A great podcast intro has several elements:

1. It’s short and sweet.

   Try to keep your podcast intro content under 30 seconds, or 75 words – and the shorter the better. Most listeners only listen for about 10 – 15 seconds to decide if they want to keep listening further, and if you lose them in that first few seconds, they may tune out for good. Don’t let the intro music play too long, and don’t ramble on in your intro script – it’s just an appetizer for the main course of the actual show.

2. It says what the podcast is about in a way that keeps the listener’s engagement.

   In your intro, don’t worry about explaining what the show is about in great detail. The key here is to build excitement and give the listener a taste of what they’re going to be getting if they listen to the whole show – and if you want folks to stay tuned, your job is also to make sure that your listeners are getting something that will be valuable for them to spend their precious time and attention on, so that they keep coming back over and over again!

3. It builds excitement about the show

   Engaging music and a great, memorable voiceover will uplift the listener’s mood and get them excited for what they’re about to hear! If you’re going to offer information that can help your listeners learn something new, or if you’re going to entertain them with amazing comedy – sell it up front in the intro! Tease what you’re offering – but only a little bit, so that you pay the tease before the listener loses interest and moves on.

4. It contains catchy music, and a great and memorable voiceover.

   Your podcast intro is something that you and your listeners are going to be hearing over… and over… and over again. Make sure it’s perfect and awesome! Podcast is a very intimate medium, and listeners form a personal connection not only with the host, but also with the intro voiceover. Let your intro start that authentic connection flowing right up front.

   Choose a voice for your intro voiceover that fits with your audience and easily makes a connection with them somehow. For example, I’ve been hired to produce podcast intros about women in business, yoga and spirituality, continuing education, parenthood and breastfeeding, self-help, and other topics where my voice matches well with the podcast listener demographics. In other words – choose someone who would listen to your podcast to voice the intro to your podcast!

5. Follow your intro up with an awesome outro.

   A podcast outro is where you have the chance to capitalize on the awesome listening experience your audience just had. Now is your opportunity to close with a call to action, and to make a request to stay connected with your listeners through whatever way is most convenient for them. In your podcast outro, you might do any of the following:

   – Give information about where to find links and show notes (your website)
   – Thank your sponsors (ex, this show is made possible by our company, providing a relevant service which you can find out more about at…)
   – Pitch your Patreon page or membership area
   – Ask your listener to subscribe to your podcast feed
   – Encourage the listener to sign up for your email list – you’ll probably want to offer another special gift or incentive for those who choose to subscribe
   – Build excitement about your next show by teasing a future show topic, or ending with something like, “Be sure to tune in every Friday for new episodes!”
   – Something cute, authentic, and memorable can build connection with the listener – a funny tagline, a geniune thanks for tuning in

   Just be sure not to overwhelm the listener with ALL of these requests and calls to action. Pick one to three of the most important action items. You might even make a few different podcast outros and rotate them, with different calls to action in each one.

Here is where you can find my open source templates for your podcast intro and outro scripts!

Intro Option 1 (10 – 30 seconds):

Intro Option 2 (5 – 10 seconds):

Intro Option 3 (5 – 10 seconds):

Outro (30 seconds – 1:00):

Bonus: The Midroll Bumper (5 – 30 seconds):

You can add a middle bumper or “midroll” advertisement or promo to your podcast.

If your midroll is spotlighting one of your own calls to action instead of a sponsor, something like this might work:

“Like what you hear so far? Make sure you never miss a show by clicking the “subscribe” button now. This podcast is made possible by listeners like you – thank you for your support. Now back to the show!”

“Want a free guide to secrets of [podcast topic?] Head on over to [landing page] and subscribe to our email list to have it delivered right to your inbox!”

If your midroll is highlighting a sponsor, your sponsor may supply the copy themselves. If not, stay tuned here for a future blog post about writing copy for podcast ads.