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p/plink-4Plink makes smart podcast links.
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Scott Mathson

Plink - Plink makes smart podcast links.

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Plink makes smart links for podcasts. Auto-open installed podcast apps native to listener's iOS, Android, and other mobile and smart watch devices. Each smart link also has a Show Page that desktop users will see with links to that show in major podcast apps.

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Kirill Zubovsky
I have been using Plink for Smash Notes and it's been very helpful. One link to rule them all, it enables me to share a podcast and let the users decide their weapon of choice, instead of sending all Android or Overcast users to iTunes all the time. As the podcast wars heat up, and Spotify at el battle Apple, this is going to be more and more relevant. Plink does a beautiful job and I definitely recommend it. Here, take a look how simple it is! https://plnk.to/smashnotes
Scott Mathson
Maker
@kirillzubovsky your feedback throughout has meant so much, Kirill, thank you! Sending users to the right place for their device and operating system is so important. That UX of Android users hands often being forced into clicking an Apple link is frustrating for sure. Happy to help solve this with Plink :-) Congrats on recent Smash Notes launch here, too. I've been loving listening to the show. Your roundups are nice, keep it up and Plink that custom link ;-)
Kirill Zubovsky
@scottmathson ;) btw, I have not launched SmashNotes.com here yet. There are a bunch of things I'd like to do before turning on the firehose of the fabulous Product Hunt users. Soon though, soon!
Scott Mathson
Maker
@kirillzubovsky woah 🤔for some reason thought I remembered upvoting here haha must be confusing with Indie Hackers ( it's been a long morning :-) ). Makes sense, I was in a similar mindset, fine-tuning some dials. Nonetheless, what you're sharing there is fantastic, honestly. Being fellow podcaster, and like we talked about, will claim Makerviews on-site.
Scott Mathson
Maker
Hey PH! Meet Plink. I've created this service with the goal of solving pain-points that podcast creators have. I developed and launched this months ago now (check out milestones on Indie Hackers: https://indiehackers.com/product...), yet am so stoked to finally share on PH! Plink helps podcasters spend less time link-collecting when marketing their shows and helps them gain more time for actually podcasting! With that, every single podcast in existence now has a free Plink smart link. Anyone can choose to buy a custom short, branded link (https://plnk.to/yo - you rock @robhope), too. Custom link customers get other benefits like whitelabel/"powered by plink" removal, ability to add iTunes affiliate ID for more income, and other customization options. Plink supports 10 major podcast apps - Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Breaker, Castbox, and more. Confidently share Plink links across any social platform, in Slack, email - anywhere. One smart link - send every listener to the right place, no matter device, OS, or pod app preferences. This is v. 1.0 so not everything I'll eventually have in the product is here yet. But I'm stoked about the adoption of Plink, so many loyal customers and those who continue to champion this smart linking service. Thank you all so much, honestly! I'm constantly brainstorming new ideas, speaking with customers and listening to their feedback and insights, and currently have some exciting things in-development. What's your feedback on Plink? Want a custom, short link (ex: https://plnk.to/thenw)? Head over to the website @ https://plinkhq.com/ with code PHunt15 for a limited PH discount today! :-)
Jack Langer
Already used it for my favorite podcast and shared with my friends. Great idea!
Scott Mathson
Maker
@jack_langer what's the show, Jack? Thanks for sharing smart links 🔗
Rob Hope ⚡️Yo!
Congrats on the launch Scott! Been awesome watching this evolve since the alpha. You also know you’re onto something good when you start getting copycats ;)
Scott Mathson
Maker
@robhope cheers man, means a lot! :-) Has been awesome connecting and getting your feedback, thank you! Haha man...wild ride with that situation, for sure. Clones can be viewed as bad/negative or they can be positive/compliment that light a fire under your a$$ for you to keep on shipping great things. Guess which viewpoint I've chosen and what it's done for me? 🔥 And congrats again on yesterday's Email Love PH launch here (https://www.producthunt.com/post...). ;-)
Paul Metcalfe
Like this idea. I feel like I'm letting my newsletter subscribers down by sending them to show note pages or random subdomains of podcast hosting services. I want to send them straight to their podcast app on the phone or give them the choice (in a nice standard format) via web. If I could send them direct to an episode then it would be perfect. Any plans to add that functionality?
Scott Mathson
Maker
@paul_metcalfe I agree your subscribers would get tremendous value out of that, yes. Erica Mandy from the NewsWorthy podcast (plnk.to/thenw customer of Plink) and myself have been discussing this a lot lately. So important to have this direct-to-listening experience - folks shouldn't have to fumble around/search through apps. Just click and play! Episodic-level linking is in-development, yes! Appreciate the question re: episode and not just show-level links. As each podcast player have their own unique URL scheme, that's been fun challenge to solve, honestly. But yes, like we were discussing on Twitter (https://twitter.com/scottmathson...) this is in final testing stages within Plink staging env and is very close to being complete/in production. Stay tuned, Paul ;-)
Paul Metcalfe
@scottmathson great to hear you've got over the challenges and a solution coming soon. I subscribed to your newsletter so look forward to updates. Good luck with the launch.
Anne-Laure Le Cunff
Do you plan to add link analytics, like bitly has?
Scott Mathson
Maker
@anthilemoon hey Anne-Laure, thanks for asking! I have quite a bit in-development at the moment and link analytics *is absolutely one of these features*. Plink's webapp is nearly complete and will show data for clicks on links like Bitly does, yes. Alongside a breakdown of information for podcasters to get a better idea/picture of *where* listeners tune in from, *what* kind of devices are they tuning in from, etc. Definitely a highly-requested feature that I've been speaking with customers about, busy developing, and it is coming soon!
Matt Henderson 🚀
Congrats on launching Scott!
Scott Mathson
Maker
@juhaszhenderson thanks so much, Matt! Stoked about first PH launch here :-)
It's great to spread your podcast on Social media and give your potential listener the choice of podcatcher or way to subscribe. We use it from the beginning of our podcast (and Plink)
Scott Mathson
Maker
@steffen_w_schilke thanks Steffen, happy to hear it's making promoting podcasts on social easier. Love seeing you and many other folks using Plink on social! Cheers
Shehryar Hussain
Very cool and congrats! Would love to see a "Text me a podcast link" similar to the widgets for downloading an app.
Scott Mathson
Maker
@shehryar thanks so much Shehryar. That's great feedback and I've considered adding this sharing option. Looking into a few methods still for doing so, the smart links unfurl nicely on iOS and Android (and watches), as Plink detects those user-agents and sends to native apps, so that support is already there. Have scoped out implementing with basic SMS share option with body text and/or Twilio "Send to phone". Any other sharing ideas/feedback you have?
Nes Croft
Nice work!
Scott Mathson
Maker
@nescroft thanks so much 🙌has been feeling like best challenge to put my mind to/wrote code for, offering solution for fellow makers and creators!
Ramiro Nuñez Dosio
Congrats on the launch Scott, great product by a great dev 💪 What's next for Plink? Any plans to add a webapp for managing/customizing short links.
Scott Mathson
Maker
@ramiro_nunez_dosio thanks Ramiro, exciting indeed! Appreciate the compliment :-) A lot is coming up! And yes, I've been writing plenty of JS, working towards developing sections of a self-service webapp. There's some things within Plink like the ability to help podcasters earn passive money in adding their Apple Services ( iTunes) affiliate IDs to paid, custom links that are quite manual at the moment. So the webapp will provide functionality that rids of any manual bottlenecks in onboarding process. The webapp will give customers options to customize/add-to/manage their links, and ultimately will be where UI with analytics and more will live. Optimizing Plink now involves building functionality like this so that customers can have more control, be further empowered, and be off-to-the-races on their own right away.
Mimi Mathson
Awesome 😎
Scott Mathson
Maker
@mimi_mathson Thanks for the constant support! :-)
Corey Haines
Any plans to add a monthly plan too?
Scott Mathson
Maker
@corey_haines yeah, so Plink's custom short links (branded, short plnk.to URLs) are charged on annual basis right now. Given some of the other things mentioned throughout PH thread today, things like analytics and functionality I'm scoping like custom domains (DNS-level, ex: go.yourdomain.com), among other things, yes! I'm continually interviewing customers/discussing, and planning the roadmap. But yes, there will be a monthly plan eventually! Main focus now is in providing webapp for customers to create/manage/customize aspects of their links, but that lays groundwork for UI being built for analytics and other features within webapp to come that will all be part of robust monthly plan offering from Plink. Thanks for asking Corey!
Katie Boedecker
Congratulations, @scottmathson! This looks awesome.
Scott Mathson
Maker
@katie_boedecker thanks so much Katie :-)