Either I am out of the loop or this is breaking news:

Dear Podcaster:

When promoting your podcast, it pays to provide a link to your podcast page in iTunes. Here's why:

1. Your podcast's rankings in the Top Podcasts lists and the podcast category pages are based largely on how many users click the “Subscribe” button on your podcast page. The higher your ranking is, the more people will see your podcast.  For more information on how to create links to your podcast page, see "Linking to Your Podcast" in the Technical Spec:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/techspecs.html

2. By joining the iTunes Affiliate program, you can earn a 5% commission when you drive traffic to your podcast page on iTunes and generate sales of music or video content during the same 24-hour user session.  You also have exclusive access to Apple-designed banners that you can use to promote content.  For more information on the program or to sign up today, please visit:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates

If you have additional questions on the iTunes Affiliate program, visit:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/faq.html

Best Regards,

The iTunes Podcasting Team

This just came across my email. Discuss.