GB3 mp3 rss iWeb downloadable file?

Question

I can't figure out how to make this happen. Please help!
Here is the problem:
GB3 will only export m4a. Windows Media Player won't play m4a. Most of our audience (and client) only have this player.
I have tried to "share with iTunes" and then use the "convert to mp3," but nothing happens. The file remains m4a.
Next, assuming this problem is resolved, question: Will the mp3 file be rss?
Next, if the file is rss, how can it be incorporated into iWeb? Drag and drop between iTunes and iWeb does not work for me.
This is making me crazy! Please someone help me.

Answer 1

Once you "send to iTunes" GarageBand sends an uncompressed AIFF file to iTunes and adds it to your library. Once there, you can select it can use the Convert Selection to.. option to make it an MP3. Before you can use MP3, you have to go into iTunes's preferences and set it as the default for conversion.
In iTunes 6.02, open the preferences, then click on the "Advanced" page. Inside there click on the "Importing" tab. Next select "Import Using: MP3 Encoder"
I recommend configuring the encoder settings too. I don't know what the defaults are, but if you are doing a podcast which is dialog only, you don't require a high bitrate. Click "Setting: Custom" Set the "Bitrate" to something like 64, or 128. This will make the file very small. You can fiddle with the rest of the settings, but bit rate will be the primary setting which controls the size of your finished MP3 file.
I recommend trying a couple of settings, and once you have something you like, it will remain the default for all future conversions.
After you convert an episode, I recommend that you create a playlist to organize your episodes. This will make them much easier to find when using iWeb.
Now, using iWeb is easy. Just open iWeb and if you don't already have one, add a podcast page using teh big "+" plus button in the lower left corner.
Each new episode you add to this page, will have a defaul place-holder audio item in the middle of the screen.
Open up the Media Browser, click on "Audio" tab, then click iTunes.
If you turn the disclosure triangle next to the iTunes item, you should see all of your playlists. Select the playlist which contains your episode, or, click on "iTunes" in the list and find your podcast episode among the songs in your library.
Once you have your podcast file, drag and drop it onto the place-holder item on your episode page in iWeb. It should replace the place-holder. Next, add an episode description, and artwork and click publish.
Its just that easy.