Getting Started with Podscan: Your First 10 Minutes

Welcome to Podscan! This guide walks you through the essential first steps to start monitoring podcasts and extracting value from the platform immediately.

Step 1: Explore Your Dashboard (1 minute)

After logging in, you land on the Dashboard — your command center.

What you'll see:

• Recent mentions across all your alerts (up to 10)
• Quick Actions section with tools like Smart Alert Wizard
• Navigation menu for all platform features

Quick tip: Bookmark the Dashboard as your starting point for daily monitoring.

Step 2: Set Up Your First Alerts (3-5 minutes)

Alerts are the core of Podscan — they notify you when keywords appear in podcast transcripts.

Option A: Smart Alert Wizard (Recommended for New Users)

1. Find Smart Alert Wizard in Dashboard Quick Actions
2. Enter your company name and description
3. Add competitors (optional but valuable)
4. Review the 10 AI-generated alerts
5. Create all alerts at once

This gives you comprehensive coverage in under 3 minutes.

Option B: Manual Alert Creation

1. Go to Alerts in the navigation
2. Click Add New Alert
3. Name your alert (e.g., "Brand Mentions")
4. Add filter keywords (your brand name, variations, common misspellings)
5. Configure notifications (email, webhook, or both)
6. Save

Step 3: Run Your First Search (2 minutes)

Search shows you what's already been said about topics that matter to you.

1. Navigate to Search
2. Enter your brand name, competitor, or industry topic
3. Browse results across:

• Episodes: Specific content mentions
• Podcasts: Shows covering your topic
• People and Brands: Individuals and companies mentioned
• Topics: Trending discussion themes

Quick tip: Use quotes for exact phrases: "your brand name"

Step 4: Create Your First List (1 minute)

Lists help you organize and track content over time.

1. Go to Lists
2. Click New List
3. Name it (e.g., "Competitor Podcasts" or "Partnership Opportunities")
4. Start adding items using the "Add to List" button that appears throughout Podscan

Step 5: Configure Notifications (2 minutes)

Make sure you receive alerts when they matter.

1. Go to Alerts → Edit any alert
2. Scroll to Notifications
3. Configure your preferences:

• Email notifications: Toggle on, set recipient email
• Summary emails: Daily, weekly, or monthly digests
• Webhooks: For Slack, Zapier, or custom integrations

Email limits: Default is 10/hour, 25/day. Contact support if you need higher limits.

Essential Navigation Guide

Next Steps

Once you're comfortable with basics:

Week 1

• Fine-tune alert restrictions to reduce noise
• Add competitor podcasts to a tracking List
• Explore the Demographics section

Week 2

• Set up context-aware questions for ambiguous terms
• Connect webhooks to Slack or your workflow tools
• Try the Smart Alert Builder for natural language alerts

Month 1

• Review alert performance and adjust
• Build Lists for different projects
• Export data for reporting

Getting Help

• Knowledge Base: You're here! Browse other articles for detailed features.
• Chat Support: Click "Chat with us" on any help page
• Email: Contact support through the platform

Quick Wins

Find out if anyone's talking about you:

Search for your brand name and review recent mentions.

Track a competitor:

Create an alert for their brand name with context-aware filtering.

Discover guest opportunities:

Search your topic in People and Brands, sort by "Most guesting."

Build a media list:

Use Demographics to filter for your target audience, add results to a List.

Common First-Day Questions

How do I stop getting irrelevant alerts?

Edit your alert → Add restrictions (categories, languages) → Use context-aware questions.

How far back does search go?

Podscan indexes millions of episodes. Historical depth varies by podcast.

Can my team see my alerts?

Lists and alerts are team-visible by default. Check visibility settings to adjust.

What if a podcast I care about isn't in Podscan?

Use the "Suggest podcast" feature in the API section to submit its RSS feed.

You're ready to start! The best way to learn Podscan is to explore — click around, try searches, and set up alerts for topics you care about.

Updated on: 18/12/2025