Podcast Intro’s and Outro’s

Tips for Creating Killer Intro and Ending

The intro to your podcast is very important. It sets the tone for your whole podcast. Having a clear intro and ending provide your podcast with the proper structure of a professional podcast. Quite frankly, if people don’t like your intro, they might not even listen to your show. How many times have you listened to the intro of a podcast and realized the podcast was not for you before the intro was even over? It happens. Your podcast ending, or outro is important as well, but for different reasons. Let’s take a look at some tips for creating a killer intro and outro.

Have a Plan

You don’t have to go out and pay for a professionally produced intro to have a professional quality intro. You can do it yourself. It just needs to be clean, clear and concise. The best way to achieve this is to create it from a script. A script will help it to be smooth. A podcast intro should include the following elements:

• The name of the podcast – Let listeners know what they are listening to.
• The title of the episode and episode number – Just taking care of business here.
• The hosts name or names – It’s ok if this is you. It probably is. Listeners need to know who you are.

It’s ok to have a little more than the above in your podcast intro, like a tagline, mission statement, sponsors or other important information about your show.

The outro should have some thought behind it well. This is generally the best place to plug your call to action. This is where you ask your listeners to subscribe or whatever you would like them to do. Often any sponsors are thanked here as well.

Branding

The intros and outro are where you get to build your brand. You brand is built by being consistent. The intro doesn’t always need to be exactly the same, but it should always have the same tone. The tone of them should reflect who the host is and what the podcast is about. If you have a quirky light podcast, your intro should be quirky and light. If you have an educational podcast, you probably want a straight, serious intro which lets people know they are about to learn. Consistency and even a good catch phrase will help build your brand.

Not Too Long

Your intro shouldn’t be too long. It needs to be long enough to clearly include the information about the show. It should never be more than 30 seconds, but the shorter the better. New listeners don’t mind a longer intro because they are just learning who you are, and it is all new to them. A long intro can turn off regular listeners because they already know who you are, and they just want to know what they are listening to and jump into it.

Add Music

A little music goes a long way. Adding music to the intro and outro of your podcast can make it more professional and enjoyable. When adding music, don’t over do it and keep your listeners in mind. Music in your podcast should reinforce your podcasts tone and branding. If your podcast is academic, you probably shouldn’t open with gangster rap. Make sure the music fits and make sure the music is legal. Music is typically copyrighted, and you shouldn’t use any music unless you have permission to do so. There are many sources online to find inexpensive or free music such as beatsuite.

Sound effects can add some fun as well. Take some time to search the web and listen to some of the available sound effects. You might find the right one for your intro or outro.

Close

Your outro is going to provide your podcast with a nice clean closure. Wrap up your podcast and flow into your outro to give your listeners feeling of closure. It lets them know they finished your episode and people like to finish things. It drives some people crazy when they don’t finish. In addition to providing closure, your outro is also where you want to “close” the deal with your listeners. Every podcast is selling something, even if it is just selling listeners on coming back for more. Try to place a call to action in your outro. Ask your listeners to subscribe to your show or buy your product/service or support the cause.

A professional podcast is going to have a smooth consistent intro and outro. Put some thought into and use the tips mentioned above to create a killer intro and outro.