How to Write Effective Podcast Show Notes

A few simple tips to help you avoid obvious pitfalls and make the most of the critical text in your podcast show notes. These are the hooks which contribute to wooing listeners to your podcast episodes.

Read some further thoughts on amplifying the message of your episodes in my article “Extending The Content Conversation”

Audio Companion

This episode of the Metapod podcast talks through this blog article in audio and picks out some more examples to illustrate good practice with show notes creation.

Context

The browsing environment is the critical consideration for our text. This provides the canvas for our information and also the constraints. Most likely this canvas will be an app on a mobile phone screen, or possibly a desktop app (i.e. Podcasts on the Mac).

The limited space available for your text means only a small part of the description is visible on the first viewing. These words need to count, so don’t waste them.

We’re using the Apple Podcasts iOS and desktop app to illustrate our points. But the principles apply to any of the other podcast directory apps or listings to a large degree.

Example Notes

We produced this text below for the launch season of Parents In Tech podcast. The show is hosted by startup founder and venture capitalist, Qin En Looi.

Find Parents In Tech on Apple Podcasts

The structure basically breaks down to 1. Title (critical) 2. First line (very important) 3. First paragraph (important) 4. Everything else (Useful for keen listeners)

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Favourite DON’T

I see this one all the time, but DON’T start the first sentence of your description with “In this podcast episode, HOST NAME talks to GUEST NAME”

Why ?
That’s your one shot at your readers attention gone without providing any additional information. These are all details which are already available and repetition gives no additional value. The reader knows it’s a podcast, and that this is a new episode, and that the host is interviewing. But you’ve used up the vital space that could be used more effectively.

For example, when browsing in the Apple Podcasts app, we have only a small number of words to use before the elipsis ‘ …’ requires users to decide if to take an action. Without sufficient motivation they may never see or hear any more of your podcast episode. And what kind of a visual cue is an elipsis for the user anyway?

So your goal with your title and first line of the description is to supply that motivation.

Writing for the canvas

Episode Title

This is the most important piece of text in defining your episode and outlining the benefit to the listener.

Currently, episode titles are indexed by all podcast directories and thus become searchable in-app.

Without encouraging an action, our efforts are wasted. So, the podcast episode title should contain the topic hook which will make the listener click through to hear more, and – my suggestion, also the name of the guest or organisation, for added Search Juice.

In essence these 10 words have to say everything required to make your casual browser wish to know more, or your subscriber to listen right away.

In our example notes, the show is targeting working parents, founders or business owners in the tech industry. The list of topics in the tile outlines some intriguing areas. Is “Baby tech” a thing? Apparently it is! Who doesn’t need “Quality time” and “Asking for help” is slightly dramatic and intriguing. We didn’t want to put any overt focus on the guests employer but many in this series have notable careers and voices in their industries, so their names in the title will resonate with some of the target audience.

Description

The first sentence of your description text is the next most important line. This should supply additional information, not already used in the title and further promote interest in the episode contents.

In our Parents In Tech example, we hear the key points “working parent” “life becomes easier” “resources”. Parenting life becoming easier will be a goal for any working parent, so I’m listening if there are “resources” (presumably the Baby Tech of the title) that make this happen.

Beyond this first section, you are free to supply any further information about the guest biog, details of the show contents or other CTA information.

HTML
Links are now allowed in podcast descriptions, so do add any contact URL or links for your listener to read further.

Many shows use the show notes to drive traffic to their website by promoting availability of full links and resources. Not a super-visible means for this but it works for a few.

LINK
Apple definitions and character limits on title and description elements can be found in their Podcasters Guide to RSS