Mastering Podcast Show Notes: A Step-by-Step Guide for Podcasters (Template Included)

So you've just started your podcast and were looking at some established podcasts for inspiration on what to do. You realize they all have this thing called a show note aka podcast notes or podcast show notes and you wonder to yourself, why is this important and should I be doing this?

Well you’ve come to the right place because today you’ll learn what a show note is, how to write podcast show notes and will leave here with a podcast show note template. 

Let's get into it. 

What Are Podcast Show Notes 

Show notes for podcasts are a description of a podcast episode. They generally include:

- A summary of the podcast episode

- Key points & takeaways

- Guest bios (if applicable)

- Links to websites and resources

- Timestamps for specific segments or topics discussed in the episode

- Call-to-actions (CTAs) or next steps for the listener

A well formed podcast show note helps listeners decide whether they should listen to your podcast and also offers access to more information about the episode if the listeners want to engage further. A well-written show note could help you gain your first 1000 listeners for your podcast. 

Difference Between Podcast Description and Show Notes

A podcast's description is often mistaken for its show notes even though they are quite different. 

Podcast Description: A podcast description is a summary of what your podcast is about. It sums up the core topics commonly discussed in your podcast as well as the purpose of your podcast. It also contains things like your name (name of host) as well as how frequently the podcast is published. 

 Closers Are Losers with Jeremy Miner

Podcast Show Notes: Podcast show notes are descriptions of the individual episodes of a podcast. They include a summary, the key points of an episode, a short bio of the guest, timestamps of segments as well as additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

The Tim Ferriss Show

Why Should You Write Podcast Show Notes 

It takes about 30-90 minutes to write a show note but the benefits far outweighs the time invested in crafting it. Here are 5 reasons you should create show notes for your podcast episodes:

1. Get More Listeners

Most listeners will read your show notes before listening to your podcast episode, so if you write a podcast show note that grabs their attention, builds interest and provides value you can bet that they'll spend their time listening to your podcast. A well written podcast show note will not only increase the amount of listens you get but also increase the overall retention rate of your podcast audience. This is because your audience knows what they are doing to gain from listening to your podcast. 

2. Better SEO Optimization for Podcast 

Google, Spotify and YouTube can’t watch a video or listen to that inspiring story of how your guest built a 10 million dollar brand by selling socks with unusual designs (that's a true story by the way). However, they understand text and can read and analyze every piece of text attached to your podcast. By including keywords your target audience uses when browsing, you will be boosting the SEO optimization of your podcast. To speed up the process you can use a tool like SpeedyPod at https://speedypod.com that will automatically generate common keywords that come up in your podcast episode. 

3. Promote your Past Podcast Episodes

After putting in all the hard work that goes into creating an episode of your podcast, you don’t want them to stop getting new views after a while causing them to be forgotten. By adding links to your former related episodes you can bring back those older episodes to life and make them relevant once again. This little trick also helps increase the overall listener retention of your podcast because after finishing one episode your listeners can click a link that starts a different episode that they'll also enjoy.

4. Improve Conversion Rates

If you have a product you sell, or something for your listeners to sign up to, your podcast show note is a great place to share it. If you don't have a product that's fine too, you can ask people to subscribe, connect with you on a different platform or join your Patreon. Whatever you choose to add just make sure that you don’t waste the opportunity. If people are intrigued enough to read through your show notes after listening to your podcast, chances are they will take the next step you want them to take.

5. Increases Your Chances of Getting a Guest

If you spend some time talking about your guest in your show notes you are more likely to get future guests for your podcast. Everyone is trying to promote their brand so if they see your podcast as an opportunity to do so then you can bet that they'll jump at the first chance of being a guest at your podcast. 

Where to Find Podcast Show Notes

Depending on the playing app, the exact location of a podcast show note can differ but generally, they appear under the title of the podcast. 

Closers Are Losers with Jeremy Miner

Step-by-Step Guide To Writing Effective Podcast Show Notes 

1. Episode Summary

Start with a concise, impactful summary of the episode. This is usually about 200 words long and the most important part for your show note. It’s worth it to slow down at this part, review what your podcast episode was about and then craft the best description that captures its content. If you’ve got the time, creating it yourself is a perfectly viable option, however SpeedyPod at https://speedypod.com can create this for you automatically. 

The Game w/ Alex Hormozi

2. Guest Bio

Put your guest in the spotlight by highlighting who they are, what they do, and their relevant achievements. This will get your listeners up to speed on who this person is and why they should care (building social proof) but will also be something your guest will appreciate.

Chat with Traders

3. Main Takeaways / Talking Points

Your main takeaways are a list of the key points discussed in the episode. Its purpose is to quickly inform and intrigue your listeners to build interest in the episode. 

4. Interesting quotes from the podcast (Optional)

This is not required but sometimes can help build interest in your target audience when they read through your show notes and see a bomb shell quote that you or your guest said. 

5. Timestamps

Your timestamps / chapters are a list of all the key parts in the podcast episode. It allows your audience to skip straight to the section they're most interested in without sitting through the entire podcast. 

The Futur with Chris Do

6. Transcript

Some podcast platforms have a separate section for transcript, if not you can add it as a link in this section. This part helps with SEO, accessibility, and adds convenience for anyone who may want to take a look at it. Bonus points if your transcript contains speaker labels!

The Game w/ Alex Hormozi

Transcribing your podcast is very important but by hand can literally take hours. Thankfully there are AI transcribing softwares out there like SpeedyPod at https://speedypod.com that automatically creates your podcast transcription, with speaker labels, automatically and with the click of a button. On top of this, the AI technology will automatically create your podcast summary, timestamps, keywords, and social media marketing posts, as well!

7. Affiliate Links 

This is where you talk about the products that are (hopefully) bringing in your cash—your sponsors and/or products. Add a concise description about your sponsors/products as well as the relevant link. 

8. Additional Resources 

If you mentioned any resources during your podcast now is the time you include it. Any books, templates, documents or memes you mentioned during the podcast go in here. Make sure to include all additional resources because it builds trust between you and your audience and also provides extra value. 

9. CTA

This is the last, yet crucial part of your show note. This is the part where you tell your audience to buy your stuff or sign up to your newsletter or whatever action you want them to take. You can also ask your audience to share your podcast and include the link to do so, increasing the engagement on your podcast and building your community. 

Tips on Writing Effective Podcast Show Notes 

1. Be Concise

On average your show notes should not be longer than 500 words. Do not include more words than needed, too much text tends to confuse readers which leads to them leaving, keep it brief and straightforward. 

2. Separate with Headings 

Separate each section with a heading or a line space to improve the clarity of your text. This makes your show notes easier to read and much more effective. 

3. Create with SEO in mind 

Like I mentioned earlier, Google, YouTube and Spotify pay a lot of attention to your text, so make sure to include useful keywords in our show notes. This is an important but often overlooked SEO strategy for podcasts. 

4. Maintain a Consistent format 

Maintaining a consistent format with your show notes helps with the overall branding of your podcast and since it is an important tool to gaining and nurturing an audience for your podcast you don't want to be changing it constantly.

What to do when you've written your podcast show note

After spending all that time writing your show note, you want to make sure people see it. 

1. Talk about it

During the introduction of your podcast make sure you talk about it and tell your listeners to read it if they want more information. Telling your listeners that there is more relevant information in your show notes can also help generate more traffic for your website, podcast platform page, and products since most links would lead back there.  

2. Post it on your Socials

Come on, you worked on that stuff, don't be afraid to show it to the world. By sharing it on your socials you are more likely to reach a different set of listeners which will help your podcast gain popularity. It is also a way of notifying the people who follow you that there is a new episode on your podcast. To save you time and effort, there are AI tools out there like SpeedyPod at https://speedypod.com that will make these for you with just 1 button click, pretty neat right!

Podcast Show Note Template:

Brief summary of episode: Roughly 200 words about your episode's main theme

Guest Bio (if applicable): Include relevant info about your guest as well as ways your audience can connect with them. 

Key Takeaways / Main Talking Points :

Key Takeaway #1

Key Takeaway #2

Key Takeaway #3

Interesting quote from podcast (optional): "Podcasting is a labor of love. It takes time, effort, and dedication, but the reward is worth it." - Gary Leland

Timestamps

[0:00] - Introduction 

[1:21] - Chapter Name #1

[2:45] - Chapter Name #2

[4:09] - Chapter Name #3

[6:34] - Conclusion 

[Episode transcript or link]

Affiliate link: Include your sponsor's name, a short summary, and a link to their landing page.

Additional resources:

Resource #1

Resource #2

Resource #3

Call-to-action:

Newsletter sign-up

Shareable episode link

Whatever action you want them to take

Conclusion:

There you have it, in this blog articles we have learnt:

1. What podcast show notes are

2. The difference between a podcast show note and podcast description 

3. Why you should write your podcast show notes

4. Where to find podcast show notes 

5. How to write podcast show notes

6. Tips on writing effective podcast show notes

7. What to do when you've written your podcast show notes

8. Podcast Show Note Template 

Writing your podcast show note properly is instrumental in helping your podcast gain an audience. Remember to keep it chill, concise and valuable. If you're ever unsure of what to do don't feel bad, even veterans sometimes have a tough time crafting effective show notes for their podcast.

Using tools that help you generate show notes for podcasts can be a life saver. They take you nearly to completion automatically, and with just 1 button click, leaving the little touch ups for extra personalization up to you. SpeedyPod at https://speedypod.com is a great option for both beginners and pros, and it has the ability to generate transcripts with speaker labels, podcast summaries, and text posts for social media. Give it a try for free today and good luck on your podcasting journey! 

Does all of this seem too time consuming and confusing? Well then you may consider going the route of hiring professional podcast production services route. For more information, check out this article next https://speedypod.com/blog/diy-podcast-production-vs-podcast-production-services