The past few years have seen incredible growth for podcasts! An estimated 32% of Americans listen to podcasts – and podcast creation continues to grow with more than 700,000 podcasts available today. Credit.
It isn’t a surprise to see the growth of podcasts for brands of all sizes. An average of 87% of podcast listeners listen to most of a podcast episode. The average time spent watching a Facebook video? 23 Seconds.
It’s pretty clear for 2020: Audio > Video
If you have already started a podcast, or are looking to begin one, it is my hope that you’ll use this blog as a resource to create a well-rounded, professional homebase for your podcast.
There are a few key elements you need to have in your podcast page or website. Let’s begin!
The 5 Key Elements of a Perfect Podcast Page for Your Website
ONE
A Short Podcast Description
It’s your goal to have your podcast grow and reach new audiences. Podcast descriptions are very important when listeners are weighing up whether or not to hit play. By having a short introduction, close to the top of the page, new listeners will be able to get the scope on the who, what, when, where and why of your podcast.
The ideal podcast description answers two questions for your potential listener:
- Is this show for me?
- What am I going to get out of listening to this?
In your one-two paragraph introduction, you can include:
- Who the podcast is for
- What will the listener get out of the podcast
- Who are you
- What can they expect – will it be a solo show? Will you bring on guests? Do you release episodes every week or monthly?
TWO
Links to Your Podcast on All Platforms
You’ve got people on your podcast page, interested and learning about your podcast – great!
Make it SUPER easy for them to listen on their preferred platform. I like to add in one to two sections of all the links of where listeners can potentially tune in – iTunes, Spotify, Google, Anchor, etc.
And make sure to double check that these links work!
THREE
About the Podcaster
If a podcast description is like a book jacket, then we can’t forget about adding in a bio on you. You’re the host of your podcast and listeners want to know more about you. Creating a short bio – with a headline of “About the Host/Hostess” helps your listener begin to connect with you, so that one day they will be more likely to purchase your products or services.
In your brief about section, you can include:
- Your credentials or experience
- A little bit of your personality – make sure you use the same tone voice as you do when you speak on your podcast!
- Differentiation – what separates you from the pack of other podcasters?
- Your why – share a little bit of why you began the podcast and what you hope listeners will gain from listening to it
FOUR
Popular Podcast Episodes
I love adding in a section for recent podcast episodes or the most popular episodes of podcasts. You’re always going to be having new listeners to your podcast, so this is a great way to catch them up on your key episodes, or the ones that have been listened to the most.
Check out this blog post on How to Re-Purpose Content to Save Time!
If you have a special series that you ran, you can also include a section highlighting it. My client, The Love Theory, created a Break Up Series on her podcast, so we included a playlist of those episodes on her podcast page!
FIVE
Transcribe Your Podcasts
I’ve saved the best for last – transcribing your podcasts. This is not technically included ON your podcast page, but instead inside blog posts for your podcast.
There’s a few reasons why this is extremely important:
- Effective SEO By transcribing the audio, people are able to search for your podcast content on search engines which creates an entirely new avenue for traffic.
- People Want to Read A majority of first time visitors to your podcast may prefer to read a transcript to gauge how worthwhile the content is. As well, you provide an opportunity for those hard of hearing or deaf to be able to enjoy your content.
- It’s Good for Social Media By adding transcripts you can make your podcast immediately easier to share on all social media platforms. Things like quotes, highlights, or interviews are easier to share when available in text-form and increase the viral potential for your content.
- Add Additional Show Notes + Links Many times, after I’ve listened to a podcast, I like to go back to it so I can write down notes (if I originally listened in the car), find a website or person that was referenced, etc. By adding podcast transcripts you can create a wholesome user experience and show how much you are willing to go to provide valuable content for your listeners.
In your Podcast Transcript, make sure to include:
- An Introduction to the Podcast – similar to your description of the podcast episode!
- A shareable image – for Pinterest + social media purposes
- An embedded player of your podcast
- Links to listen to the podcast on all platforms
- A through transcript – or at least bullet point summary of the podcast
Check out Rise With Me’s Podcast Transcriptions as an example of one of the right ways to do this!
Lastly, it’s super easy to provide transcripts for your podcasts. You can use a free app like this one to transcribe your podcast automatically or hire someone from Fiverr to transcribe and then upload to the podcast to your blog!
Want to see some podcast page examples? Head on over to my Pinterest Podcast Board to get some creative ideas!
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