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If you need to update an episode after you have published it to your Zencastr-hosted podcast, you can easily do so from your Dashboard.
In this article:
View Episodes On Your Dashboard
Episodes display in a Grid View by default and are sorted in reverse chronological order by publish date and time, with the newest episode listed first.
Change The Episode View
To change the episode view, click the Episodes tab on the left sidebar menu of your Dashboard. Then click the 3-lines menu to see the episodes in List View, or click the 4-squares menu to see the episodes in Grid View.
Change The Episode Sort
To change the episode sort when viewing episodes in Grid View, click the By Date Published header at the top left of the Episodes tab and select the desired options from the dropdown menu.
To change the episode sort when viewing episodes in List View, click the up and down arrows on the column headers at the top of the Episodes tab.
Edit Episode Details
After you publish an episode, you can update any of its details - episode title, description, image, season number, episode number, keywords, explicit rating, and type.
To edit episode details:
On your Dashboard, click the Episodes tab on the left sidebar menu.
Locate the episode you want to update.
In Grid View, click the 3-dot menu under the episode image. OR In List View, click the 3-dot menu under the ‘Actions’ column.
Select Edit.
On the Episode Info tab of the Preview Page, edit the episode detail(s).
To change the episode image, hover over the image and click the Reupload button. Then select the new JPG, JPEG, or PNG image file from your computer. This will replace the image.
To change the season number, episode number, keywords, explicit rating, or episode type, click Advanced Settings to display these fields. Click Back when done.
6. Review your edits, and click the Publish Changes button.
Change Publish Date Or Time
Episodes have one of two statuses:
Scheduled, Unpublished (yellow dot): the episode is scheduled to automatically publish at a later time and/or date.
Published (green dot): the episode has already been published.
For scheduled episodes, you can change when the episode will be published. For published episodes, changing the episode to scheduled will temporarily remove the episode from your Zencastr show page and the podcast directories while keeping the analytics.
To change an episode's publish date and time:
On your Dashboard, click the Episodes tab on the left sidebar menu.
Locate the episode you want to update.
In Grid View, click the 3-dot menu under the episode image. OR In List View, click the 3-dot menu under the ‘Actions’ column.
Select Edit from the menu.
On the Publish Page, click the Schedule tab.
Edit the date, time, and/or timezone.
Click Back to return to the Preview Page and review your episode details.
Click Publish Changes.
Replace An Audio or Video File
Occasionally, you might need to change the audio or video of a published episode after making an edit to it or correcting an uploading error. By replacing the media file, you can update the audio or video while keeping the episode listing, links, and analytics intact.
Important Considerations When Replacing An Audio or Video File
It’s best to change the file name before reuploading it as doing so helps some of the podcast directories notice the file change sooner.
After you replace the media file, when the change reflects on your episode listing in the podcast directories varies because each directory has different criteria for how often they check your RSS feed for episode changes.
Once a directory updates your episode listing, all new listeners/subscribers will get the version with the updated audio/video. However, any listeners who had previously downloaded the episode with the original audio/video will not get the updated audio/video unless they manually trigger a new download of the episode. The ability to force a new download for listeners who have already listened to/viewed the episode does not exist in the podcast directories.
How to Replace An Audio or Video File
To replace an episode's audio or video file:
On your Dashboard, click the Episodes tab on the left sidebar menu.
Locate the episode you want to update.
In Grid View, click the 3-dot menu under the episode image. OR In List View, click the 3-dot menu under the ‘Actions’ column.
Select Edit from the menu.
Click Episode Media in the Preview Page.
Click the Change Episode Media button.
Select the new file from your computer.
Note: For audio episodes, the file type must be MP3. For video episodes, the file type must be MP4. The maximum file size for uploads is 50 GB.Click on Back to return to the Preview Page and review your episode details.
Result: After the episode finishes uploading and processing, the new media file is shown in the preview.Click the Publish Changes button.
Remove An Episode Completely (Archiving Episode)
Rarely, you may need to remove an episode so it no longer appears on your podcast’s public listings. To do this:
On your Dashboard, click the Episodes tab on the left sidebar menu.
Locate the episode you want to update.
In Grid View, click the 3-dot menu under the episode image. OR In List View, click the 3-dot menu under the ‘Actions’ column.
Click Archive.
Type the episode name in the field.
Click the I understand, archive button.
When do episode edits reflect in the podcast directories?
Episode edits are immediately reflected on your RSS feed and Zencastr show page. However, the time it takes for these edits to appear in podcast directories varies. Each directory has its own criteria for checking RSS feeds for updates. Despite different update timeframes, rest assured that Zencastr edits will eventually be reflected in the podcast directories.
Edits are also seen faster by new listeners/subscribers. For those who downloaded the episode before the edits, changes may not be visible immediately due to caching in directory apps. To see the updated version, these listeners/subscribers need to manually initiate a new download since podcast directories don't offer an option to force a download.
To verify if new listeners are receiving the edited episode in a specific directory app, try opening the episode in a different browser (e.g., incognito window) or a different app version (e.g., desktop instead of mobile).