Audio Drama Show Notes Template

Show Notes, also known as Episode Descriptions, are the text that is posted alongside the audio of an episode. For fiction podcasts, it should contain some sort of info about what the episode is about, any content warnings, a link to the transcript, cast/crew information, and links to the show’s website/social media.

Whew, that’s a lot. Here’s how I break it down for What Will Be Here, which is hosted on Pinecast:

Text version of that screenshot:

What Will Be Here? Episode 1, Go For Deploy.

Jules introduces the team. Suri has doubts about the project. Armani makes their own golden record. Kei is in the ducts. Dane explains how the world is doomed.

Content Notes: contains swearing, the brief presence of fire, recordings of several animal noises, audio of a jet, and the recording of a gunshot. No guns are present in the episode.

TRANSCRIPT: https://bit.ly/wwbhe1transcript

CREDITS:

• Jona Lune (they/them) — Jules.
• Sahar Iman (they/them) — Suri.
• Kathy Youssef (they/them) — Armani.
• Vico Ortiz (they/them) — Kei.
• John Y. Kamara (he/him) — Dane.
• This episode directed and Sound Designed by Tal Minear (they/them).
• Written by Brad Colbroock (they/them/he), Chandler Harrison (she/her), Cole Burkhardt (he/him), Di Reese (she/they), and Tal Minear (they/them).
• Intro and outro music by Benny James (she/they).
• Transcript by Caroline Mincks (they/them).

ADDITIONAL NOTES: Show Website located at whatwillbehere.crd.co. Social Media is WhatWillBeHere on Twitter and Instagram.

The Template, With Notes

Show Title, Episode Number, Episode Title

• It can be good for SEO to restate the show name and episode title in your notes. (It also helps you know what episode it is from the notes alone).

Short description of episode.

• Ideally just a few sentences. This is what you would say if someone asked “so what is this episode about?”
• When people are deciding if they should listen to the show, they might look at a few episode descriptions. This is also a chance for you to draw your audience in.

Relevant content warnings.

• I’m slowly pivoting to calling these “content notes,” because they’re less of a warning and more of a heads up about what’s in a episode that might throw someone off guard.
• When researching common trigger warnings, remember that most lists aren’t written with the audio medium in mind. If you have a startling sound (ex: a jump scare, gunshot, scream, etc), that’s worth including in the notes.
• If you’re worried about episode spoilers, you can put content warnings at the bottom (but say so in the episode description!). However, please do include them, even if they give something away!

Transcript Link.

• Some platforms (like Spotify, until recently) don’t show hyperlinks. I’ve started creating a short url for the episode transcript so that I can put it in full in the show notes. It’s important to me that people can access the transcript easily, because some folks need a transcript to engage with the content.
• For super short episodes (trailers and brief announcements), I’ll put the transcript in full after the credits. I don’t do this for long episodes because it’s unwieldy, hard to read, and in some cases will get cut off by podcasting apps.

Credits.

• I’ve started doing bullet points for each member of the cast and crew, because it easily distinguishes them. Some platforms don’t show single new lines, and I don’t like having a paragraph for everyone because it blurs together.
• I like to include pronouns for my cast and crew, so that listeners don’t have to guess pronouns based on voice or look it up themselves.
• I also like to link to a website for each member of the cast and crew. This might be their personal website, their twitter, or their section on the show website. I want other people to find and follow my cast and crew, so I try to make it easy to do so.

Bonus Info.

• If I’m promoting another show or have something else to say (ex: “this is the season finale, we’ll be on hiatus for a bit), I’ll drop it in after the credits.
• This could also go before the credits, especially if you have a large cast/crew and are worried people might not scroll down.

Website and Social Media Links.

• Make it easy for people to find more information about and engage with your show. I link to the show website, Patreon (if I have one), Twitter, and Instagram (if I have one). I’ve started spelling out the website in full due to the aforementioned hyperlink issue, and I do the same for the show’s Twitter and Instagram handle.
• Basically, if you have stuff relating to the show that isn’t the podcast itself, link it at the end!

Just The Template

Show Title, Episode Number, Episode Title

Short description of episode.

Relevant content warnings or notes.

Transcript Link.

Credits.

Bonus Info.

Website and Social Media Links.

Ending Comments

This is just a guide! Modify the template as needed to suit your needs and your show.