If you are not creating show notes for your podcast episodes, you're missing out on a great growth opportunity!
What are show notes?
Show notes are the text that accompanies your podcast in all podcatchers; they are a chance to give a summary of your episode and provide any items that may enrich the listening experience for your followers.
Show notes are a great way for potential followers to find you while searching their podcasting app or by finding your free Acast website through Google or other search engines.
What should I include in my show notes?
Your Show Notes should include the following:
Episode summary: What was the topic of discussion? Did you have any guests? Let browsers know why they should listen to that episode!
Guest information: If you have a guest, it's always a best practice to link to their website or social media in your show notes.
Resources: Did you read a specific book or article to research your podcast? Or perhaps you mentioned a YouTube video or other content. Link to that here!
Timestamps: Let your listeners know when specific content appears in the episode. This could be particularly helpful if your episode contains sensitive subject matter or spoilers during just a short section of the show. This allows listeners the chance to skip ahead.
Links to your social media or website: Always invite listeners, old and new, to follow you wherever you may have a social presence. Or, if your website contains other items like merchandise, make sure your listeners know that link is in the show notes!
How do I create show notes and where will followers see them?
You can create show notes from within your Acast dashboard when you create a new episode by following these steps:
1. Once you've uploaded your episode recording and any show art, head to the episode's "summary" and get started! You can add links and any text you like.
2. After you publish your episode, the notes provided here as well as your latest episode will be pushed out to podcasting apps and your Acast website right away! Please note that some podcasting apps have restrictions on what you can add to your note's format (some do not allow clickable links or pictures).
4,000 characters and other limitations
To ensure that your carefully crafted show notes are displayed in the best light, Acast limits the content of your show notes to 4,000 characters (this includes the characters used in any links). This aligns with the displays allowed in the most popular podcasting apps like Apple Podcasts.
Many podcasting apps may not allow pictures or bold and italic texts. Podnews offers a great resource for the most popular app limitations.
How will show notes increase my SEO?
When you make the decision to host your podcast on Acast, you are provided with a free website (customizable on some plans). The show notes you provide are now searchable, meaning your podcast can now be found outside of podcasting apps and on the web!
