Show notes do three jobs at once. They tell a listener scrolling a podcast app whether to press play. They give someone who lands on your website a page to read. And they give search engines text to index, because audio alone cannot be searched.
Those jobs pull in different directions. The app description has to be short and plain. The web page can be long and linked. This guide gives you one template for each, a full worked example, and a workflow for drafting with AI without letting a made-up quote through. The example is invented: the show, host, guest and every line are made up for this post.
- Use a short plain-text version for the podcast app and a longer page version for your site.
- Lead with the guest and the topic, then add timestamps, links and the transcript.
- If AI drafts the notes, check every quote against the transcript before you publish.
What to include
Guides on show notes, such as those from Riverside and Podpage, agree on a core set:
- A summary. Guides commonly suggest roughly 50 to 150 words on what the episode covers and why someone should listen.
- Guest name and a one-line bio. Spelled exactly as the guest spells it.
- Timestamps for the parts people hunt for. They help listeners and give you material for chapters.
- Links to everything mentioned. Books, tools, articles, the guest's site.
- Calls to action. Where to subscribe, rate or join a newsletter, kept to one or two.
- Related episodes. Links back into your catalog.
Template for the podcast app
Apps differ in how much formatting they display, so keep this version simple: plain text, a short paragraph and a few lines.
[Episode title]
[One or two sentences: who the guest is and the one thing you talk about.]
In this episode:
- [Topic or question 1]
- [Topic or question 2]
- [Topic or question 3]
Guest: [Full name], [one-line bio]
Links: [guest site] | [your newsletter]
Template for the episode page
The web version can carry more. Put the summary first, since it is what search results and social previews usually show.
# [Episode title]
[Summary, 50 to 150 words. Include the guest's full name and the main topic in plain words.]
## About the guest
[Two or three sentences with links.]
## What we cover
- 00:00 [Intro]
- 04:10 [Topic]
- 21:45 [Topic]
## Links and resources
- [Item](url), [one line on why it came up]
## Related episodes
- [Episode title](url)
## Transcript
[Full transcript or a link to it]
A full example
Here is the page version for an invented episode.
# Why We Closed Our Second Bike Shop, With Dana Ortiz
Dana Ortiz built a bike repair company from one garage to two shops, then
closed the second one after a hard winter. In this conversation she explains
the numbers behind that decision, what she would do differently on the lease,
and how she decides when a growing business has grown too fast. A useful
listen if you are weighing a second location.
## About the guest
Dana Ortiz founded Spoke and Sprocket, a bike repair company. She writes a
monthly newsletter on running a small shop.
## What we cover
- 00:00 Welcome and how the company started
- 06:30 Opening the second shop
- 18:15 The winter that changed the math
- 29:40 What she would change about the lease
- 41:05 Advice for a mechanic going independent
## Links and resources
- [Spoke and Sprocket](https://example.com), Dana's company
- [Dana's newsletter](https://example.com/news), where she writes about costs
## Related episodes
- [How to price repair work](https://example.com/ep-9)
Three choices in that example are worth copying. The title names the guest and the story. The summary says what a listener will learn and who it suits. And the timestamps point at questions, not at "Segment 2."
Show notes that help search
Search engines read text, so the page version is where the value is. A few habits help:
- Put the topic and the guest's full name in the first sentence.
- Use the words a listener would type, such as "second location" and "lease," and skip the show's in-jokes.
- Add the transcript below the notes, or link to it. See our guide to transcript formats for how to publish one.
- Link to earlier episodes so your catalog connects.
Search results for a query like "podcast show notes" are full of template posts, so what sets a page apart is being specific to the episode.
Drafting show notes with AI
An AI tool can draft all of the above from a transcript in seconds. Two things go wrong. The notes come out generic, and they sometimes contain something the guest never said.
Fix the generic sound. Give the tool examples of your own writing. We cover a method in how to make show notes sound like you, which builds a voice guide from your own episodes.
Catch the wrong quote. Models can smooth a quote into something more quotable or round a number. Check every quoted line and figure against the transcript before you publish. A short script does it and lists anything it cannot find.
Pick a tool with a real test. Dedicated tools, editors and hosts all offer to write notes. Our comparison of AI show notes tools gives prices and cost per hour, plus a ten-minute test to run on your own episode.
A prompt that works with a chat assistant:
Below is the transcript of my podcast episode. Write show notes with:
1. A summary of 80 to 120 words that names the guest and the main topic.
2. Five to eight timestamps with a short label for each.
3. A list of every book, tool or person mentioned, with no invented links.
Use only what is in the transcript. Quote the guest only with exact words
from the transcript. If something is unclear, say so instead of guessing.
Then read the result aloud. If a line would not sound like you, rewrite it.
Checklist before you publish
- Summary names the guest and the main topic
- Guest name and company spelled as they spell them
- Every quote matches the transcript word for word
- Every number matches the transcript
- Timestamps checked against the audio
- Every link opens
- One or two calls to action, no more
- Related episodes linked
- Read aloud once
Questions people ask
How long should show notes be? The app version can be a few lines. The page version is usually a summary of 50 to 150 words plus timestamps, links and the transcript, so several hundred words in total is normal.
What is the difference between show notes and a transcript? Show notes summarize and link. A transcript is everything said. Many shows publish both on one page.
Do timestamps need a special format? Use minutes and seconds, such as 21:45, or hours, minutes and seconds for longer episodes. Some apps make timestamps in the description tappable, so check yours.
Can I reuse show notes for a newsletter? Yes. The summary and links usually make a good newsletter block. Our guide to AI tools for podcasters covers tools that turn one transcript into several formats.