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How to Setup a Number for Your Radio Station

A few different ways on how you can setup a number for your radio station for live phone calls, voicemails, and texts messages.

by David Wilkinson in Production

Last updated 10.08.2024

This is an image of a red telephone and corresponding spiralled wire. The phone has a shadow. This image has a neutral white backdrop.

Did you know that most professional radio stations have a number you can call? Encouraging listeners to phone in, leave voice messages, and send texts is a good way to include your audience and make them feel part of your shows, that’s why we’re going to show you on how to setup a number for your radio station.

There are a few different ways you can interact with your listeners, so we’re covering various methods to choose from like:

Mobile Apps: How to setup a spoof number for callers on your smartphone or tablet so listeners can get in touch with you anywhere.
Desktop Apps: The different desktop applications that work just like the mobile apps, but are easier to manage on your computer.
Live On-Air Callers: How to invite callers onto your radio shows and broadcast both of you online to your station.

Before we dive into the different options available, let’s first look at what you need to know.

Setup a Number Your Radio Station - What You Need to Know

The idea behind setting up a call-in number for your radio station is a way to get instant feedback, but it’s a good idea to keep the following in mind first:

Filter Messages: Not all of your listeners will be polite, so it’s a great idea to filter messages so they’re “on-air friendly”.
Pick Out the Best: You maybe encumbered with messages or voicemails from guests, so it’s perfect to pick out the best ones that fit your show.
Encourage Participation: Showcase your listeners’ messages, whether that’s reading texts on-air or playing voicemails, this encourages others to get involved.

You maybe wondering “What if I don’t want to give out my personal mobile phone number?” - Although you can use your own phone number, it’s not ideal as you probably want a cut off point (imagine getting a phone call from a listener at 2am requesting a track!) - If this is the case then you’ll learn some alternatives later on.

With that in mind let’s take a look at the first way you can setup a number for your radio station.

Setup a Smartphone or Tablet Call-in Number with Mobile Apps

Mobile apps on your smartphone or tablet are ideal if you’re on the move or managing multiple devices (like a presenter, operations, and station manager). Let’s take a look at the different ways you can use mobile apps.

Burner Phone

Not a mobile app, but worth noting first. Using your own number isn’t super great, but with a burner phone (aka disposable phone) you can use a different sim card and number, plus it’s cheap and allows you to do the things you need for your station like recieve phone calls and text messages.

Here’s a variety of cheap burner phones:

Vodafone Smart Prime 7 (Android) - $90 / £75
iPhone 4 (iOS) - $105 / £85
Microsoft Lumia 435 (Windows) - $70 / £55

Get a cheap sim from places like ChatSIM (USA) or GiffGaff (UK) that work with your burner phone, then use that to take phone calls, listen to voice messages, and read texts from listeners.

Hushed (iOS / Android) - Paid with Free Trial

Hushed is a bit like a burner phone, but with numbers instead. It protects your privacy as you can choose a number from more than 40 countries like USA, Canada, UK, Spain, and Hong Kong.

This is an image of a hand in the middle of the shot holding up an iPhone. On the iPhone screen is a list of countries and their corresponding area code. The backdrop is blurred.

It offers a 3 day free trial and works with both iPhones and Android devices, however you can pay a small monthly or yearly fee, which is perfect if you’re using it to just receive calls, voicemails, and texts.

Burner (iOS / Android) - Paid with Free Trial

Much like Hushed, Burner allows you to send and receive phones calls and texts from anonymous phone numbers, but only offers US and Canadian mobile numbers at present.

This is the same image as the above but taken from a different angle.

Burner has a 7 day free trial on iPhones and Android devices with a monthly fee similar to that of Hushed.

Google Voice (iOS / Android) - Free

Google Voice is a free messaging service that allows you to choose your own number to receive phone calls, voicemails, text messages, and allows you to control how it all works.

Set Google Voice up to to forward calls or numbers onto one or more phones, which is ideal if you’ve got several people running your station. You can do a bunch of other cool things like transcribe voice messages, number porting, blocking unwanted callers, and works in your browser on desktop computers. The only downside is it’s currently only available for people within USA & Canada, but worth checking out if you are.

Skype (iOS / Android) - Paid

Skype is probably the most well known out of the bunch and offers more or less the same features as Google Voice with a few added extras like free international calling.

This is an image of three stock iPhones with the Skype App open on all of them. The first phone shows a Skype chat with emoticons, the middle shows a conversation log, and the third shows a child with dark hair smiling on video call to presumably their parent.

Skype numbers for different countries can be purchased on a per subscription basis for 3 or 12 months - Use credit to make outward calls, however there’s no limit to receiving calls, voicemails, or texts which is perfect if you’re getting messages from your listeners.

Setup a Call-in Number with Desktop Apps

Desktop apps allow you to manage everything from your computer without having to deal with any mobile apps on your phone. Let’s look at the different apps available on Windows and Mac computers you can use.

Skype (Windows / Mac) - Paid

Skype, as mentioned above, can be used on your mobile phone and on your desktop computer either on Windows or Mac.

This is an image of how Skype Desktop appears, a blue and white chatbox with corresponding chats on the left sidebar.

Much like the mobile version, you can make and receive calls, get voicemails, and texts. The neat thing about both the desktop and mobile apps are they can be used across multiple devices, so a DJ can have Skype open on their computer and you can have it on your phone for any incoming messages from listeners.

Continuity (Mac for iOS) - Free

Continuity is a way to synchronise all your Apple devices like your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and even Apple Watch.

On the left is the corner of a Macbook, on the right is half of a white iPhone. They are perfectly aligned against one another against a neutral black backdrop

Link your iPhone to your Mac, so any messages you receive can be viewed on both your phone and computer - You can also receive phone calls and listen to voice messages with the linked device.

AirDroid (Windows / Mac for Android) - Free

AirDroid is the equivalent of Continuity as it allows you to access all of your Android phone’s content from either Windows or Mac.

This is a white backdrop with a Macbook in the centre of the image. On the background of the MacBook is the AirDroid Desktop screen, on the left there is a smartphone with the app on.

As your Android device is linked to your computer, you can send and receive messages, calls, and even app notifications like WhatsApp and Gmail so you’re better connected with your audience.

RingCentral (Windows / Mac) - Paid with Free Trial

RingCentral is for more high-end radio stations that need a bunch of features like auto-call handling, call recording, and collaboration with multiple users.

This is an image of a white iPhone and in the middle a traditional black telephone. On the right is a white tablet. All are open on the RingCentral Desktop backgrounds.

You can manage RingCentral messages on multiple devices like your computer and across mobile devices on iOS and Android phones. Sync across devices with text messages, voicemails, and receive phone calls on either desktop or mobile.

How to Invite Live Callers On-Air

Take your call-in number one step further by inviting guests on your shows. Nearly every professional radio station takes live callers on-air as it’s a great way to connect directly with listeners and can make for some really interesting conversations.

It doesn’t matter if you’re running music or talk shows, if you want a setup to take live callers on-air then here’s what you need:

Mixing Desk: We recommend the Behringer Xenyx 802 as it’s a great little desk with audio controls, plus it’s affordable at $70 / £55. Connect multiple microphones and your smartphone or tablet.
Microphone: A good dependable microphone like the Behringer B-1 is a must have - It’s a professional condenser mic ideal for live broadcasts with crisp sounding audio that’s around $100 / £80.
Smartphone or Tablet: Pretty much any smartphone or tablet will do, as long as it has a headphone jack to connect to the mixer.
Headphones: A nice pair of headphones like the Bluedio T3 are ideal as they’re wireless so no cables are in the way, they go over the ear for extended periods of usage, and are a good price at $50 / £40.
Laptop & Cables: Most computer or laptops will work, but make sure you have the right cables: x1 Headphone to jack L/R, x1 Jack headphone adapter converter plug, x1 XLR to XLR (male to female), and x1 Stereo jack to mono cable.

There is a silver microphone on the left with a red wire, in the middle there is a small mixing board, and on the right there is a small tablet with red Beats headphones plugged in. The backdrop is a brick fireplace.

With this setup you can have callers phone your mobile, then broadcast it out through your mixing desk, computer, and finally to your online radio station. We actually use this same setup to take live callers on our Internet Radio Podcast series.

We’ve put together a walkthrough on the equipment, how to set it up, and broadcast your on-air guests:

Verdict

There are a few ways you can setup a number for your radio station to receive phone calls, voicemails, and text messages.

Using a burner number on your phone is a great way to secure your personal details whilst still opening up a conversation with your audience. Alternatively make your computer the central hub by managing everything using desktop apps, some of which can pair with your phone for better synchronicity. Take your call-in number one step further by inviting guests onto your shows using a mixing desk.

Whatever option you choose, hopefully there’s enough to go on to point you in the right direction on setting up a call-in number for your radio station.

If you’re still unsure on how to setup a number for your radio station then get in touch with the experts at Radio.co who can help answer any questions when you contact us.

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