How to build a profitable podcast.
Few things in this world can be as powerful for your podcast as a set of strong, engaging podcast show notes. Read on to find out how...
NOTE - if you want AI to write your podcast show notes for you, you can sign up to a Freemium plan to Abney (Podcast AI) here 🤓
Podcasting works.
It works for two reasons:
However…
Podcasting can work even BETTER if you open up your insanely good audio content to those people consuming written content and therefore by default, enabling Google’s main search engine to index your content.
Welcome to the world of podcast show notes.
Over my years in the podcasting game, I have started to realise that podcasts with really good show notes seems to last and grow. Now this could be causation or correlation I'm not sure... but when starting out, we want to ensure you have every chance of success in growing and making your show profitable.
So we're going to do this right...
One thing most people do is to confuse podcast show notes with episode summaries. Before we proceed, let’s look at the difference between podcast show notes and episode summary.
Podcast show notes are intricately written accounts based on things that were said and occurred in a podcast episode. It also includes extra resources that could improve understanding of the episode content.
An episode summary involves writing a paragraph that summarizes the best point of the show. In short, show notes are often a much more detailed account of what can be learnt from your episode.
There are two clear advantages to writing high quality show notes.
Without these two factors, getting attention for your show will bee twice as hard...
Before we look at some real life examples, lets move through eight things to consider when constructing your show notes...
Considering your audience is very important when deciding on the format for your show notes. When you get to know your audience, you will learn how to get across to them. You have to know if your audience has the attention span required for a long post, or they prefer it shorter.
Once your format is selected, you must stay consistent...
Show notes can help you to potential listeners to permanent listeners. But this will be determined by how well you hold them down from the start of your show note. The first line and paragraph must be catchy and spark the interest of the reader.
Don’t just write sentences that are difficult to understand, seriously catch their attention...
You can do this by getting creative in the way you engage your potential listeners through your show notes. You could start with an exciting story, it could be a question that will get them seeking answers, and you could start with a controversial statement.
There are several other ways to catch their attention and provide a solid base for the rest of your show notes.
For new podcasters, you could try out different show note openers and keep a record of how each one performs. The one that performs the best should be your go-to opening style for each episode.
Using quotes is another way to spark the thought process of your readers and potential listeners. Quotes dig out emotions and spark action from your listeners.
The good thing about quotes is that they can help promote your show on social media as they are easy to share. It is a means of gaining organic traffic, as you can add the show link alongside the quotes.
Studies have shown that humans prefer graphical viewing to read a chunk of text. One of the ways you can create a more engaging show note and hold down the attention of your potential listeners is by using images in your show note. You could also use it to break up long texts so as not to bore the reader, as well as cause them to have to stare overlong text for too long.
There are different types of graphics you can include. You have the behind-the-scenes pictures of your show, and there are also the quotes that you make into graphics – this will help your audience feel more involved and have an image of your show in their head.
There are several free image websites for free photos. You will also find easy-to-use graphics tools that you can use in creating graphics for your show note.
You will likely refer to some website or resource on your show. If you bring on a guest, there are even more chances that he/she will mention a resource that people could refer to during the show.
You must add the links to every resource that is mentioned on your show. Your listeners can refer to these links when they need to refresh their memory or learn further about what your guest or you, the host, spoke about on the show.
One way to make the most of this is by getting affiliate links to the resources that you add to your show notes. Making you cash whilst also adding value to your readers.
Also be sure to link to your guests website/social profiles so we incentivise them to share and also link directly to the episode on the podcast directories so people can listen/subscribe there.
The attention span of humans reduces with every passing year; this is according to studies carried out by several researchers. Most readers only skim and pay attention to critical points in the text. Because people read some lines and flip through the rest, it is essential to add attention-grabbing subheadings through the text – this will keep your audience on the page longer than usual.
A descriptive and straightforward subheading is excellent. These subheadings will help the reader know the type of content they should expect and decide if they should read through or not. These subheadings help you break long text into more readable paragraphs, as long text can scare readers away.
For newbies in the podcasting world, the task of including transcripts is too daunting. However, when you settle in, transcripts can be added as they provide value.
You can reach deaf listeners and people that have hearing issues, as well as increase the chances of appearing in a search engine by having a good ranking. You do not always have to handle the transcription of your show by yourself. You can hire individuals or agencies to help you if you have the budget for it.
You can end your show note in different ways. Generally, it involves a summary of significant points and listing the show takeaways in bullet points. There is also the call-to-action style, where you can include a link or prompt your readers to check out a business or service.
Finish with a bang so that your listeners keep coming back...
Let's now jump into three examples so you can see how some awesome podcasts and businesses are leveraging this powerful podcasting tool:
For their show: Mobile Growth & Pancakes, Storemaven follow a proven template:
The steps are pretty straightforward, which gives you an idea beforehand of what the episode is all about before listening to the main podcast. You can see a sample of their podcast show note here.
Another brand that delivers exceptional show notes is Peakon, here is their structure:
Again, they have managed to include all the core parts that make up awesome show notes. You can check out an example here.
SaaS Marketer takes a slightly different approach and details a loose narrative around the show, whilst including links to directories and to the guests profiles:
As you can see, different examples of podcast show notes can work for different businesses as long as they follow a couple of basic rules:
If you do both of these you won't go wrong, but if you really want to nail this part of your podcast... here is our recommended template:
There are several templates you can use for your show notes. We have witnessed the creation of thousands of podcast episodes and have come to determine what we believe to be the best possible structure for these...
Here is what we propose:
OK there we go ;)
We have spent much time on this blog talking about how to start, launch and grow a podcast… and your show notes are a crucial part in the growth stage of your show.
We need you to ALWAYS think about how you can add more value to your listeners… because if you think about this, and then do this… your show AND your business will grow.
So take the template above… and start writing some awesome show notes.
Send us a link to your first attempt to support@bcast.fm and we will feed back ;)
