Isn’t it just more work?
Show notes are essentially a written post on your website that relates to the content you cover in your podcast episodes.
And when there’s so much stuff you need to do to get your podcast out into the world it’s easy to chuck them onto the ‘can’t be stuffed’ pile.
But here’s why you shouldn’t forget about your podcast show notes…
Show notes encourage people to come to your website
Ideally you want the relationship with your audience to continue outside the time they’re listening to your show.
If people like an episode they might want to delve a little deeper into the content that you’ve covered and they’ll need a place to do that.
Or they might be keen to learn more about you so it’s good to have somewhere they can do a little snooping.
Getting people to your website via your show notes page gives them the opportunity to poke around and get a greater sense of who you are and what you do.
This additional point of contact helps them feel connected to you as a presenter and that’s great for strengthening the relationship you have with your audience.
Show notes are great for SEO
If you want your podcast to be found by new listeners it needs to be featured in search results and that’s where SEO comes in.
SEO is a process of making sure the posts and pages on your website are packed with keywords you want to be found for when people are searching for content in your niche.
To be indexed by Google your posts need to be longer than 300 words which means you can’t just jot down your episode title, an embed of your show and that’s it. You need to put in a little effort.
An easy way to get around this is by transcribing your episodes and placing the transcription on your show notes page or by using this transcript as the base to create a more detailed blog post.
Either way, the more relevant keywords your show notes pages have the better.
Show notes let you share other resources
At the end of your podcast episodes, it’s never a good idea to list off 700 things you want your audience to do because you want to keep it simple.
However, if you direct them to your show notes page you can house everything you want them to see there.
Maybe you’ve got an online course you’d like them to enrol in or maybe you want people to join your email list or purchase a product through one of your affiliate links.
If all of these things are detailed on your show notes page your audience can investigate on their own without feeling like you’re shoving it down their throats.
Show notes increase your authority
The more content you have on your website the more legitimate you’ll look to search engines and cyber passers-by.
Seeing as you’re already creating content for your podcast episode’s anyway, show notes can be an easy way to add information to your website without needing to come up with fresh content from scratch.
Building your authority online is an important part of growing your audience and your brand.
So, the more useful and information-packed your show notes are, the better.
Show notes can be accessed on all devices
When sharing your episodes you want a link that’s going to work for everyone no matter what device they’re on.
You might not realise it but if you share a link to your show in Apple Podcasts it doesn’t work for people on Android phones.
And we all know there’s nothing more frustrating than ending up in internet purgatory.
But a link to your show notes page works for everyone because it sends a user straight to your website, not a third-party podcasting app.
Just make sure you’ve got all the ways to subscribe listed on that page so people can go to the app that’s right for their phone.
Show notes are a great reference for your audience
If you’re referencing things you want your audience to check out or follow up on after the episode it’s best to detail those links on your show notes page.
That way listeners can relax and enjoy your content rather than having to listen intently with a notepad and pen.
The more helpful and detailed you can make these resources the better it’ll be for your audience.
Show notes give you more opportunities to share content
Not only can your audience share your show notes (another reason to make them interesting) you can also highlight small parts of each episode and profile them using a tool like Click To Tweet.
This can encourage your audience to share small tips or quotes from your show on social media which helps spread the word.
If you want to create a strong connection with your fans you need to give them more points of contact than just their ears.
So, if you’ve got time (and you should make time) show notes are worth the extra effort.
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.
very helpful! thanks 🙂
Hello Rachel, its 1.am in my part of the world, found your blog and love it already.
I am a Copywriter and now offering show note writing as a service.
Thanks for informative content.
Rachel, we’ve been podcasting for a year using our description as shownotes. 😒I do want to start doing a better job of it (transcriptions and/or a blogpost)…but we’re up to 50 episodes!! I’m overwhelmed – how do i start? And should i do posts for all our previous shows?
Hey Pat. That’s a big job so I totally get why it would feel overwhelming. I think it’s something you need to weigh up and part of that will be how realistic it is for you to transcribe old episodes. You might be able to find someone on Fiverr or Upwork who could help you edit the transcripts cheaply or it might be worth transcribing your episodes moving forward. You might also be able to get the same benefit by just creating really detailed show notes that give all the information you share in your episodes without it needing to be a word for word transcript https://rachelcorbett.com.au/blog/should-you-transcribe-your-podcast-episode/