Sunday, April 22, 2012

Create an iTunes Podcast Widget for Your Blog


Once you start podcasting, the next step that will help take your show to the next level is getting your podcast listed in iTunes. I recently submitted my show and in no time I got the approval from the iTunes staff. You can easily subscribe to the Ms. Ileane Speaks Podcast and listen to it on your iPhone, iPod (like this Apple 64GB Black 4th Generation iPod Touch - MC547LL/A) or any other iDevice. If you like the podcast (I'm sure you will) :) please give it a 5 star rating in the iTunes store and leave a review and let others know what you think about my show.

WARNING SHAMELESS PODCAST PLUG ALERT!

I would really appreciate any reviews or ratings as this will help my show get found in the New and Notable iTunes search listings.

Another handy feature provided by iTunes is the podcast Widget Builder which can be used to show off your podcast and other shows that you follow. It's really simple to set up. The most important step is to select widget type "podcast playlist" at the top of the page, then just give your playlist a title and description, and use the Add/Edit playlist button to search for shows to add to your widget. Here's the widget I created to show off a few of my favorites.

 

There is a limit to the width and height of the widget you can create and I think the sizing works best when 3 podcasts are added to the playlist. Here is a screenshot of the iTunes Podcast Widget Builder. Notice that the height limits are 250  - 325 pixels and the width limits are 300 - 370 pixels.

iTunes Widget Builder

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