcast Directory in iTunes. I grabbed the screen shot and you can see it above (her podcast is the second from the left on first line).
iTunes lists some of the ways you can get your podcast listed on their front page. Some of their requirements are:
- An attractive, original image (or podcover).
- A robust and accurate description.
- Proper language, category, and explicit tagging.
- Must be regularly updated with new episodes.
- Should be released on a regular and predictable basis.
So, based on iTunes requirements, here’s my opinion as to why Barbara’s podcast became a staff pick.
- She has a podcover. Barbara had been podcasting since August 2007, however, she only had a podcover designed about a month ago. You need a podcover in order to be noticed by the iTunes staff.
- She stayed on a regular schedule. For the first 4-months, Barbara published weekly, then moved to bi-weekly back in November. She also published on the same day each week which is Friday.
- Her podcast is in the right category. Some people place their podcast in as many categories as Feedburner provides. Don’t do that. Barbara is listed in just the Management & Marketing category, so just focus on 1 or 2 categories when listing your podcast in iTunes.
Congrats Barbara!
Tags: podcasting, itunes, relationship matters
Time thanks for the kudos.
Question #1 would require some research on my end, but I’ll post your problem as a separate post to see if someone has a quick answer. iTunes can be fussy and a mystery, but I know there are some iTunes “experts” who read my blog and can probably give some help.
Question #2 – I would recommend that you celebrate your milestone by giving away something through a contest. For example, encourage people to subscribe to your podcast or sign up for your email list and only pick the winner from your database.
Hi Leeza, I always enjoy your blog and I am glad I have it marked in my google reader so not to miss anything.
I have two questions:
My podcast which I am just about to revamp/relaunch etc. (as it has been on hold) is put in the news category at itunes and it should be in music. Rabble.ca has tried to fix this for months but no luck. Any advice as to how I can do it myself.
Do you think my upcoming 1000th post (over the last 3.5 years) on my blog is worth “celebrating” ie. is that a common thing or should I be proud of my “stick-to-it-iveness?”
thanks,
tim posgate
http://www.rabble.ca/rpn/tim
http://www.guildwoodrecords.com
http://www.guildwoodrecords.blogspot.com
I’m so happy and excited for Barbara that I keep forgetting this is not MY achievement! Knew that was an inspired Christmas pressie… off to dust off my mic now – got some catching up to do :o)
Leesa,
Many thanks for your kind words and a great blog – much appreciated. This has been an exciting day for me and, thanks again to YOU for your excellent teaching and on-going support.