Types of podcast descriptions

A podcast description (often also called podcast summary) is a brief blurb of text that describes your show. You can use it to tell listeners anything you want, which makes it a powerful tool to convince people to listen. 

So what do you say in your podcast description?

• WHAT your podcast is about
• WHO your podcast is for
• WHEN you publish new episodes
• WHAT value do you offer

Podcasts descriptions as an essential factor in creating a positive first impression and discuss how to write a description that lures the listeners. 

Start with a List of Keywords

Your first task when writing a podcast description is to increase its visibility as much as possible. 

you’ll need to do some basic keyword optimization to help listeners find your podcast easier. Here are a few golden rules for you to follow:

• Aim at long-tail keywords. These keywords resemble the natural way people look for things on the internet. They are also great at providing context to your podcast description. 
• Steal keywords from your competitors. This is a legit technique that can help you separate relevant keywords from irrelevant ones. Browse your competitors’ podcast descriptions to find keywords, analyze their volume and difficulty, and if they fit your podcast’s topic, you can include them in your keyword list. 
• Analyze search intent. Sometimes, a keyword might seem relevant, but it doesn’t fit the intent, with which the searchers usually look for podcasts like yours.

 Stay within the Word Limit

Depending on the platform where you’re going to post your podcast, you’ll get different character limits, to which you’ll have to adjust. 

For example, YouTube has a character limit of 5,000 characters for video descriptions. In comparison, Google and Apple Podcasts allow 4,000 characters, and Spotify – only 300 characters.

Address the Problem Your Listeners Share

The ideal listeners of your podcast should share the problem that you cover in your podcast episodes. So, if you address this problem in your podcast description directly, you’ll get more chances to attract the right audience. 

Such a hook is very effective at attracting listeners with shared interests. So, figure out what would be the common idea that would unite you and your listeners and start your description with it.The best explainer video scripts use the ‘problem – solution – explain – action’ model. It is very important to focus on your customer when writing a script. Your video should be telling a story about your customer instead of your company.

First you have to make sure you present a problem in your video your customer will recognize. This will make sure you grasp the attention of your customer so they will keep watching your video for a solution to the problem. Try asking yourself why does my company exist? The answer is simple: because your customers have a problem.

Because the potential customer recognized this problem, they know the solution you have for them is the perfect fit. Ask yourself the questions: how do I solve my customers problem? How is my service or product helping my customers?

After telling your customer about how your solution helps them, make sure to explain what your product or service consists of and how your company works. In what way do you stand out from your competitors? What is your unique buying reason? This is the only part of the explainer video script where the focus is on your organization.

After explaining your solution, end the video script with a call to action. What’s next for the customer? What do you want him or her to do?

 Intrigue with a Question

Another hook you can take advantage of is a question. In copywriting, it’s very common to start content with a question to capture the person’s attention and invite them to continue reading, listening to, or watching to find out the answer. 

• Ask a question that addresses a problem your listeners share with you. 
• Don’t make your question too long; it should be rhetorical. 
• After asking the question, go straight to the answer since you need to comply with the character limit.

Complement Your Podcast Description with Audio or Video

On some platforms, you can diversify your podcast description with a quick audio or video message. You should compile this message when creating a podcast, and it should be there from the beginning. 

There are plenty of podcast examples using trailers in descriptions. For instance, the Off Menu podcast has an audio message, which the listeners can listen to and find out what it is about, check out the hosts’ chemistry, and get a sneak peek of some episodes:

Of course, if you decide to create a trailer, it will take you a bit longer to complete your podcast description. But the options you have are endless – you can take excerpts of your best episodes, include highlights, or simply introduce yourself and say a few words about the podcast’s main idea. 

Whatever the idea you come up with for your podcast trailer, try to make it short. After all, you don’t want to give away too many details.