Odds are you’re no more than two degrees removed from a podcast at any given social gathering. Already prolific before 2020, they’ve sprung up like hydra heads during COVID, and with good reason: podcasting is fast becoming one of the most popular content formats out there.
A podcast can be an invaluable tool for your business. Podcasts give your customers a chance to learn about the people behind the brand, while providing you with a platform for promotion and industry networking. However, there’s one important element often overlooked by eager ’casters: show notes. Here’s why you need ’em and some advice on how to write podcast show notes that add value for your audience.
Does My Podcast Need Show Notes?
It might seem counterintuitive to combine an audio medium with a written one, but show notes should form an essential part of your podcasting strategy. They give newcomers a chance to quickly get to grips with your brand without having to slog through your podcasting back catalogue, while committed fans can explore them for further reading or to recap some of that sweet knowledge you’ve been expounding.
Podcast show notes are also a fantastic place to advertise products, services or events; simply place links to the topics or sites you’ve been chatting about on a particular episode. You can also go deeper into the subjects discussed or highlight any errors or omissions (which happen to the best of us, let’s be real).
Is this guy enjoying your podcast show notes or simply taking his 17th selfie of the day? We’ll never know.
How To Write Podcast Show Notes
‘I need to know how to write show notes for my podcast!’, we hear you cry. For starters, the best way to write podcast show notes is to treat them as a separate entity to the podcast itself – their own piece of work. Yes, of course the two are inextricably linked, but don’t think of them as a brief, soulless recap of your episodes.
Show notes should be engaging, dynamic and, most of all, valuable. They should add to what your listeners have heard in the podcast, or even engage newcomers to listen to your show. Remember, a good few members of your audience will read your show notes before checking out the podcast itself, so they should be well written enough to lure them in.
What Should I Write On My Podcast Show Notes?
The main thrust of your notes is going to be the subject matter of the podcast episode in question. Here are a few pointers for solid show note creation, whatever your subject.
Find Your Brand Voice And Stick To It
Yes, you’re using your actual voice for the podcast, but your show notes need to be as unique and distinctive as the real thing. You’ve no doubt got an ideal voice in mind for your brand, which you use in your website and blog copy; make sure that sculpted, honed voice also translates to your show notes.
Imagine Your Ideal Audience Member And Write To Them
Along with your brand voice, you’ve probably got a target audience in mind. Write your notes as if you’re talking directly to them. This can really help hone your voice and content as well as appeal to the exact type of customers you want to attract.
Write In First Person
This is especially handy if your podcast takes the form of an interview, or if it’s just one person talking. Writing in the first person can lend your writing an intimate, personal touch – an invaluable asset in the cold, chasmic void of the digital world. (Only joking, we love it here.)
When it comes to style, you can take a narrative approach and recap what you’ve chatted about in an engaging manner – OR you can add to the main show with additional thoughts and content. What you do here will probably depend on both your brand and the format of your show.
If you can’t see the show notes wood through the podcasting trees then we can help! Outsource your show notes to the PepperStorm team and we’ll make sure your content is both engagingly consistent and consistently engaging.
