5 Ways to Craft a Podcast Intro
The great thing about starting a podcast? There are no rules. The bad thing about starting a podcast? There are no rules.
When I’m asked, “How should I start the intro of my podcast?” I can’t help but press the :shrug: emoji symbol.
Who am I to tell anyone how to craft their art?
This whole industry is largely a subjective creative endeavor which leads to a collection of over 400,000+ active podcasts over the last 90-days. No one podcast is (or should be) the same. Choosing how you intro your podcast is a creative endeavor that may evolve over time.
The advice I’m sharing today is pulled from my 12 years of podcasting, mostly in the business/marketing space. Take that for what it's worth!
How should you intro your podcast?
Using this equation: (Podcast Goals * Audience) / Current Phase
Easy right?
Let me explain how that equation floats around in my head, and how I’ve applied it to the many podcasts I’ve been a part of.
Starting with a Call to Action or Presented by your Brand
When in doubt, always fall back to your podcast goals.
For many of us in the business category, we're all familiar with the term Call to Action. It could be signing up to an email list, a course, or selling a product. If you’re stuck creatively, you can lean on your CTA to be the thing you need to get across in your intro.
Here's a sample of a podcast intro that focuses on a Call to Action from my former Matt Report podcast.
You’re probably not going to blow anyone’s socks off with what some might consider a "sterile intro," but given how difficult tracking podcast ROI is, looking at the amount of email signups you get per month kills two birds with one stone.
Often, an intro might be about branding.
Here's a sample of a branded podcast intro I produce for the Breakdown podcast.
Allowing listeners to hear, on repeat, that the podcast is brought to you by a certain brand. This is where brand sentiment might be even more important than a cut and dry call to action. This is an experience, that is aligned with/or associated to, the bigger brand.
Stating the Premise; Grow Awareness
You might be in the launch phase of your podcast, where you’re still growing awareness and discovering who the audience is.
Instead of a hard CTA, you’re leading with the premise of the show + giving the listener a reason to follow your podcast. The most common type of podcast intro I've heard. The most common I'll produce, too.
Here's a sample of an intro I do for the WP Minute+ which shares the premise of the show.
The challenge is to push yourself to find a great hook within your premise, and keep it as short as possible. Like when someone asks, “How long should a podcast be?” The answer is: as long as it needs to be.
The Cold Open: Creating Emotion & Interest
Creativity is endless when you take this approach.
If you’re running a typical interview podcast, snagging a highlight clip from your guest and having that kick off your intro is about the easiest way to drop your listener into the action without going through the whole episode.
You can even combo that with a call to action intro that we discussed above.
If your show is mostly scripted, writing a monologue that sets the mood can evoke the emotion you’re looking for.
Here's a sample cold open from Obscure Ball by Stuart Barefoot.
Or double down on emotion (an interest) with sonic branding, snappy and to the punch, the listener recognizes it every time they hit play.
Here's the intro to Breaking Content. It's a simple sonic brand which evokes a mysterious emotion headed into each episode.
Make it Your Way
Hopefully these examples kickstart your creative side, or at the very least, get you unstuck from your podcasting "writer’s block."
There’s no right or wrong way to start your podcast intro. Do what works for you and your audience. Remember, what really hits today will most likely change over time. As your podcast goals shift, audiences dip in and out, you might find yourself creating a new intro every year!
