Podcast Show Notes Templates

Did you know that show notes can help you grow your podcast and boost revenue from your podcast?

Podcast show notes are one of the most overlooked content by creators. A well-written show notes can help you boost your podcast’s visibility on Google search, drive listeners to your store and increase your podcast subscribers.

So, now you want to write show notes for your podcast, but don’t know how to start?

Then this article is for you.

In this article, you will learn:

• Must have elements you should add to show notes
• Popular show notes templates and examples

Without any further ado, let’s dive into the article.

What are Podcast show notes?

The show notes of a podcast are a written overview of an episode, designed to give listeners a quick snapshot of the episode and to engage them further. It's a key tool for capturing and retaining your listeners' attention.

Typically, all podcasts include show notes, and these show notes can take different formats for each podcast. They may include summaries, highlights, links to resources, and CTAs to engage the audience.

Usually, show notes are published on the podcast website page, below the episode player, but they can also be posted in the episode description section on podcast directories.

Show notes written on website pages tend to be more versatile as they allow for the inclusion of other elements and longer content, such as transcripts. On the other hand, show notes published on podcast directories often contain little more than a brief summary due to the maximum character restrictions imposed by these directories.

In other words, some content creators may use the terms "show notes" and "podcast summaries/descriptions," interchangeably, but there is a distinction - Show notes typically include a summary or description but can have many other elements that provide information about the episode and help increase engagement with the audience.

What are the benefits of podcast show notes?

1. Increased reach in Google search

Podcast show notes give a clear picture to Google of what your podcast episode is about. So by optimizing your podcast show notes with the keywords discussed on your podcast, your podcast will get more traffic from Google and will reach a new audience.

2. Make your podcast listeners into customers

You can add links to all the products mentioned in your podcast on your podcast show notes. This makes it easily accessible to your podcast listeners to check out your products/services and increases your sales.

3. Cross-promote other podcast episodes

You can add related podcasts in the show notes and drive your visitors to checkout and listen to other episodes. The more episodes your visitors listen to, the higher the chances they will become your subscribers.

7 Must-Have Elements to Include in Your Podcast Show Notes page

Now that you understand the value of show notes in growing your podcast, let's look at how to create a great show notes page for your podcast website.

1. Embed your podcast audio at the top of the show notes page

Start off by embedding your podcast audio player at the top of your page so your listeners can follow along as they read the show notes. This allows them to easily follow along and engage with the content on a deeper level.

How to embed your podcast episode on your website:

1. Login to your podcast hosting platform where your podcast is hosted (ex:rss.com)
2. Go to your episodes, then choose the episode you want to embed and click the “embed” option
3. Now copy the embed code & paste it into your website where you want to embed your podcast audio - If you use a CMS like WordPress, Squarespace, Blogger, etc, for your podcast website, add a HTML block (normally by clicking the icon "</>" in the text editor) on the page where you’d like your episode to appear & paste the code.

Now click save. Your podcast audio is now embedded on your website like this 👇

2. SEO Friendly Title

One of the biggest advantages of writing show notes is the organic traffic from Google.

Keyword-optimized show notes give you a big boost on google search rankings and can make your podcast appear on top when people search for content related to your show.

So make sure your podcast title & content of your show notes are optimized for the search intent of the user.

Make sure to:

• Include keywords people would search for in the title of your page
• Include the title in your website’s page URL
• Add keywords relevant to your podcast in the first paragraph of your show notes
• Format your show notes using appropriate headings & subheadings, if you have subsections, to make it easier for google to understand your content.

3. Summary of the Podcast

Write down a brief summary and make sure it covers the main topics discussed in the podcast episode.

Alternatively, you have the option to streamline this process by allowing Podsqueeze to generate episode descriptions for you using AI.

4. Key highlights of your podcast & Timestamps

People often don't have time to listen to an entire podcast episode straight away. Adding highlights to your show notes makes it easier for your listeners to skim through the content and decide whether to listen to the full episode. By including the key highlights, you're giving your audience a quick overview of the episode's main ideas, and making it easier for them to consume the content on their own time.

To make it even easier for your audience to navigate your show notes and find the parts they're most interested in, many podcasters include timestamps next to each highlight. This allows listeners to jump to the parts of the episode they're most interested in.

Manually adding chapter markers and descriptions to a podcast episode can be a time-consuming and tedious process. However, Podsqueeze streamlines this process by automatically adding chapter markers, timestamps, and brief descriptions based on the key topics discussed in the episode. This makes it easier for you to create organized, user-friendly chapters without spending hours listening to the episode and taking notes.

5. Guest bio

When you have a guest on your podcast, it's a good idea to include a section dedicated to them in your show notes. Giving your listeners more information about your guest and their stories helps them connect with the conversation on a deeper level and adds to the authenticity of your podcast. This can also help build trust and credibility with your audience.

The section must include a quick intro about the guest, what they do, links to their website and social media handles. You can ask your guest to provide this piece of content for you.

6. Transcript of your podcast episode

It is best practice to add the full transcript of your podcast episode to your show notes.

This has 2 benefits:

• Transcripts are a valuable addition to your podcast show notes because they include a wide variety of keywords related to your episode's topics. This helps improve your SEO and drives more traffic from search engines like Google, which can grow your listenership.
• Plus, transcripts make your podcast more accessible to everyone, including those who are hearing-impaired.

You may think that manually writing the transcript of your podcast can take a lot of time. But with Podsqueeze, you can get the transcript of your podcast automatically generated in just 1 click.

7. Call To Action

This is one of the most important sub-sections of your podcast show notes.

In this section, you share what action you want your listeners to take after listening to your podcast episode.

Some of the popular common CTA’s used by podcast creators include:

1. Subscribe the newsletter
2. Buy my (product name)
3. Follow me on twitter
4. Support our podcast on Patreon

These are the seven elements commonly found in professional podcast show notes. Now, let's delve into some template ideas to elevate your show notes to the next level.

5 Podcast Show Notes Templates + Examples

After reviewing the show notes of some of the most popular podcasts, we've curated five different templates for writing show notes. Let's get started.

1. Show Notes with Hook & Quotes

• Episode title - Title of the episode followed by the episode number. Make sure to include important keywords in your title to make it SEO-Friendly & increase your traffic from Google.
• Engaging hook - Start with a hook to get the attention of users to the podcast episode.
• Episode description
• Episode Highlights
• Quotes - Mention 1 or 2 Quotes from the podcast that users can take away from & share with their audience.
• Resources mentioned on the podcast - A list of resources mentioned on your podcast along with the links to each of them & CTA.
• Connect with {Guest} - Share the social media links, website links & product links of the guest who was on your show.
• Connect with {You} - Share links to your own resources, social media profiles & services where listeners can connect and get help from you.
• About the Guest - Ask your guest to provide a short bio including their achievements.

Example - Top Advisor Marketing Podcast

2. Short Form Show Notes

• Episode title - Title of the episode followed by the episode number. Make sure to include important keywords in your title to make it SEO-Friendly & increase your traffic from Google.
• Brief summary of the episode - Write a quick summary of What the podcast is about
• Episode Highlights
• Links to resources - Add links to resources you have mentioned on your podcast episode.
• CTA - The main action you want your users to take after listening to your podcast. It can be to subscribe to your newsletter, buy one of your products & join you on social media. If you have multiple CTA’s highlight the main one, and add the rest of your CTA as bulleted points.

Example - Proud Stutter Podcast

3. Monetization Show Notes with Affiliate Links & Sponsors

• Episode title - Title of the episode followed by the episode number. Make sure to include important keywords in your title to make it SEO-Friendly & increase your traffic from Google.
• Brief summary of the episode - Write a quick summary of What the podcast is about
• Sponsors / Affiliates mentioned on the podcast - Include links to any affiliate products or sponsor information in your show notes, along with any discount codes.
• CTA - The main action you want your users to take after listening to your podcast. It can be to subscribe to your newsletter, buy one of your products & join you on social media. If you have multiple CTA’s highlight the main one, and add the rest of your CTA as bulleted points.

Example - Dreamful Bedtime Stories Podcast

4. Show Notes with Transcript

• Episode title - Title of the episode followed by the episode number. Make sure to include important keywords in your title to make it SEO-Friendly & increase your traffic from Google.
• Brief summary of the episode - Write a quick summary of What the podcast is about
• Links to resources - Add links to resources you have mentioned on your podcast episode.
• Transcript of the podcast - Add the transcript of your podcast episode with speaker identification and respective timestamps.

Example - Good Morning Podcasters!

5. Show Notes with Takeaways as Bullet Points

• Episode title - Title of the episode followed by the episode number. Make sure to include important keywords in your title to make it SEO-Friendly & increase your traffic from Google.
• Brief introduction of the episode - A short one or 2 line introduction about what the episode is about.
• Takeaways from the Podcast - Main takeaways from your podcast episode as bullet points.
• Sponsor - Give a shout-out to the sponsor of your podcast along with the link for your audience to check them out.
• CTA
• Links to resources - Add links to resources you have mentioned on your podcast episode.

Example - Podcast Growth Hacks Podcast

Conclusion

Now that you have some templates to get started writing perfect show notes for your show it's important to keep them consistent from episode to episode. This will help your listeners find the information they're looking for and build trust in your podcast. Choose a template that works for you, and use it for every episode. Your show notes will become an important part of your podcast, and you'll see the benefits in no time!

If you're looking for a way to streamline your podcast production and save time on writing show notes, Podsqueeze is the perfect tool for you. With its AI technology, Podsqueeze can analyze your podcast episodes and automatically generate transcripts, descriptions, chapters, bullet points with takeaways, and much more for you and your listeners.