Podcast Show Notes: Tips, Guidelines, Best Practices
Podcast show notes are a heavily overlooked aspect of podcasting, but they actually play a crucial role in enhancing the listener’s experience and increasing the reach of the show. Not only the podcast production notes are a comprehensive summary of the episode, but they also provide valuable context and resources for listeners and allow them to quickly catch up on past episodes.
With the growth of podcasting as a medium, and with top directories such as Spotify and Google Podcasts featuring hundreds of podcasters, it’s essential to display show notes and use them to your advantage. Feel free to use templates to get your thoughts organized, but let’s go through the basics first. We’ve put together the easy steps to create a podcast description for your show and the elements to include in your podcast show note. Find out how you can use the show notes for engaging with your audience like never before.
What Are Podcast Show Notes?
Podcast show notes are written summaries or transcriptions of a podcast episode that provide additional information for listeners. You may include a brief summary of the episode’s content, a list of relevant links and resources you have used, and other relevant information such as the name of the guest(s), length, and topics you have covered.
As show notes serve as a way for listeners to follow along and retain the information discussed in a podcast episode, they are a valuable tool for both listeners and podcasters, and they should not be overlooked. So, it’s not just more work. Rather, it’s integral to your show and worth the extra effort. Here are a few more compelling reasons to craft one for your next show:
Show Notes for Podcasts – Why Are They So Important?
Maintaining a connection with your audience after they finish listening to your podcast is important. Show notes provide a platform for listeners to explore the content in-depth, learn more about you and your podcast, and engage with your website. This doesn’t end here. By providing show notes, you can also reap a range of other benefits.
Provide Context and Information
As show notes provide additional context and information about the topics discussed in the podcast episode, they offer podcasters an opportunity to elaborate on the conversation and provide more information about the guests or topics covered.
Improve Listener Experience
The best podcast show notes can enhance the listener’s experience by summarizing the podcast episode. Good podcast show notes help listeners better understand and retain the information discussed in the episode, especially if they miss a key point or need a quick recap.
Improve SEO and Discoverability
Well-written show notes can also improve the search engine optimization (SEO) of the podcast, making it easier for people to discover it through search engines like Google. Do not forget to index your page before optimizing it. Show notes are a powerful way to include relevant keywords, affiliate links, and images that can help improve the visibility of the podcast in search results, thereby raising more awareness around your podcast.
Increase Engagement
Show notes provide an opportunity to engage with the audience by encouraging interaction through comments, social media, and other forms of feedback. By including a call-to-action in the show notes, you can encourage listeners to share their thoughts and opinions on the episode.
A Useful Resource for Potential Patrons
Show notes can serve as a valuable resource for sponsors and advertisers, providing them with information about the topics discussed in the episode and the audience it reached. This can help them evaluate the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Establish Credibility
Show notes can help you to establish the podcast as a credible source of information in a particular niche or industry. By providing detailed information and resources, you can demonstrate your commitment to providing valuable content to your listeners.
How to Create Effective Show Notes
Remember that podcast show notes differ from descriptions. Descriptions are short (usually one paragraph or less) and appear under episode titles on listening apps. Show notes, on the other hand, are longer and found on the show’s website or blog. You can easily find a show notes podcast sample on any of those top podcast directories. Here’s how you can write your show notes effectively and efficiently:
Write a Brief Overview
Begin the show notes with a brief overview of the episode, including the main topics and guests covered. This serves as an introduction to the episode for new listeners and provides a quick reference for those who want to revisit the episode. Show notes don’t have to be very long. Ideally, the show note should be around 700 characters or 105 words long. You can use a podcast show notes template as a starting point.
Highlight Key Takeaways
Identify and highlight the key takeaways from the episode. This can be done through bullet points, bold text, or a dedicated section. You can also add transcripts of key quotes or moments from the new and the old episodes. This makes it easier for listeners to reference and recall important information.
Include Links to Additional Resources
Make sure to include in your show notes links to any resources mentioned in the episode, such as books, websites, or articles. This provides additional information and context for listeners and makes it easy for readers to access the resources.
Use Relevant Keywords
Use relevant keywords in the show notes to improve search engine optimization and discoverability of the podcast. This can include keywords related to the topic, guest, or other relevant information.
Include Multimedia Content
Consider including images, videos, or other multimedia content in the show notes to supplement the audio. This can help listeners visualize the information discussed in the episode and provide additional context.
Add a CTA
End the show notes with a call to action that encourages listeners to engage with the podcast. This can include asking listeners to share the episode on social media, leave a comment, or subscribe to your show. Consolidating all your call to action makes it easier for your listeners to take action on your show.
Proofread and Edit
Make sure to proofread and edit the show notes for grammar and spelling errors before publishing. Show notes that are well-written and free of errors are more likely to be read and shared by listeners.
Update Regularly
Make sure to update the show notes regularly to reflect new information, corrections, or additional content. This helps keep the show notes relevant and provides value to listeners over time.
Formatting Show Notes – Four Factors to Consider
If you are anything like most people, you probably don’t have the attention span to sit through an entire 10-minute-long YouTube video. It’s a good thing that many people are turning to podcasts in a distraction-filled world. They do listen to podcasts while doing household chores or driving to their offices. Therefore, it’s important to create a short note for your show that helps them stay in the loop. Here are four factors you need to consider while formatting and writing show notes:
Readability
The readability of podcast show notes is essential for ensuring that listeners can quickly and easily understand the information presented. This can be achieved through the use of clear and concise language, headings, bullet points, and other formatting techniques. Proper spacing, font size, and contrast are also important for ensuring the show notes are visually appealing and easy to read.
Length
The length of your podcast’s show notes can vary depending on the length of the episode and the amount of information covered. In general, the show notes should be long enough to provide meaningful information, but not so long that they are overwhelming or difficult to read. It’s important to strike a balance between providing enough detail to be helpful and keeping the show notes concise and easy to read.
Consistency
Consistency is key when it comes to podcast show notes. This includes using the same podcast show notes format and style for each episode, using consistent terminology, and providing similar levels of detail for each episode. Having consistent show notes helps listeners to easily find and reference information, and it makes the podcast as a whole appear more professional and well-organized.
Accessibility
Accessibility is an important consideration for podcast show notes, especially for listeners with disabilities. This includes making sure the show notes are available in a format that is accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments, such as a transcript or an audio description. Make sure the show notes also are optimized for search sites so that listeners can easily find the information they need. By considering accessibility in the creation of podcast show notes, podcasters can ensure that their content is accessible to the widest possible audience.
Tips for Taking Show Notes to the Next Level
How to create better podcast show notes? Remember that these notes serve as a ‘hub’ where listeners can get all the links, backstories, and contexts. It prevents them from tuning out. Now that you know the basics of creating one, let’s now explore how you can create one for your show without losing much of your energy and time. These tips would help you take your show note to another level:
Take Notes During Planning
Maximize efficiency by creating your podcast show notes during the planning stage. Hiring a professional to write great podcast show notes is an option, but doing it yourself saves money. The key to effectively using your time is to jot down basic show notes while the content is still fresh in your mind.
What’s the Length of Your Show Note?
For attracting new listeners through search engines, it’s recommended to publish SEO-friendly and long-form show notes on your website or in separate blog posts. This way, listeners can get a better understanding of what the podcast episode covers and what topics are discussed.
However, for your established listeners, short-form show notes for every episode would be sufficient as an added value. If you’re short on time and unable to write podcast show notes in detail, you can opt for short-form notes and include your podcast transcript. Although, keep in mind that unedited transcripts may not accurately reflect your full show as spoken language is often different from written language.
Have You Included A Guest Bio?
When writing a guest bio for your podcast, it’s important to keep them concise but impactful. You want to give your audience a taste of the expertise and knowledge your guest will bring to the show, but you don’t want to give away all the details of what they’ll discuss. This is why it’s important to keep your show notes guest bio short and snappy.
To convince listeners of the value of tuning in, it’s crucial to showcase the expertise of your podcast guests in their bios. This will help build anticipation for the episode and demonstrate to your audience why your guest is worth listening to.
Add an Interesting Quote
Podcast show notes are the perfect way to attract new and sporadic listeners to your show. By incorporating memorable quotes, you can grow your podcast audience and increase the likelihood of attracting people who might want to listen to the episode.
This quote serves as a hook, showcasing the value and insights that can be gained from listening to your show. Whether it’s a witty remark or a profound insight, including a key quote from your guest will pique the interest of your audience and encourage them to listen to more episodes.
Get Your Guests Involved
Instead of delegating all the work to yourself, why not ask your guests for some help? This doesn’t mean asking them to edit their own episodes – that’s not a good idea. Instead, you can request them to send over the topics they would like to discuss during the episode. This way, you can use these topics as the main points in the episode summary.
Additionally, you can request your guests to send over their headshots, bio, and any other necessary information before recording the episode. This will ensure that everything is ready and in order before you start recording.
Add Bonus Content
Attracting new listeners to your podcast just got easier with bonus content. By offering freebies on your show notes page, you can entice first-time visitors to explore more and sign up for your podcast.
By incorporating calls to action and mentioning the bonus content at the bottom of your show notes, you can increase your subscribers. If building a strong email list is a critical aspect of your marketing strategy, this is a fantastic approach to achieving it.
Create a Kickass Podcast Show Note Today
By writing a great show note for your podcast, you can boost your listener number. A well-crafted show note can add value for your listeners and can result in more search traffic. Just follow the tips, guidelines, and most useful practices listed above and use a free podcast show notes template to write one without doing the grunt work.
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