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The Guest Portal ​

When you invite a guest, they get a private portal for their episode. This page walks through the portal from your guest's seat so you know exactly what they see, what they can do, and what stays between the two of you.

Want a version written directly to your guests? Point them at For Guests.

How Guests Get In ​

Guests verify their email instead of creating an account:

  1. Your guest opens the invitation email and clicks Confirm Email & View Invite
  2. The verification page greets them by name and asks for their Email Address (with a partially hidden hint of the invited address)
  3. They click Send Verification Link and see a Check Your Email confirmation
  4. In the second email, they click Verify & Access Portal and land in the portal

Verification links expire in 24 hours and are one-time use. If a guest waits too long, they can request a fresh link from the same page (Send Another Link, after a 30 second wait). If their invitation itself is invalid, they see Invalid Link with a note to contact you, the host, for a new one.

Once verified, guests stay signed in on that device for 7 days. After that they simply verify again with the same link.

What Guests See ​

The portal header shows your podcast cover and name plus the episode title, so guests always know whose show they're prepping for. Below that:

  • Recording date and time, shown in the guest's own time zone with the episode status and a countdown like "in 3 days"
  • Recording Link: if the episode has a meeting link, guests get a Copy link button and a Join button that opens it in a new tab
  • Episode description, if you've written one

Show Notes: Shared vs Private ​

The Show Notes card ("Collaborate on show notes with the host and other guests") has two tabs. Each tab opens with an info alert that sets expectations, and it's worth knowing the exact promises your guests read:

  • Shared Notes: "These notes are visible to all participants. Content here may be published in the final episode show notes. Add talking points, links, and resources you'd like the host to consider."
  • My Notes: "These notes are private between you and the host. Use this space for personal talking points, questions, or notes you don't want published. The host may reference these during the interview."

A few things to keep in mind as the host:

  • Shared Notes are visible to every participant on the episode, including other guests, and you may publish them. Don't paste anything there you wouldn't want public.
  • My Notes are private between the guest and you. Other guests can't see them, but you can. The portal tells guests this explicitly, so treat those notes with care.
  • Edits sync in real time. Guests see small avatars when someone else is editing a section, and their changes save automatically.
  • If you haven't created show notes for the episode yet, guests see No Show Notes Yet: "The host hasn't created show notes for this episode yet. Check back later!" Create them from the episode's Collaborators tab so guests have somewhere to contribute.

On smaller screens the portal collapses into three tabs: Shared, My Notes, and Chat.

Chat ​

The portal includes the same Episode Chat you use on the Show Notes page: real-time messages, mentions, reactions, and a People tab showing who's online. Anything anyone posts in chat is visible to all participants on the episode.

What Guests Can and Can't Do ​

Guests can:

  • View the episode's recording details and join the meeting
  • Read and edit Shared Notes, and write in their own My Notes
  • Send chat messages, react, and mention participants
  • Switch the portal between light and dark themes

Guests can't:

  • Edit episode details, upload files, or change anything about your podcast
  • See other guests' private notes
  • Update their own profile details from inside the episode portal

The Account Upgrade Path ​

The portal quietly offers guests an optional free account. The header shows Create Account and Sign In actions, and the account page pitches: "Unlock the full guest experience with a free PodcasterPlus account."

If a guest signs up, all episodes tied to their email link to their new account, and they get a My Episodes dashboard listing every show they've appeared on. This costs them (and you) nothing, and it's how guests join the Guest Network where other hosts can discover them. The full flow is documented for guests at Create a Free Account.

What's Next? ​

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