You've come up with a catchy title and created some kickass artwork to match.
Great! You've attracted attention; the fish is nibbling. But to really hook potential listeners and reel them in you need a great podcast description.
Most podcast listeners decide to take the next step (downloading an episode) because the description calls to them in some way. Podcast descriptions sit in your RSS feed and podcast directories upload it from there.
Ideally, it will intrigue, delight and inform potential listeners within your target audience.
Writing your own description takes time, effort and skill. So, how do you come up with the perfect podcast description?
Let us help take the hassle out with our podcast description template.
Table of Contents
How to write a killer podcast description
1. Start with a hook
A hook has one purpose - to get the reader's attention and make them want to read the rest. Hooks can be clever and intriguing, but often they're short and get to the point.
The Double Your Freelancing podcast sums their podcast up in six words:
Better Clients. More Money. A Happier Life.
Whereas The Freelance Writing Coach takes a longer approach to attract their ideal freelancing audience:
Kaleigh Moore and Emma Siemasko have long shared a dream: to build the world’s most fulfilling freelance writing businesses.
2. Highlight the listener's pain point
You can grab your ideal target audience's attention by speaking to their pain points. They have pressing problems - how does your podcast help? You might do that with a question or statement that has your target audience gasping "YES! That's me!"
The Sleep Meditation for Women podcast has a prime example.
Can’t sleep? Insomnia? Mind racing with worries and a never-ending to-do list?
As does the Focus on Parenting podcast description.
Christian mom or dad, could you use some encouragement and support?
3. Introduce yourself
Listeners want to know who you are, and what qualifies you to create your podcast. Do you have a claim to fame? Experience or qualifications? Or are you on a journey, seeking answers to the same problems they face?
Janet Lansbury is an respected industry expert and highlights her experience throughout her Respectful Parenting podcast description:
In the 25+ years Janet Lansbury has worked with children and parents, she's learned a lot...
Janet is a parenting author and consultant whose website (JanetLansbury.com) is visited by millions of readers annually... Janet's "No Bad Kids Master Course" is available...Her best-selling books...
4. Highlight the benefits of listening
Remember those pain points? How will listening to your podcast help?
Do you host an interview format podcast where you talk to experts? Do you have conversations with others going through the same trials? Do you put a comedic twist on the problem? Do you bring your expertise to the forefront? Do you offer practical solutions? Tips & tricks?
Here's how the Sleep Meditation podcast description puts your worries at rest:
Tune in to the Sleep Meditation for Women podcast and let these guided meditations help you ease into sleep peacefully.
And the Focus on Parenting podcast promises you'll:
...get practical, faith-based inspiration through all stages of parenting — raising toddlers, navigating the school-age years, preparing for puberty, and seeing your teen soar with confidence.
Whereas Jordan Harbinger names his influential guests up front. So, if you were interested in learning from some of the greats of our time, you'd likely press play on these episodes.
...unpacks guests' wisdom into practical nuggets you can use to impact your work, life, and relationships. Learn from leaders (Ray Dalio, Simon Sinek, Mark Cuban), entertainers (Moby, Tip "T.I." Harris, Dennis Quaid), scientists (Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye), athletes (Kobe Bryant, Dennis Rodman, Tony Hawk) and an eclectic array of fascinating minds, from art forgers and arms traffickers to spies and psychologists.
5. Explain what the listener should expect
People do like to know what they're getting before they jump in. So, let them know up front.
These two podcasts are both about writing, but they have different audiences in mind. The first targets freelancers and navigating the freelance life. The hosts are writers and mention writing often, but the advice could easily apply to other freelance disciplines too.
On Freelance Writing Coach, Kaleigh and Emma discuss all things related to building a successful freelance writing business. Topics include things like client boundaries, digital products, rates, proposals, loneliness, and much more. Their promise? To tell it like it is.
But How I Write speaks to modern day authors. That's a separate audience, although there could well be some overlap. The two podcast descriptions show who will benefit from How I Write and who would prefer Emma and Kaleigh.
You can read what an author writes anywhere, but only on this show will you hear how they write. This show isn’t just about methods and styles, though. It’s also about what it means to be a writer today. How can you earn a living? What about building an audience? Should you use GPT? How I Write is your compass for navigating these changes. It’s a show by writers, for writers, built for the age of the Internet.
6. Mention the release schedule
Release schedules vary tremendously. While many podcast episodes come out weekly, others put out a new episode every day.
Some podcasts are seasonal, others put out an episode every month. Then there are occasional shows, where the podcast's target audience gets used to tuning in whenever the host has something interesting to say.
Finally there are finite shows. These run for a set number of episodes then finish.
Potential listeners want to know what they're signing up. So your show summary is a good place to tell them up front.
7. Include keywords and phrases
What words or phrases do people use they google podcasts in your niche? Including those relevant keywords in your description can help your podcast description rank in search engines, although Apple Podcasts sees keywords in titles but not in podcast descriptions.
How do you find relevant keywords?
There are lots of paid and free options. For example, try Semrush, Ahrefs, or Keyword Surfer. You might also try the Google Keyword Planner (here's a link to it) especially if you also run Google Ads, and read "How to Choose the Best Keywords For Your Podcast" from Voxalyze.
8. Don't waffle
You don't have long to capture attention with your podcast description, so make every word count.
Five great podcast description examples
Let's analyse a few excellent examples to see how to write a podcast description.
The Mom Hour
What we love about this brief description.
There's no fluff in this podcast description. It's short, friendly, approachable and written to appeal to stressed out moms who need some encouragement. We quickly discover who hosts it, who might want to listen, why and how it might help.
- Who: Meagan & Sarah - not experts with degrees but moms with children little to grown
- Pain Points: comparison, worry, stress, not enjoying motherhood
- Benefits: practical tips and real-life encouragement from moms who've been there
Business Wars
What we love about this successful podcast:
This effective podcast description is designed to capture attention if you're into the cut and thrust of starting, running, growing and maybe even ending companies. It ticks a lot of boxes.
- Who: Podcast host David Brown (Marketplace) from Wondery (names podcasts that could also engage potential followers.)
- Hook: Uses big name brands, buzzwords - business, war, prize. Then the show's description reels you in, declaring "The outcome of these battles shapes what we buy and how we live."
- Release Schedule: New episodes come out Wednesdays for free
Losing 100
What we love in this podcast description:
If you were struggling to lose weight, this podcast description would speak straight to your soul. Here's why:
- Who: Corrine - who lost 100lbs with a complete mental and physical transformation and teaches you how to do the EXACT same thing in this podcast.
- Hook/Pain points: Poses a question that identifies a huge problem for many dieters, and follows up with common causes.
- Benefits/what to expect: Learn practical tools that have helped 1000s of women lose weight
- Keyword rich: Combines diet-related keywords with down-to-earth, everyday language.
I Want To Know
What we love (and so would any potential listener):
Maybe this podcast host already checked out our podcast description templates? He's covered most of our suggestions in this show summary.
- Who: We learn who Josh is, the newsletter he creates and what qualifies him to offer advice on I Want To Know.
- Hook: New listeners who are creative entrepreneurs with questions and looking for actionable tips, might press play right after reading the first sentence.
- Release Schedule: 30-minute weekly podcast,
- Benefits: Helps you grow your audience and business, only takes 30 mins, no-fluff, overcome challenges and accomplish goals.
How To Decorate
What we love about this show description:
"Don't waffle," we said, and this show description takes that to heart with an informative title and a short summary that still ticks a good few of our template's boxes.
- Who: The team at Ballard Designs (A brand with its own show; that implies we'll hear from industry experts.)
- Hook: Speaks straight to its target audience of DIY home decorators. You want to learn? We want to teach you.
- Benefits: Unleash your inner decorator and get answers to your burning decorating questions.
- What to expect: Interviews with interior designers sharing their trials and triumphs.
What is a podcast description?
How many times have you read a book cover blurb and thought, that sounds fascinating, I'll read it. A podcast description has the same function; it's a brief summary that tells potential listeners enough about your podcast to make them want more.
Podcast descriptions are not show notes. Those cover individual episodes and may include episode titles, details of the main points, guest names and links to resources, whereas podcast descriptions cover the podcast as a whole.
What makes a good podcast description?
Your podcast description plays a vital role in bringing new listeners to your show. It's like an elevator pitch - a few sentences that briefly sum up your podcast's reason for being. It speaks to your target audience by using language and phrasing that attracts them and persuades them to listen.
To write the perfect podcast pitch include these elements:
- A clever hook to capture people's interest and attention. Hooks often talk about audience pain points or mention a fascinating feature of the show.
- The podcast host - who you are and why you're hosting the show.
- Set expectations - what will listeners find when they tune in, and what benefits may they get?
- Schedule information - how often do episodes release, and how long do they last?
- Match listeners expectations by using the keywords they're searching for.
How long should a podcast description be?
There's no set word limit for podcast descriptions. Apple podcasts allows up to 4000 characters, but won't display more than the first 150 characters up front.
People tend to have shorter attention spans when reading a screen, so keep your podcast show description brief but intriguing so that listeners want to know more. The general consensus suggests 120-160 words or around three sentences gives enough space without being overwhelming.
What is the difference between a podcast summary and description?
Podcast descriptions and podcast summaries are the same thing. They describe the overall premise of your podcast and convince people to subscribe. They tell the audience what to expect from the show, who the host is and the benefits people may get when they listen.
Final words
Have you seen Rephonic's 3D graph tool?
We've created a relationship graph for each podcast in our database. You can see similar or related podcasts at a glance, and click on each icon to reveal more information and links to the podcast's page.
Use the graph to find similar shows and check out what you're competition's doing. What works and what could you do better? You can even use it to find cross-promo buddies when you're ready to market your show through other podcasters.
