How do you write podcast show notes?

Podcast show notes should open with two or three sentences describing what the episode actually covers, then list timestamps for the main sections, the guest and where to find them, and any links mentioned. Around 150 to 400 words works for most episodes, and the opening lines matter most because they are what podcast apps and search results display.

Show notes serve two readers who want different things. A listener deciding whether to press play needs to know what is in it. A search engine needs enough text to understand the episode.

One set of notes can do both if the first lines are written for the human. Podcast apps truncate, so the first two sentences carry almost all the weight.

Timestamps are the most used and least written part. They let someone jump to the section they came for, and they turn one episode into several findable pieces.

Length is less important than specificity. Four hundred words that name what was actually discussed beats a thousand words of adjectives.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Two or three sentences on what it covers

    Specific, not promotional. This is the part that gets truncated into the preview, so put the substance first.

  2. 2

    Timestamps for the main sections

    Four to eight is plenty. Label them by what is discussed, not by "Part Two".

  3. 3

    The guest and where to find them

    Name, what they do, and the links. This is where the full biography belongs.

  4. 4

    Everything mentioned in the episode

    Books, tools, people, studies. Listeners come back looking for exactly this.

  5. 5

    One line on what to do next

    Subscribe, the related episode, the newsletter. One, not five.

People also ask

How long should podcast show notes be?
Roughly 150 to 400 words for a standard interview episode. Longer is fine when there is genuinely more to reference, but padding does not help.
What do podcast show notes look like?
A short description of the episode, a list of timestamped sections, the guest and their links, and any resources mentioned during the conversation.
Do show notes help podcast SEO?
They are the main text a search engine can read for an audio episode, so they are most of what makes an episode findable. Specific language about what was discussed does more than keyword repetition.

In PodGlue

Podcast show notes generator

Draft show notes and timestamps from the episode, then edit rather than start from nothing.

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Last reviewed 2026-09-01