Frequently Asked Questions

If you have added a dedicated local or toll-free number (remember that your first local number is included for free!), your callers will dial that number and can instantly start listening to your podcast (they don't need to type in the six-digit code).

They can also call any of our global call-in numbers, which may be helpful if they live in another country.

Dial-a-Podcast is available in the United States and Canada. Go ahead and sign up and then use any of the global call-in numbers.

Yes, your first local number is included for free. You can also add one or more local or toll-free numbers.

Once you signup, you'll be able to add a number from your management page.

We're currently only offering US and Canadian dedicated numbers.

You can add a dedicated toll-free number for an additional small monthly fee plus an additional per-minute surcharge for all calls to the toll-free number.

Not to worry. Please contact us and we can get a phone number with a local area code pronto, likely at no additional cost to you!

Yes, you have two options: you can either forward to a dedicated phone number or you can use a SIP URI for your podcast, which is:

xxxxxx@dialapodcast.sip.twilio.com

Where xxxxxx is the six-digit code for your podcast.

If you need help setting it up, please contact us and we'd be glad to help!

If you don't have a podcast, then you can upload any audio file (MP3, M4A, FLAC, or WAV) to your Dial-a-Podcast account and your callers will be able to listen to that. Just select Audio File instead of Podcast Feed.

To upload faster, and because the audio will be reduced to telephone-level quality anyway, we suggest you export audio files as:

• Channels: 1 (mono)
• Sample rate: < 16000 Hz
• Quality: < 64 kbps

We offer several monthly plans with different feature sets. Key features that vary by plan include:

• Monthly minute limit – the total listener minutes included each month.
• Multi-episode support – lets callers browse and select from more than one episode.
• Audio Bumpers – custom pre-roll and post-roll audio clips.
• Playback Resume – callers can pick up where they left off.
• Multi-channel dedicated numbers – route one phone number to multiple podcasts.

Your first local dedicated number is included free on all paid plans. Toll-free numbers are available as an add-on.

For full plan details and pricing, see our pricing page or contact us if you're not sure which plan fits your needs.

Create your podcast: use Add Audio File to create a new Audio File podcast and upload the first episode.

Add later episodes: click Edit on the existing podcast, then choose Add New Episode. Do not create a brand new podcast for every upload.

When creating or adding an episode, enter a title, choose the audio file, and optionally set a future publish date.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our Audio File podcast guide.

A podcast feed is your published RSS that contains your podcast episodes. Depending on where your podcast is hosted, the URL may look something like one of the following:

• https://podcast.messiahseattle.org/feed.xml
• https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1899126.rss
• https://feeds.redcircle.com/a2a6687f-5947-46ad-94fc-df8e43d96d7d
• https://www.graceauburn.org/service-audio?format=rss

If you need help figuring out what your podcast feed is please contact us, we'd be glad to help you figure it out!

From your dashboard, click Edit next to the podcast you want to update.

Replace the value in Podcast Feed URL, then click Update.

Dial-a-Podcast will fetch the new feed and refresh the available episodes automatically.

Yes! When you're setting up your podcast, you have the option to enable Multiepisode support. This will allow your listeners to select one of many episodes (up to the maximum your plan allows).

From your dashboard, click Edit next to the podcast you want to change.

Check or uncheck Enable multi‑episode, then click Update. You can switch this on or off at any time.

If enabled, callers can browse more than one episode over the phone.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our multi-episode support guide.

Yes.

Podcast Feed: we use each episode's <pubDate> to determine when it becomes available. If the date is in the future, callers will not hear it until then.

Audio File uploads: when you upload an episode, set the publish date and time you want. The episode stays unavailable until that scheduled time.

Note that future-dated episodes do not count against your episode limit.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our future episode publishing guide.

The most common reasons are:

• Processing: new uploads and feed updates take a short time to process.
• Future date: the episode has a future publish date (or future <pubDate> in your RSS feed).
• Deleted or invalid: the episode was removed or failed validation.

If you're unsure, check your dashboard for status or contact us.

No, we do not recommend including music in your podcast for several reasons:

• Music can be hard to hear over the telephone due to technical constraints of the phone system.
• Music is covered by various copyright laws, including a performance right. You may need a special license to allow the music you play to be broadcast over the phone.

If you are manually uploading please, please note there is a 100 MB limit.

MP3, M4A, FLAC, OGG, 3GP, AAC, or WAV files are all acceptable formats/codecs.

Using the MP3 codec, encoding at 128 kbps constant bit rate (CBR) will produce a file that is approximately 1 MB per minute of audio. Thus, a 15-minute audio file would be approximately 15 MB.

You can view a detailed breakdown of your podcast's performance for both the current and previous billing periods, including:

• Total Minutes – The total number of listener minutes.
• Total Calls – The number of times your podcast was accessed.
• Average Call Length – The average duration of each call.
• Median Call Length – The midpoint duration of all calls.
• Number of Unique Callers – The total number of distinct listeners.

In addition, we provide historical trends in graph form for the past 13 months, allowing you to track long-term listener engagement.

Note: Statistics are available at the podcast level and are not broken down by individual episodes.

If you need additional statistics or custom reporting, please contact us.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our podcast analytics guide.

From your dashboard, click on the podcast you want to review. You'll find a full statistics breakdown showing your current and previous billing periods, plus 13-month trend graphs.

Statistics are available at the podcast level and are not broken down by individual episode.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our podcast analytics guide.

Audio Bumpers are reusable audio clips that can play before an episode, after it ends, or both.

If you've seen older references to pre-roll, that functionality is now managed under Audio Bumpers.

1. Go to Episode Audio Branding on your dashboard and click Add Audio Bumper.
2. Name the bumper and upload the audio file. Wait until the status shows Ready.
3. Edit the podcast you want to update, choose the bumper in the Pre-roll Bumper and/or Post-roll Bumper fields, then click Update.

You can reuse the same bumper across multiple podcasts.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our Audio Bumpers guide.

After uploading, bumpers go through a brief processing step. Wait until the status shows Ready before assigning the bumper to a podcast.

If the status stays in Processing for more than a few minutes, try re-uploading the file. Make sure it is in a supported format (MP3, M4A, FLAC, OGG, AAC, or WAV) and under 100 MB.

If the problem continues, please contact us and we'll look into it.

Playback Resume is available on plans that include the feature. If your plan supports it, it is enabled automatically — no additional setup is required on your end.

To confirm whether your plan includes Playback Resume, check your subscription details on the billing page, or see the pricing page for a feature comparison.

Note: Playback Resume requires callers to have caller ID enabled. Anonymous or blocked caller ID prevents the system from matching a caller to their previous session.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our Playback Resume guide.

Go to your dedicated number's management page, assign podcasts to the available menu slots in the order you want callers to hear them, then save.

Once saved, callers to that number will hear a short menu and can press the matching digit for the podcast they want. If you leave only one podcast assigned, callers continue straight through with no menu.

Note: this feature is only available on eligible plans. If you need help enabling it, contact us.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our multi-channel dedicated number guide.

Go to the Authorized Callers List section of your dashboard and click Add List.

Give the list a name, assign it to the podcast you want to protect, choose whether to allow anonymous caller ID, then click Create.

Next, add each approved phone number in full E.164 format such as +12125552368. Once the list is assigned to your podcast, callers not on the list will be denied access.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our Authorized Callers guide.

If they have caller ID blocking enabled then we cannot verify their number is on the access list. They will receive the following message when they try to access your podcast:

We're sorry, you have caller ID blocking enabled and we cannot verify your number has been granted access to this podcast. Please disable your caller ID block and try again.

Your caller can temporarily disable their caller ID blocking , which can usually be done by adding *67 before the phone number they want to dial.

Alternatively, you can select "Allow anonymous Caller ID" on your Authorized Callers list, which will then allow ANY anonymous callers to be able to listen.

By default, callers with blocked or anonymous caller ID cannot be verified against an Authorized Callers list, so they will be denied access.

You can allow them by enabling Allow anonymous Caller ID on your Authorized Callers list. Be aware that this setting allows any anonymous caller to listen — not just those whose numbers you've added to the list.

If your podcast is not protected by an Authorized Callers list, anonymous callers can listen freely regardless of this setting.

STIR/SHAKEN is a carrier-level framework that verifies a caller's phone number hasn't been spoofed. When a caller's number passes STIR/SHAKEN attestation, we have high confidence the number is genuine and can accurately check it against your Authorized Callers list.

When verification is absent or incomplete — which is common with some VoIP providers and older carrier routes — the call may still be checked but with less certainty. In rare cases a legitimate caller may be flagged as anonymous even when they haven't intentionally blocked their ID.

If a caller on your list is unexpectedly blocked, ask them to try from a different phone or carrier, or contact us and we can help troubleshoot.

Single‑episode podcasts: callers automatically hear your latest episode as soon as they dial in.

Multi‑episode podcasts: callers hear a short menu:

• Press 1 to play the latest episode.
• Press 2 to choose from prior episodes.

At the end of an episode, callers can also choose to play the next or previous episode, or return to the menu.

When multi‑episode support is enabled, callers can browse prior episodes using the keypad menu:

• Press 1–9 to select one of the episodes listed.
• Press # to hear more episodes (next page).
• Press * to go back to the previous page.
• Press 0 to repeat the current list.

After an episode finishes, callers can choose the next episode, the previous episode, or return to the main menu.

Yes—on plans that include Playback Resume, callers can pick up where they left off the next time they call.

When they call back, they'll be offered a choice to resume or restart the episode.

Important: Playback Resume requires caller ID. If a caller has blocked or anonymous caller ID, we can't match them to their previous session and resume won't be available.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our Playback Resume guide.

When a caller dials a dedicated number with more than one podcast assigned, they'll hear a brief menu listing each podcast in the order you've set:

• "For [Podcast A], press 1."
• "For [Podcast B], press 2."

The caller presses the digit for the podcast they want and are connected immediately — no code needed.

If you have only one podcast assigned to your dedicated number, or if your plan routes to a single podcast, callers are connected directly without hearing any menu. Their experience is exactly the same as before.

All plans come with a 30-day worry-free trial.

If you're unsatisfied for any reason, just cancel your plan before the end of your first month and you won't be charged.

Currently, we only offer monthly subscriptions. You can upgrade or cancel your subscription at any time with no further obligation. If you upgrade (or downgrade), it will be retroactively applied to the beginning of your current billing cycle.

Absolutely! Stripe provides the billing back-end. All your billing information is stored directly with Stripe.

Yes. Go to the billing section of your dashboard and update your payment information.

You can cancel your subscription anytime in your account. Once the subscription is canceled, you will not be charged for the next billing cycle. You will continue to have access to your account and callers will still be able to listen to your podcast until your current subscription expires.

You can cancel your subscription within one month before the end of your first month and you won't be charged.

Otherwise, we don't issue refunds; however, you can cancel at anytime.

When you cancel, your account remains active until the end of your current billing period. After that, callers will no longer be able to dial in.

Your podcast configuration, episode history, and dedicated number assignments are retained on file. If you reactivate your subscription later, your previous setup will be restored.

If you have questions about what happens to a specific resource, please contact us.

If you'd like to downgrade to a plan that doesn't include multi-podcast dedicated numbers, you'll need to reduce each of your dedicated numbers to a single podcast first. Until you do, the downgrade will be blocked and you'll see a message explaining what needs to change.

Once each dedicated number has only one podcast assigned, you can complete the downgrade. Your number will continue routing to that single podcast exactly as before — your callers won't notice any difference.

If you need help deciding which podcast to keep on a number, please contact us and we're happy to assist.

If your plan includes overage, calls will continue beyond your monthly limit and the extra minutes will be billed at the per-minute overage rate on your next invoice.

If your plan does not allow overage, callers will hear a message that the podcast is temporarily unavailable once the limit is reached for that billing period.

You can upgrade your plan at any time to increase your minute limit. If you're regularly hitting your limit, contact us and we can help find the right plan for your usage.