Show notes are the text that goes with each episode of your podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your website. They do three jobs: convince someone to hit play, help people who’ve already listened find what was mentioned, and give search engines text to understand what it’s about. Good show notes have a clear summary up top, a list of topics, timestamps, and links.
There’s a template to copy at the end. First, here’s what makes them work.
What people see first matters most
In almost every podcast app, the description gets cut off. Only the first few lines are visible before “see more.” Those two or three sentences need to answer:
- What is this episode about?
- Who is it for?
- Why should I listen to it now?
Compare:
Weak: In this episode, we have a really interesting chat with our guest, where we talk about lots of different topics.
Better: If you freelance and don’t know what to charge, this episode is for you. Accountant Paula Ríos explains how to calculate your rate without giving your time away.
The second one names the topic, the audience, and who’s talking. It also includes the words someone would search for.
What to include (in order)
1. Hook and summary
Two or three sentences like the ones in the example above. If you have a keyword for the episode, work it in naturally here. More on this in SEO for podcasts.
2. What you’ll learn or hear
A list of three to six points. Keep them specific:
- How to calculate an hourly rate based on your real expenses
- Why charging per project might work better for you
- What to do when a client asks for a discount
3. About the guest
Two lines: who they are and why they’re on the episode. Plus their social handles or website.
4. Timestamps
Useful for episodes over twenty minutes. On YouTube, if you start with 00:00 and include at least three, they turn into navigable chapters.
00:00 Introduction
02:15 How Paula got started in accounting
08:40 The most common pricing mistake
19:30 Hourly rate vs. per project
31:00 Listener questions5. Links mentioned
Everything that came up: books, tools, other episodes, articles. It saves people from writing to ask “what was the name of that book you mentioned?”
6. Call to action
Just one. Follow the podcast, leave a review, send a question for the next episode. Ask for five things and people will do none of them.
7. Credits and disclosures
Who produced it, who edited it, the music used and its license and, if applicable, the sponsor mention.
Tone: write the way you talk on the show
Your show notes are part of your brand. If your podcast is laid-back and funny, stiff notes feel out of place. If it’s serious and technical, an overly casual tone hurts your credibility. Read your notes out loud: they should sound like you.
How much to write
There’s no required length. Some rough guidelines:
| Where | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Podcast apps | A strong summary up top; the rest organized and easy to scan |
| YouTube | Full description with chapters and links |
| Your website | Expanded version: summary, key points, standout quotes and, if you can, an edited transcript |
On your website, you can go longer because there the goal is also for Google to find you. In the apps, the priority is a quick read.
Mistakes that keep coming up
- Copying the same description for every episode and only swapping the guest’s name.
- Giving away the whole episode in the notes. If you’ve already read the answer, why listen?
- Broken or generic links: “visit our website” with no link.
- Out-of-sync timestamps because the audio was edited after they were written.
- Forgetting the guest: their links are a courtesy and make it more likely they’ll share.
How to do it fast
Writing show notes can take longer than it seems. To speed things up:
- While recording, keep a document open and jot down the approximate time of each topic change and every resource mentioned.
- When you’re done, ask the guest to confirm their links.
- Use a fixed template and just fill it in.
- Repurpose: the summary from your notes doubles as text for social media and your clips.
If you do panel discussions or long interviews, the outline you prepared before recording is already half a draft of your notes. See how to put one together in how to write a podcast script.
Template to copy
[Hook: who this episode helps and what problem it solves, in 1-2 sentences]
[Short summary of the conversation, 2-3 sentences]
In this episode:
- [Specific point 1]
- [Specific point 2]
- [Specific point 3]
About [guest name]:
[Who they are in 1-2 lines]. Find them at [social / website].
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
[mm:ss] [Topic]
[mm:ss] [Topic]
Mentioned in this episode:
- [Resource with link]
- [Another episode with link]
[One single call to action]
Produced by: [name]. Music: [title, artist, and license].If your podcast also lives on video
If you publish the episode on YouTube, your notes do double duty: description and chapters. And if you recorded the conversation in a 3D studio like remocast, you can mention the set or the channel it came from, so anyone who arrives through the video knows where to find the rest. To think through the visual side of your channel, see how to design your podcast logo.
Ready for your next episode? Create your studio for free.
Frequently asked questions
Do show notes help with SEO?
Yes. Search engines read text, not audio. A good summary with your keyword, a list of topics, and links help the episode show up in related searches.
Should I add timestamps to every episode?
Short episodes don’t need them. For those over twenty minutes, especially if they cover several topics, they really help people find what interests them.
Can I use the same description on Spotify and YouTube?
You can use the same base, but it’s worth adapting it. On YouTube, take advantage of chapters and a longer description; in audio apps, prioritize a short, clear summary at the top.