Show Notes That People Want to Read

Each podcast episode has an associated blog post called the show notes. To various degrees, the show notes are  an in-depth written account of what happened during an episode plus additional resources that take the content one step further. Those resources include links to articles mentioned during the episode, guest bios and social channels, videos, and relevant calls-to-action.

Show Notes Provide Value 

Podcast show notes help reinforce an episode’s message by complementing the audio content with images and a post. These notes craft an in-depth look at a topic that can be consumed both audibly and visually. Commonly, the show notes contain an audio player, placed at the top of the notes, for listening. 

The show notes main benefits include:

• • Central location for listeners to access materials referenced during an episode
  • Persuade casual listeners to tune in to both  new and old episodes
  • Attract and educate new listeners about the podcast
  • Boost Search Engine Optimization (SEO) making the podcast easy to discover

Episode Summaries

An episode summary is a one paragraph description  that details a few high-level points regarding the episode. The summary is a gist, while show notes are more comprehensive deep dive. 

Summaries are attached to each episode and appear within most podcast listening apps including Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, etc.

Show Note Template 

Show notes follow all of the rules of a good blog post and content marketing. When written well, readers may be directed to the notes when searching. Assume they have never visited the website. Have a targeted set of SEO keywords in mind.

• • Episode Title: make it SEO friendly e.g “How to … ” “5 Ways…. “ “The one thing…”
  • Episode Summary: One paragraph of the highlights
  • Topics Discussed: Use bullet points to list the main episode takeaways. Label the section with an H2 header using the targeted SEO keywords
  • Resources Mentioned: Use bullet points to links to external resources 
  • Call To Action: Place all the calls to action together
    • Subscribe to a newsletter
    • Go to a link to get a free download
    • Click on a button to schedule an appointment
    • Reserve a spot for an upcoming event
    • Subscribe to the podcast 
    • Join a group on social media. 
  • Transcript of the Interview 

In Summation 

Podcast show notes don’t have to be hard. The outline you use during recording could form the basis of your notes. Collect all the information ahead and get a start prior to the interview. The benefits of a summation is  unquestionable.  Good luck!