Is Your Podcast Description Helping or Hurting?
Here’s How to Fix It.
Remember way back when you started your podcast and you wrote your description. That was a crazy time! You were launching your podcast, everything was new and let’s face it, there was a bit of ‘winging it’ going on.
The good news is, you’ve gotten better as a podcaster and your show has evolved… so why are you still using a description that you banged out in haste?
What if that description is the reason you’re not hitting your podcast goals?
In this episode, I’m going to explain why you should take another look at your description and I’m even going to share the 5 must-have elements of a powerful podcast description. So, buckle up and hit play because we are on a mission to get you more qualified listeners (you know, the ones who become leads, clients, and fans).
For a lot of podcasters, the description is something they think of once, right at the beginning of their journey and then they never revisit it. And as a result – their podcast description could be doing more harm than good.
Yes, a badly written description can hurt your podcast!
Think about it. Your description is often how people decide if they are going to hit play and give you a few seconds to prove yourself as worthy of their time.
And, the power of the podcast description doesn’t end there. Your description also plays an important role in whether you get found by your intended audience or not.
Here are three solid reasons why you should revisit and possibly rewrite your podcast description:
- Discoverability (AKA SEO). Your podcast is probably listed on a number of platforms and even on podcast directories. Each of these places serve as search engines. A listener looking for a new show is going to put in a few keywords to find what they are looking for. Does your description have the right keywords to make sure they find you? No? Well, now… why are you hiding? Don’t you want your show to be found, heard, and loved?
- Tell the Truth. If you’ve been podcasting for more than a minute, chances are your podcast has shifted. You may have niched down or maybe you’ve shifted the podcast style or purpose. It happens. Sometimes it’s gradual. And your description needs to reflect this otherwise it’s like a bait and switch. Your description is a promise to the potential listener. You’re saying, ‘if you press play, I promise you will get XYZ content’. If your show no longer fulfills that promise then every listener who presses play will be a person who was disappointed and will likely never press play again. If you’ve had a gradual (or sudden) shift, your description has to reflect this!
- Shift the Spotlight. I talk to a lot of podcasters in my free 15-minute coaching calls. And, almost every single one describes their podcast by explaining what the show is. It’s an interview show with interesting conversation… I talk to industry leaders… I share my insights from 20 years in the business. If your description sounds like this, I have a newsflash for you… you’ve got the spotlight on the wrong person. Your show is not about you or your guests. It is about what your listener needs and what they will get out of it. Rewriting your description will give you the opportunity to tell the listener why they should listen, not why you created it.
Okay, so now that we are clear on the importance and power of rewriting your podcast description, let me give you my super quick outline of what SHOULD be in your podcast description. Let’s keep it simple. Your podcast description must-haves are the 5 Ws.
- Who is the podcast for?
- What’s in it for the listener? What will the benefit to THEM be if they listen?
- Why are you the person to share this information?
- When does the podcast come out?
- Where can they find more information?
Now these aren’t all equal weight, but keep the last three questions short. At this point, they should already be sold and hitting play.
Hitting play is the goal here because, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and say that once they hit play they’ll be hooked. You’ve worked hard to create your podcast and the last thing you need is to get a potential listener on the line who discovers that the bait wasn’t nearly as tasty as it looked.
Now, if you need help making your podcast description something worthy of a podcast re-write, take advantage of my free 15-minute podcast coaching session. We’ll talk about your podcast, your goals and then I’ll slap some sense into you so that you can make your podcast even better. What… I’m just giving you an honest description of what you’re going to get.
Click here to grab a spot on my calendar.
https://calendly.com/timwohlberg
Listen to more 5-minute episodes, explore my resources and check out my coaching packages at https://podcastperformancecoach.com/
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