Tweak #24: Polish up your show description
Has it been a while? Give your description another look.
This is one of the best kinds of tweaks: quick enough to do on your lunch break, important enough to make a big impact.
How long has it been since you updated your show description? You know, the thing that shows up when someone finds your podcast on their podcast player? I’m willing to bet there’s a good chance it was…when you started your podcast. And if it’s been a while since then, it’s time to take another look.
Step 1: Check out what your listeners see
Head to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and any other platforms that make up a significant portion of your listenership, and look at how your show description appears. I’m going to use Jeremy Enns’s and Justin Jackson’s excellent show Podcast Marketing Trends Explained as an example, since I’ve learned a lot about show descriptions from that podcast and besides, they’ve roasted enough shows to have a little roasting of their own.
You can see that different platforms have different cutoffs for the show description. (And these are both on desktop; the cutoffs are yet more different on mobile). Sure, listeners can always click “show more,” but the preview they get is their first impression of your podcast, so you want to make it count.
What do listeners see when they first look at your show description? Do they get a sense of what your show is about from the first couple of lines, or do they need to read more to learn? If the “show more” link is essential to getting the gist of your podcast, it’s time to rearrange some things.
Step 2: Front load your “value proposition”
I’m so sorry for using that term—I just threw up in my mouth a little—but it’s unusually useful marketing lingo for “the thing your podcast does for people.” Make sure that first line that shows up on every podcast platform tells people your podcast’s reason for being.
If you need more help coming up with this part, think about how you explain your podcast to people in real life. You don’t wind up with an expository “10 years ago, two pop music aficionados met and became friends. Little did they know they’d become cohosts on a podcast about pop music.” Your conversation partner’s eyes will start darting around for someone else to talk to.
Instead, you give them the gist: “It’s a podcast where people talk about the pop songs that got ruined by an ex.” (Ok, Songs my Ex Ruined doesn’t need much of a description, but work with me here).
That is how your show description should start.
Step 3: Include everything else listeners—and search engines—might need.
Once you’ve front-loaded your podcast’s reason for being, only then should you go on to mention all the things your podcast covers: the most exciting topics, the highest-profile guests, and all the quirks that make your podcast special.
This is also where you’ll want to include any keywords that your potential audience might be searching for. Think about what that audience needs and make sure to include anything you’d imagine they’d put that into a search bar. If there are different terms for the same concept, sprinkle those terms in naturally.
These are the two major purposes your podcast description serves: surfacing your podcast to relevant listeners, and then enticing those listeners to download once they’ve found you. A zingy first line and a keyword-rich description are the ways to get there.