Now that you know how to create a podcast-ready file using GarageBand, you are ready to publish your podcast for the world to hear. There are many ways to do this (even fully manual, if you so choose), but in the end, they all result in a special XML file that points to where your MP3 files are located.

Before I continue, let me get this out of the way... there is one requirement for the server where your podcast will be hosted... it MUST support RSS feeds. If you aren't sure if your hosting company supports RSS or not, you will need to ask them. One of the (many) benefits of having a .Mac account is that it already has RSS services built-in. In our example, I will assume you will be hosting your podcast on a .Mac account (on a side-note, Apple just increased their monthly bandwidth limit, which makes hosting your podcast here even more attractive).

The absolute easiest way to create and publish your podcast is to use an application called "Podcast Maker" (by Potion Factory). Not only is it a simple-to-use interface, but it's very powerful. And posting to your .Mac account couldn't be easier.

When you first open Podcast Maker, you will want to create a new podcast file. When you are done creating a new file, the application will look like this:

From here, you will want to enter the "header" information for your podcast (title, author, description, etc). This is information that describes your podcast. To publish your first episode, simply drag your MP3 file into the lower section of the application. After you have done this, be sure to click on the Basic, Detail and Chapters tabs at the bottom to see all the fields you have available to you.

After you have entered all the information, click on "Publish" at the top. The next window you see will look like this:

Since we are using our .Mac to publish to, we will leave the settings as shown above (the other option would be to enter FTP information for a non-.Mac account). The only thing left is to hit "Publish".

After your podcast is done publishing, you will see the following confirmation:

Now that you have published your podcast, you need to add it to your iTunes podcast library. To do this, click on the "Copy Feed URL" button (to copy the feed URL into memory), and then switch over to iTunes. Once you are in iTunes, go to Advanced | Subscribe to Podcast... In the window, paste your feed URL (using Command+V) and hit OK. That's it! At this point, you are published.

Potion Factory has a 30-day trial version of Podcast Maker, and if you like it, it costs only $30.

In tomorrow's Mac Tip, I will walk you through the process of submitting your new podcast feed to the iTunes music store so that others can search and subscribe to your podcast.