Inserting Chapter Markers into Your Podcast

The format of a podcast lends itself really well to chapters.  Using some simple software for your computer, you can place bookmarks inside each episode of your podcast so that people can skip to different points in the show.  This same technique can be used to create an audiobook.  This tutorial takes an already recorded show (using any software) and shows you how to insert chapters using Apple’s Garageband.

Step 1. Open up your podcast in Garageband. If you didn’t podcast in Garageband, then open a new file.  Export the final mix of your podcast from the program you did record in, and move that file intro Garageband.

Step 2. Go to Track in the menu bar.  Select Show Podcast Track from the drop down.

Step 3. Select the Podcast Track. This will bring up Podcast Markers pane at the bottom.  If it doesn’t, click the scissors icon to pull up the track editor.

Step 4. Make sure your playhead is at the beginning of the timeline. Click the Add Marker Button to add your first podcast chapter.

Step 5. Move the playhead to where you want the second chapter.  Click Add marker to set it.  Repeat this until you’ve added all your chapters.

Step 6. Double click any of the placeholders in the Chapter Title list to name them.  You can also add images and URLs here.

Step 7. Go to Share in the menu bar and select “Send Podcast to iTunes”.  Select the names and settings.  Only AAC (m4a and m4b) files support chapters, so make sure you export the file as AAC.  When you’re finished entering all the information, click “Share”.

Step 8. Once the file finishes exporting it’s ready!  To flip through the chapters in iTunes just select Chapters from the menu bar.  In quicktime, use the drop down next to the time line.  If you’re listening on an iPod touch or iPhone, you can click the chapter icon in the upper right hand corner.