Share an episode with one link

Every episode in your feed gets one Podato link that works for every listener. They choose their app once, and from then on the same link opens that app straight away. Use it anywhere you'd post an episode: socials, newsletters, messages to your guests.

1. Open the episode

   Choose Episodes in the sidebar, then the episode you want to share.

2. Choose Copy smart link

   At the top of the episode page, beside Refresh from feed, choose Copy smart link. On a phone, it's in the … menu at the top right. A Smart link copied message shows the link you copied.

3. Paste it wherever you share

   The link looks like https://podato.io/shows/your-show/episode-title. Shared in a message or a post, it previews with the episode's art, title and show. It never changes, even if you rename the episode later.

What your listeners see

The first time someone opens the link, they see the episode, a button for each app they can listen in, and the episode's description. They tap their app and go straight to it. Next time they open any of your smart links on that device, it skips the page and opens that app.

Which buttons appear depends on your show:

• Apple Podcasts, Overcast and Pocket Casts appear once Apple's listing for your show is confirmed to be your feed. Apple opens the exact episode; Overcast and Pocket Casts open your show.
• Spotify appears for a show you've claimed, and opens the exact episode once Podato has found it on Spotify.
• YouTube appears for a show you've claimed, and only when the episode has its own video.
• RSS feed is always there.

New episodes are matched to Apple and Spotify within the hour. Copying the link also checks again, so a link you copy on release day usually has them already.

Your show's page

The show's name on every episode's page opens your show's own page at podato.io/shows/your-show. It has your artwork, your show's description from your feed, a button to follow the show on each app, and every episode, newest first, with a search box. Each episode on it opens that episode's smart link page. Like the episode pages, it only carries what's in your feed, and Spotify and YouTube appear only once you've claimed your show.

Your guests get it too

Once an episode has a smart link, Podato puts it in the Episode link field on the episode's Details tab, and uses it in your guests' share kits and in the email that tells a guest the episode is live. If you type your own link there instead, Podato keeps yours; clear the field to get the smart link back. If an episode has no smart link yet, they use the episode link you added yourself. An email that has already gone out keeps the link it was sent with.

See who opens your links

The Smart link clicks card on Analytics (on the Grow plan, Plans and limits) shows, for the dates you pick:

• Opened the page: people who saw the page.
• Picked an app: people who tapped an app.
• Went straight to their app: people who'd picked before, sent straight there.

Below those, Where they listened (which app they picked), Device and Top countries. The card covers all your episodes' smart links together. Podato stores no personal details about listeners, and the automatic visits apps make to build a link preview aren't counted.

Clicks are for shows you've claimed, because anyone can add any podcast to Podato. Claiming proves you run the show. If you haven't claimed yours, the card says Claim your show instead, which opens Ownership in your show's settings, where you prove it.

If something goes wrong

• The message says Not in your feed yet. The episode isn't in your feed, or your host hasn't published it yet. Try again once it's live.
• There's no Copy smart link button. Smart links are only for episodes that came from your feed. An episode you uploaded yourself doesn't have one.
• Spotify or YouTube is missing from the page. Check your show is claimed, and that your Spotify show link or YouTube channel is in your show's settings. YouTube also needs the episode to have its own video.