Does Your Podcast Intro and Outro Really Matter?
Professionally produced podcasts have a professional introduction. This is usually a 20-30 second audio opening at the beginning of your show. They are commonly referred to as podcast intros. While a great sounding podcast intro will add cohesiveness and create anticipation, a great outro leaves your listeners longing for more. One of the key elements of a successful podcast is decent background music. Why is this the case?
Why Background Music is So Important
Intro tunes and background music set the theme of your podcast. Not only do they signal a transition between segments but also add entertainment value. Adding some music to your podcast could elevate it to the next level of entertainment!
Music gives your podcast an upbeat, fun, and engaging vibe. A podcast should be a form of entertainment as it’s not a face-to-face conversation. Your audience will love your podcast more if it’s more than just you speaking.
Tips for Creating a Kick-ass Podcast Intro
These are tried and tested tips. If implemented, you can be sure that your podcast intro will be one of the best.
i. Keep Your Script Short
Don’t go overboard with your podcast intro script. Keep it short, simple, and engaging. Pair it up with great background music to set the mood of the entire episode. Capture your show’s name, tagline, and a short description of what it’s all about. Including the host’s name and a little bit of fading background music works well. You simply want to share what’s most important and set the tone for the listening experience.
ii. Put Some Thought Into the Music
Be sure to pick music that actually matches the tone (and mood) of your show. For example, if you are creating a show whose target listeners are the younger generation, you may want to pick music whose adjectives resonate with that generation.
iii. Present a Problem + Solution(s)
Pull in your listeners by mentioning something they can relate to, probably something they are struggling with. This assures listeners that they have come to the right place.
iv. Include a call to action at the end
You may want to throw in a few words advertising your merch or donation at the very beginning, but this can hurt your podcast’s listenership. If people hear the same piece of audio repeatedly, they tend not to take action. I know this may sound strange, but it’s true.
The call to action should go into your outro. It doesn’t have to be a carbon copy statement that you embed in every episode. Instead, mix it up a little bit to ensure your message is pretty consistent.
v. Switch things up
Keep things fresh by mixing up your intros and outros. Again, you are looking to have a consistent theme throughout your episodes. This is very optional, though, because if you happen to create a very catchy intro and people get used to it, they might be caught off guard should it change.
vi. Prepare your brand
Your personal brand can be felt even from your podcast intro. If you aren’t sure of what your brand is, your listeners might end up not trusting you as an expert in your field and this will affect your downloads in the long run. Make sure your intro reflects your brand and be consistent with it.
vii. Legal Stuff
Illegally using someone’s music isn’t cool. How would you feel if someone stole your podcast idea? When scouting for background music, go for royalty-free music from respectable websites. If you can’t find something you love, simply hit up a musician and request to use their music for free. All you need to do is simply ask!
viii. Consistency
While your intro should not be a carbon copy statement, the format needs to be consistent. For example, any of these patterns would do:
- Music > Host Name > Episode Title > Podcast Name > Sponsors > Content
- Music > Podcast Name > Host Name > Welcome Message > Content
- Welcome Message > Host Name > Podcast Name > Music > Sponsors > Content
You can maintain consistency in the structure but give new and fresh information every single time.
What should you include in your outro?
Consider the following if you are looking to create an outstanding podcast outro:
- Thank your listeners for tuning in. Out of hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there, they chose to listen to yours.
- Let them know where they can check out the show notes and links to the resources mentioned in your episode.
- Give them a teaser of what to expect in the next episode
- Drive them to the ONE place – your website.
- Add a call to action (CTA). This is the opportunity for you to promote your donation or merchandise or grow your email list. If given so much to choose from, your audience might end up not picking any of those. Be clear on what you want them to do, and ask them to do exactly that. You can also ask your audience to…
- Share the podcast
- Subscribe to your podcast
- Review and rate your podcast
- Sign up for your email list
- Buy tickets for your conference or event
- Support your Patreon
Conclusion
These tips should not seem like a red tape or a restriction to your creative juices. In essence, your podcast intro and outro should enhance and support the actual content of your episode.
Don’t spend lots of time overthinking them. It’s all about ensuring you aren’t losing listeners needlessly and that your audience is steadily growing.
Over time, what to include and what not to include will become second nature to you. Your main goal should be delivering quality content.
I hope this gives you an idea of how you can create or improve your podcast intro and outro though!
Need Help with your podcast?
If you implement these tips, your show should be ahead of countless others in no time. But if you need more help, or are struggling with anything podcast-related, I can help you! Feel free to reach out through nancy@savvypodcastingsolutions.com