The audio icing on your podcast cake
Having a professional podcast intro and outro can mean the difference between sounding like you’ve thrown something together and sounding like a professional show.
If you’re going to create a pre-produced introduction with a voice-over introducing you you’ll probably need to get someone to create this for you (unless you’ve got sweet audio skills).
So how do you make sure you end up with the right podcast intro and outro for your show?
Have a detailed idea of what you want
There’s nothing worse, as an audio producer (that’s the person who you’ll get to put your podcast intro together) than having a client come to you with a brief that says “make me something.”
Why? Because they’ll have no idea where to start and the chances your creative vision matches theirs is almost zero. Unless, of course, you’ve worked with them before and they know what you like.
When you’re hiring a professional you have to give them as much detail and direction as possible.
This will not only make it a lot easier for them to do their job but it’ll save you time and money because you won’t have to go back and forth making changes.
If you’re not sure how to explain what you want in words, send them audio examples of other intros you like so they can get a sense of your preferred style.
It’s also a good idea to give them a really clear idea of what the show is about but also what you want people to feel when they hear your intro.
Choose your music
Finding the right music takes A LOT of time, so this part of the process is something you’ll want to do yourself if possible.
Giving an audio producer a track you like will make things much easier and cheaper because you won’t have to pay them to do the searching (which can take wayyyyyyyyyyyy longer than you think).
It’ll also help them further understand the tone and vibe of your show because the type of music you choose will say a lot about how you hear the style of your content.
Here are some music websites to get you started…
Come up with a tagline
It’s a great idea to introduce your podcast using a tagline that sums up what the show is about.
This brings new listeners up to speed quickly without having to annoy regular listeners by resetting your concept every week.
At the end of your show, it’s also a good idea to have an outro that wraps things up. This can be a great place to include your website or social pages so you don’t have to waste time covering that inside the content of your show.
The other thing to think about is that the intro and the outro should always match.
You want these pieces of audio production to sound like bookends that wrap up your show in a way that makes audio sense, which means you want to use the same piece of music for both pieces of audio.
To hear what I’m talking about check out the intro and outro for my podcast, You’ve Gotta Start Somewhere (NB: the outro is at [01:13:45] because I have a postscript on each episode)…
Why is an intro and outro important?
Think about these two pieces of production as your audio version of McDonald’s golden arches or Apple’s partially ingested apple.
When people see those logos they immediately think something about the brand they’re associated with.
Similarly, when people hear your intro you want them to feel something. And you want it to set the tone for your content.
If you’re creating a positive show, the music needs to reflect that, as does the voiceover.
Your intro and outro is also something your audience will become attached to, so you want to put a fair amount of creative thought into it to get it right.
What if you just want to use music without a voice-over?
No problems!
As long as you’ve got a piece of music that sets the tone for your show you can just fade it down and welcome your audience ‘live’ without getting a voice-over to introduce you.
Keeping it simple is absolutely fine but you need music at the very least to make sure your show sounds polished.
Got a burning podcasting question you’d like answered? Send me an email.
Want to start your own podcast but need a little help? Download my “How To Start A Podcast” guide or sign up for my online podcasting course, PodSchool.
