What is a podcast intro and outro? How do you hook your listener? Here are our tips for introducing and ending your episodes.
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The podcast intro and outro give your podcast a unique twist and can really raise the production value of your show.
How professional should they sound?
What should I say to encourage listeners to keep listening?
These are questions we get asked all of the time and generally speaking, there is much more flexibility here than you may think.
Your podcast intros and outros can be anything you want them to be as long as they set the scene for your audience.
When new listener tunes in to your show, they want to know what your podcast is going to do for them.
How can your show help them solve a problem, answer a question, or entertain them somehow?
If you are certain that your intro and outros can answer that, then you will be on your way to creating great content.
Let’s take a deeper dive into what you can create for your intro and outros.
How To Create The Perfect Podcast Intro
Similarly to when they are trying to choose a new TV show to watch or book to read, your listener will have one question going through their head when first listening to your show:
What’s in it for me?
So, your podcast intro and outro should not be about you as the host.
It should not be about what you’re going to talk about during the podcast.
The intro should only be focused on the listener and what they will get out of the show.
Although you may have listeners that tune in for every single episode release, for a few new audience members this will be the first impression they will have of your show.
These new listeners don’t know anything about your show and feel no loyalty to you (yet), so this is your time to hook them in.
These listeners are giving you a chance but you don’t have that long to grab their attention.
A great intro will be under 20-25 seconds.
This way you can keep it short and to the point without dragging on or losing people’s attention.
In saying this, you do not need an intro but it is a great way to make your show sound more polished.
How Should You End Your Show?
Your outros should be centered around how your audience can get more help or resources.
Picture this: Your listener just tuned in to an awesome interview that you did or a solo teaching you provided on a certain topic and now they’re wondering where to go to learn more beyond your episode.
This is the question you need to answer.
Provide a resource that helps your listener out on the next steps of their journey.
Drive them to take action.
Just like with your intro, don’t provide too much information during your outro.
You don’t want to share 18 call-to-action items and have your audience feel overwhelmed.
Keep it 20-45 seconds maximum and ensure your action item is simple and clear.
Here is an example of a good template to follow:
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about [problem], so we’ve created a resource to help you [solve the problem].
You can find this resource [here].
Our Closing Advice For Podcast Intro & Outros
Our client, Caleb Brown with New Planner Podcast, does an excellent job of this.
His call to action is the New Planner Career Roadmap.
His target audience is all new financial planners and they are hoping to find out what a career in financial planning looks like.
So, this is the perfect next step for them.
If you’re still feeling stuck, you can send us an email at [email protected] with the intro and outro scripts that you’ve put together.
We’d love to help you find what will work best for your audience.
Resources:
🎤 Previous Episode: How To Create the Ultimate Podcast Artwork
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways we can help you create, launch, and grow your podcast…
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Ben Krueger is the founder of Cashflow Podcasting and he specializes in helping thought leaders and entrepreneurs amplify their impact through podcasting. He’s a world traveller, outdoor sports junkie and future enthusiast!
