Lately I’ve been trying to figure out why the GaragePunk Podcast hasn’t gotten listed in the iTunes Podcast Directory like it was, oh, maybe a year ago or whatever. The podcast used to get a lot of exposure and literally hundreds of new subscribers due to that listing, and I wanted to find out why we weren’t listed any longer, so I went on Apple’s website and dug into the Podcast Technical Specification page, where I read the following (I’m pretty sure that by “iTunes Home Page,” they mean the Podcast Directory):
Getting Featured on the iTunes Home Page
At iTunes, we’re constantly on the lookout for podcasts that are breaking new ground with this medium, have new or unusual content, or just capture our interest. When we find them, we like to feature them on the Podcasts home page. While there are no sure-fire ways to get your podcast featured (and no, we do not accept payments for promotion), there are some minimum requirements. To be featured by iTunes, podcasts must have:
- An attractive, original image that does not include the iPod (emphasis mine) or other Apple-branded content. For image specs, see the iTunes Image section below.
- A robust and accurate description.
- Proper language, category, and explicit tagging.
In addition, featured podcasts must be regularly updated with new episodes. We occasionally feature a podcast after its first episode, but we generally like to see podcasts with at least 3 episodes, and we like to see that the most recent episode has been added in the past month. Ideally, the episodes should be released on a regular and predictable basis. More than 100 podcasts are submitted every day, so it is impossible to feature all of the good ones.
D’oh! So that’s why our podcast hasn’t been featured in the Podcast Directory lately… OK, so I grabbed some goofy clipart books at work and started flipping through them looking for something–ANYTHING–to replace that iPod with, and I found this goofy dog caricature with “KEEP SMILING” in big bold letters beneath it. So I scanned it in and stuck that dog face where the iPod used to be and added it to our RSS feed, and I think the combination of the dog with his tongue hanging out, dangling over the old logo’s juicy crossbones kinda works. I dunno why… something to do with giving dogs bones to chew on or something, I guess. Go figure…
Anyway, I guess we’ll wait and see if it works.
Posted by kopper in GaragePunk.com News | 2 Comments »
2007-07-31 at 02:18
Looks good but you should have put a Zune
2007-08-01 at 07:56
I found out a lot of the other podcasts on the iTunes directory use the iPod on their logo, so they must not be enforcing this rule. Oh well, I’ll keep it and use it just for fun. BTW, our podcast is back on their “Featured Podcasts” list! Yee-haw!