How to Write Notes for Podcast Shows (+ Reasons to Post Them) (2023)

Podcast show notes are a great opportunity for podcasters to get their show public. They differ from podcast transcripts, which are a verbatim rendition of the entire episode.

Show Notes, on the other hand, are a summary of each episode. They add value to your show by engaging your audience, attracting new listeners, and getting more guests to perform on your show.

What's more, they have the potential to turn readers into listeners.

When you can create transcripts and show notes, you have more power. If you can only choose one, go to the show notes.

Today we're going to discuss the benefits of podcast show notes and how to respond to them.

The Benefits of Writing (and Publishing) Podcast Show Notes

Publishing your podcast show notes gives you an edge over other podcasters. For this reason.

You will attract more listeners

Writing show notes for your podcast gives listeners an idea of ​​what your podcast is about.before they listen. If people are already browsing a topic covered by your podcast, they will be more inclined to listen after reading the show notes.

It's a good chunk of what to expect and tells the reader whether or not it's what they're looking for. It also shows the value of the content (or how much fun they can expect) in your podcast.

SEO Optimization

You can take the opportunity to ensure your show notes include important keywords that will appear in search engines.

This is because it gives Google the tools to efficiently crawl and index your content.

When your show notes are SEO optimized, you increase the chance that more people will find your podcast and ultimately increase your audience and reach.

And don't just stop at the show notes. Customize them for a blog, newsletter, and social networks like LinkedIn and TikTok. LinkedIn posts are easier to read, and TikTok now displays search results based on text descriptions. (Are you afraid of posting videos on TikTok?Wave got you covered.)

Listeners will take more action

Once the audience has read the show notes, they will most likely accept your message. As such, they're likely to take action when they read your show notes, such as: B. Subscribe to your podcast, enroll in a class you offer, or buy a product or service that you sell.

Many attempts have been made over the years to segment podcasts and associate those segments with various image covers, related links, mentioned links, and attached media. As long as this is widely used in RSS or other tools, you're good to go with good show notes.

It also allows listeners to quickly recap the episode in case they missed something or want to find a link you mentioned in the broadcast.

What goes in the show notes?

Below is our recommended podcast show notes format to help youMake your program successful.

Contains an SEO-optimized title

As mentioned above, you want someone searching for a topic related to one of your episodes to appear at the top of the results.

SEO is a fancy way of saying, "Make it clear to people what you're talking about so they can find your show." By including show notes with relevant keywords in your podcast, you're well on your way to doing just that.

Be sure to include your keyword in the title, first sentence, and body of your podcast show notes to help you rank higher in search results.

Are you talking about a dozen different topics and keywords? Think of related keywords that someone would use for entertainment or educational searches on your topics. Then use those words to summarize your program.

For example, if you have a show where you talk about all the movies you've seen recently and your overall opinion is positive because they helped you cope with the loss, you could create a title that's not directly talks about it, but summarizes their experience. Conversation:The 3 Must-See Movies of the Year If You've Just Lost a Loved One.

Please provide a description of each episode.

Open with a hook. A short and persuasive description that immediately grabs the reader's interest. Aim for around 140 characters to fit Google search result descriptions, easy tweet sharing, podcast feed episode description fields, etc. This initial summary of a sentence or two will help attract more listeners to your podcast series.

Then tell readers how your podcast episode could benefit them or enrich their lives.

And definitely try to avoid long descriptions like big blocks of text like this one.habitit can cost you listeners.

Agenda or summary of discussion topics

An agenda helps the reader easily navigate through the text so they can see what was discussed in the podcast and when.

Instead of bullet points, use timestamps to create a simple structure that readers can easily follow. This should essentially be a list of your top talking points. A description of the individual topics is not required. Just a list of keywords or phrases for readers to scan quickly.

Add complete information about your guests

If you've had a guest on your podcast, this should be clearly addressed in the show notes as it can be a huge draw for attracting new listeners.

Include their name, occupation (or why they were on your show), and maybe an interesting and relevant fact about them. For example:

"In this episode, trauma specialist John Harvey joins us and reveals his secret to overcoming fear."

Another fantastic benefit of posting show notes is that you can attract more guests to your show.

Let your potential guests know that you are posting the show notes to give them the opportunity to share their relevant channels, helpful links, discount codes and online activity.

Add links to resources

Links to relevant data, articles, research, etc. should be included in the podcast show notes. Be sure to include the full URL so readers can easily find it.

It's also a great place to put links to previous episodes that might be relevant. This encourages listeners to come back and discover old content, which in turn helps you get more listeners.

Include a compelling call-to-action (CTA).

A clear and compelling CTAIt is necessary for all marketing efforts as it encourages listeners to take a desired action.

The CTA should be relevant to your episode. In other words, if you love your new organic shampoo, take this opportunity to increase sales by including a Buy Now button.

If your episode was more generic, make your CTA about itAsk the audience to leave a comment, subscribe to your podcast orsubscribe to your newsletter.

It's best to add one button per episode so you don't overwhelm listeners.

Diploma

Podcast shownotes are a great and underappreciated way to promote the sheer magic of your podcast.

It is beneficial for you and your potential listeners as you can maximize your SEO efforts and rank higher in search results; This, in turn, helps listeners find your podcast when they search for a similar topic in your field.

And if you haven't done this in previous episodes, you can tweak your back catalog, perhaps during breaks in releasing new episodes.

Use these tips to add value to your listeners, grow your audience, and drive new traffic to your podcast.