If you’re looking to understand the importance and benefits of podcast show notes, then this article is for you.

Grab a coffee and join me as I take a deep dive into those reasons and benefits, as well as reveal the 12 elements that go into making a show notes page as good as it can be.

Let’s start with those all-important benefits…

The 5 Biggest Benefits of Podcast Show Notes

While creating detailed show notes can take a little time, they are a vital component of a podcast, with multiple benefits for both the podcast itself and the listener.

And as more and more podcasters are latching onto the idea, those podcasts without great show notes run the risk of losing out in the battle for exposure.

So, before we delve into what you should include in your show notes, let’s take a look at the benefits of making them in the first place… 

1. Great podcast show notes help to attract new listeners

Arguably the main benefit to the podcaster is that well written show notes bring in new listeners. 

How? 

Through keywords and search engine optimisation (SEO). Yep, sorry, I said the ‘S’ word. 

I like to think of SEO as ‘common sense(o)’. Your show notes should include words that reflect what the podcast episode is about, who is in the podcast, what they are most famous for as well as anything new and current. These are the things that people will search for on both Google and native podcast platforms.

For example, if you run a book podcast and interview an author about their new book, it would make sense to include the author’s name, the book they are most well-known for and the title of their new book. 

For some ideas, hop onto Google, type the author name followed by * and Google will auto-fill some suggestions for you:

You can also just type the author’s name into Google and see what comes up in the People Also Ask section:

Clicking on the arrows to reveal an answer will add more arrows to the list. Super simple keyword research:

2. Show notes are genuinely useful and give more value to current listeners 

Podcast episodes are often quite lengthy time investments for listeners, with run times between 20 to 60 minutes most common. As such, listeners may want to get a brief rundown of the main topics covered before they click that play button.

Would you buy a book by an author you love even if you didn’t know what it was about? Probably not.

Help your audience and potential new listeners by writing show notes that give them a true flavour of what the episode is about. 

3. Show notes allow podcasters to promote the back catalogue

I used to work for a publishing company, and I can assure you that there is a lot of value in a backlist. 

And your show notes offer a perfect place to promote it. Adding links to relevant past episodes that are connected to the current one gives listeners multiple opportunities to engage with your podcast, which builds trust and connection as well as increases plays for existing episodes.

More plays for your podcast can be one of the key metrics the algorithms look for in boosting a podcast up the rankings…

4. Podcast show notes offer a way to get listeners onto your website

While it is very important to have genuinely useful and valuable show notes on the native podcast platform, what I see a lot of podcasters doing is having a ‘lite’ short form version of the show notes on those platforms, with a link through to their website for more detailed, long-form show notes.

This can be a good tactic to use if a podcast has its own website—which, if it doesn’t, I would highly recommend it does. 

The short-form version should include all of the elements listed below that are useful to the listener, while the long-form notes will attract those who are super-interested over to your website. This gives you a great opportunity to offer more value and, crucially, to ask them to sign up for your email newsletter where you can keep them informed of new episodes.

5. Show notes can be repurposed in other forms of content

Being able to utilise podcast show notes in other ways as part of your content, email and social media marketing strategies means that a podcaster can get so much value out of the time spent creating killer show notes.

An example workflow could look like this:

• Create the long-form show notes
• Edit this down to a short-form version so you now have both
• The short-form version can be used for the email that goes out to subscribers to tell them about the new podcast episode.
• Elements from both the long-form versions can be pulled out and used as social media quotes and captions.

11 Things To Include In Your Podcast Show Notes

Now that we’ve established the benefits for both the creators and the listeners, let’s look at the key elements to include in podcast show notes to maximise their impact.

1. An SEO-tailored title + hook

Just as a great headline is crucial for blog posts, and a powerful subject line key for email marketing, a well-crafted podcast title is vital to maximise the success of the episode.

This is the first place you need to think about SEO and keywords. What is the thing that the podcast episode talks about that is most likely to be searched for? 

This needs to be in the headline, and it then needs to be framed in a way that appeals to people and makes them want to listen.

This is done by employing copywriting tactics to entice potential listeners with hooks. These hooks come in many forms, the most common being:

• Emotional
• Curiosity
• Question
• Fear
• Secret
• Surprise
• FOMO (fear of missing out)

There’s a lot to think about when crafting your title. As the great Don Draper once famously said:

‘Spend 50% of your time writing your headline.’

Thankfully, we all have access to something that Don didn’t—Headline Studio from Coschedule. It’s free and mega useful for analysing your headlines, scoring them out of 100 and offering pointers to improve. 

The tool suggests an optimum number of characters to use as well as highlighting common, uncommon, emotional and power words within your title. Linked word banks mean you can easily find inspiration to make tweaks to boost your title score.

Aim for 80+.

2. An episode description, again with SEO in mind

This should build on your title, giving a brief summary (3-5 short sentences) that captures the main points and essence of the episode.

What does this episode talk about that people are searching for online? Who is featured in this episode (either as an interviewee or as the main subject of the episode), and what do people search for regarding them?

This example is from the Build Your Own Copywriting Business podcast and I think this overview works very well because it gets the key subject matter of the episode across quickly, using keywords multiple times. Amanda Hand may not be a household name, but for anyone searching for podcasts on content strategy, content marketing, content and copywriting, then this description is going to tick those SEO keyword check boxes.

As well as hitting the practical aspects of search functionality, the words also excite and entice using phrases such as ‘high-performing content that drives business growth’ and ‘dynamic field of content strategy’. 

While being told that ‘Amanda is a must-listen voice’ adds a sense of urgency that enticed me to listen to this episode last week while taking a bath.

3. A short, engaging bio of the guest

Including a snappy bio of the guest(s) is a great way to tap into a little more SEO juice as well as bring personality and flavour to the show notes.

And remember, the ‘guest(s)’ don’t need to be either live on the podcast or even alive on this earth. They can still have a bio.

Let’s say you have a history podcast. Calling out the highs and los of Henry VIII’s colourful life in a bio would be an intriguing and beguiling bio to entice curiosity for anyone searching for a podcast about his life;

Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. During his 38-year reign, he had six wives, initiated many wars against the French and Scots (amongst others), and brought about both the English Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries. If that wasn’t enough, the 54-inch waistline monarch appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England for which he was excommunicated by the pope.

I’d listen to that.

The words in bold are the keyword phrases that are often most associated with Henry VIII, and thus most likely to be searched for.

4. A killer quote as another hook

Quotes are a fantastic second-level hook to really grab people and entice them to listen. Stephen Bartlett utilises quotes very well in his headers—here are just a few:

‘Our comfortable lives are causing cancer’ with Dr. Liberman, January 2024 (curiosity hook—how is this possible?)

‘Popular treat now considered deadlier than smoking’ with David Raichlen, February 2024 (fear hook—am I consuming this treat?)

‘I was a homeless dad at 15 and had $200k debt!’ with Casey Neistat, December 2023 (emotional hook—OMG! Poor guy! What happened next?)

The show notes offer a clean way of adding the quotes as hooks while keeping the title short and clear. 

5. Time stamps of the main topics covered

Time stamps, ideally clickable time stamps linked to the exact spot in the episode, are such a useful element to include in show notes. They can help potential listeners to navigate through to the parts that interest them the most so that they can get that part of the conversation straight away.

And they can also help those that have listened already to jump back to a segment that they want to re-listen to or reference, without them having to make a mental or physical note about where in the episode that interesting part was.

I listen to a lot of entrepreneurial/SEO podcasts and love to see time stamps in show notes before I even begin to listen, as I find knowing they are there lets me enjoy the episode far more without having to make constant notes on things. 

6. Structure and formatting

Show notes can become quite lengthy and without proper structure and formatting, they can start to look like a wall of daunting text that nobody is going to want to read.

To avoid this, break chunky paragraphs up into smaller bitesize pieces, and add space between them to allow the elements to breathe.

You can use dashes to create visual lines between sections, too. So that your

7. Links to resources/things mentioned

For the same reason that time stamps are important, so are clickable links to any resources or references that are mentioned in the podcast. Having them means that people can focus on listening to the podcast rather than jotting down things to look up at the end—and potentially missing something valuable while they are distracted making notes.

When we think about the types of things people are doing at the same time as listening to a podcast, this makes even more sense.

For many, free time is such a limited commodity, especially on work days, that podcasts are often listened to while people are driving or doing chores like washing the dishes.

Making notes while doing either of those activities is difficult with the latter and downright dangerous with the former. 

As such, it’s super helpful for listeners to be told at the start of each podcast episode that all references mentioned will be linked to in the show notes, so people can just enjoy the episode and then click any things that interest them at the end, directly from the show notes.

Don’t forget to include links to any relevant blog posts that you have on your website, too. Any opportunity you get to entice listeners onto your website, and then potentially onto your email list, should be grasped with both hands.

8. Your affiliate links/sponsored links

Alongside all links for referenced things in the episode, show notes are the perfect vehicle for adding links for any sponsors as well as affiliate links to further monetise your podcast.

Again, tell people within the podcast episodes that links to the sponsors, products or services talked about are included in the show notes. 

It’s also not a bad idea to mention how affiliate links help the podcast grow and provide even more value for listeners. This helps to encourage people to click on your links rather than just hop onto Amazon and type the product in directly.

9. Links to relevant back catalogue episodes

While we’re talking about links, highlighting previous episodes of your podcast that are relevant to the current episode is a great way to steer your listeners to more of your content that they may not be aware of. 

Adding these to the end of the show notes makes total sense.

At this point, it’s also good practice to go into the show notes for those episodes that you are linking to and add your new episode as a link in those show notes, too. This is a way of mirroring the content silo strategy so often employed by bloggers, and can help listeners to easily navigate to content that they are going to find interesting and helpful to them.

10. A well-crafted CTA

By now, your show notes will be packed full of useful information for your listeners. The podcast episode has given value, and the show notes have compounded the benefits of it to the listener by making it easy for them to find any relevant useful information, whether within the episode or through links.

So now is the ideal time to think about the single most beneficial action your listeners can take that will help your business to grow.

What is the ideal action you want them to perform?

Adding a great call to action at the end of your show notes is the way to do this. Ideas include:

• Sign up for an email newsletter
• Support the show on Patreon/Acast (or whichever platform you use)
• Get our exclusive merch

11. A full transcript

Adding a full episode transcript to your show notes is valuable in many ways.

As mentioned earlier, people are often multi-tasking when listening to podcasts. And having to pause the episode while you noisily fill the sink to wash the dishes is a royal pain in the proverbial—for me, at least.

If a transcript is included with the episode, it’s possible to follow along visually on podcast listening apps like Spotify, meaning you can listen to the episode and read along at the same time. And people love this feature.

It’s not just podcasts that are picking up on this. Streaming services are also reporting a similar trend. In 2022, Netflix reported that:

‘…40% of its global users have subtitles (more commonly known as “closed captions” in some countries) on all the time, while 80% switch them on at least once a month – stats that far exceed the number of viewers who need captioning because of hearing impairment.’

This is something I do pretty regularly, too.

Furthermore, for accessibility purposes, including a transcript makes a podcast as inclusive as possible. 

The RNID reports that ‘12 million adults in the UK are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus’. That’s a lot of people. For them, being able to follow along in a podcast episode using the transcript is not just valuable but necessary.

As accessibility laws begin to come in across Europe in the digital publishing world, it may only be a matter of time before including a transcript becomes a legal requirement.

12. Add a Q&A

Some podcast platforms like Spotify allow creators to add a Q&A panel to the show notes. This is a fabulous way to get a little interaction going with listeners, as well as getting some feedback on each episode. Understanding more about what resonates the most with your audience can help to steer future content, and further help a podcast grow.

Responses to Q&A’s are private by default but can be published so that others can see them. Spotify have a useful guide on this here.

Conclusion

As this article shows, the power of well-written podcast show notes is immense, with multiple benefits for both the show itself and the listener base.

Done well, show notes can be repurposed to be used in blog posts, email newsletters and social media content, meaning the time and effort spent can give back in multiple ways.

I hope this post has been useful for you, and that it gives you a good framework to work from when crafting show notes for your podcast.

Alternatively, if you’d like help writing podcast show notes for you, get in touch and let’s have a quick chat.

Overall, well-crafted show notes can complement the audio content of a podcast, enriching the listening experience and providing additional value to both new and existing listeners.

---

Head over here for more ways a copywriter can help your business grow…