This is the last in a series of three articles written to describe how to export a WebEx webcast to ARF/WRF format, convert to WMV format, then convert to MP4 format, and finally generating a podcast to be shared on iTunes. This is a great way to share your WebEx webcast content with others via a podcast subscription. Follow the directions below to first sign up for a PodBean.com account to publish your MP4 as a podcast and then submit that podcast to iTunes to be included in the iTunes Store Podcast section under whatever category you specify.
Create PodBean Account & Upload MP4 File(s) For iTunes Podcast:
- Visit PodBean: First visit the PodBean.com signup page by clicking here. Initially I suggest signing up for the free account to make sure PodBean.com will accomplish your goals so click on the Basic account which is the far left column on the signup page. Once you click on Basic the below screen will display which requires you to fill out various account information.
Once you have filled in all of your account information click the “Sign Up Now” button to complete registration.
- Login To PodBean: Once registration is completed you will be redirected to the PodBean login page displayed below. Your password will be sent to the email address you registered with and should arrive quickly so check your email for your password and then login with the username you selected and the password that was emailed to you.
- PodBean General Options: Once logged in make your way to the PodBean Dashboard as shown in the below example. This is where you will configure settings, upload podcasts, modify podcasts, and much more.
I would recommend that you first configure the PodBean General Settings which can be done by clicking the Settings link above the Dashboard content on the right side of the page. When you click this link the PodBean General Options page will display similar to the below example image.
Here you will configure the name of your podcast channel, a description for your podcast, channel tags, and much more. You will want to have all of this configured before you sync with iTunes.
- PodBean Feed/iTunes Settings: Next to the General link in the sub menu below Settings will be the Feed/iTunes settings link which you should click on next. This is where iTunes specific settings will be entered. An example of what will display on iTunes displays at the top of the screen as shown below while the actual settings are entered below the example.
Enter all of the settings for iTunes and then click the Update Options button in the lower right corner to save the Feed/iTunes settings. Make sure to note the URL of your PodBean account as this will be required when syncing your PodBean account to iTunes.
- Publish A Podcast: This is where you will take the ARF/WRF file that has been converted to an MP4 and publish the video along with a title and description to be included on iTunes. Click the Publish link underneath your account name to display the episode creation page as displayed below.
Once you have selected the MP4 file that was generated from the initial WebEx ARF/WRF file and filled in all of the necessary title/description/etc. fields click the Publish button to publish your WebEx video.
- Link PodBean To iTunes: Now open iTunes on your computer and click on the iTunes Store. Once the iTunes Store is open click on Podcast in the iTunes Store navigation menu. This will display the iTunes Podcast sub menu on the upper right hand side of the page which will include links such as Audio Podcasts, Video Podcasts, New Releases, iTunes Picks, Staff Favorites, Language Learning, etc. Near the bottom of this set of links will be Submit A Podcast which when clicked upon will display the below window within iTunes.
Enter your PodBean feed URL that was noted in step four into the Podcast Feed URL window and click Continue. After clicking the Continue button you will be required to login to iTunes and then the PodBean feed will be validated. Once validated you will be taken to a screen within iTunes that allows you to verify the information that will display in the Podcast section of the iTunes Store. If everything looks OK submit the podcast and you will be take to a submission confirmation screen as shown below.
The message on the confirmation screen lets you know that your podcast will not show immediately in the iTunes store and that the podcast must be approved. Once approved you will receive an email letting you know that the podcast has been approved and it will begin to display in the Podcast section of the iTunes Store.
The podcast feed I created for this article and then submitted to iTunes took 48 hours to be approved but once I received the email I was able to see the podcast immediately in the iTunes Store.
