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Podcast Intro and Why They’re Important

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Podcast Intros Why You Need Them To Be Good

Curating a high-quality podcast intro is an excellent medium to introduce yourself and your podcast to new listeners and your loyal subscribers simultaneously.

By matching a creative tune with compelling visuals, you will attract a larger audience while keeping the old ones engaged.

 Just like fans of hit shows like Cheers, Friends, and Game of Thrones can lip-sync the opening part of their favorite T.V shows, your podcast listeners will soon be humming along to all your episodes.

This article will let you know how to create a high-quality podcast intro and point out some beginner mistakes you should avoid.

What are Podcast Intros?

What are Podcast Intros?

The intro music is the track that starts off a podcast. It’s often referred to as a show’s ‘audio logo.’ It represents a particular podcast and what it stands for in its sound.

Because the intro music comes first, it lets listeners know what kind of environment they’re about to enter and prepares them for what you have in store for them in terms of content!

A podcast intro is the first impression your audience has of your show.

The introduction is often the audience’s first audio and can help them decide to stay or move on to something else.

It’s essential to consider your audience and grab their attention when you are thinking about creating a podcast intro.

What are the Benefits of Having a Podcast Intro?

What are the Benefits of Having a Podcast Intro?

Podcast intros are 90 seconds (or shorter) audio or video clips that precede a podcast. You can use it for advertising content or developing a theme or voice for the podcast.

These can also be used to accelerate the growth of a podcast. Using them correctly means that new listeners will be immediately directed to the actionable item you want them to listen to.

The actionable item could be a blog post, video, a website, or any other place people can go to get further information from you. It makes the podcasting process much easier and more successful for the beginner.

What are Some Things to Avoid When Picking a Podcast Intro?

What are Some Things to Avoid When Picking a Podcast Intro?

The introduction of a podcast should hold the listener’s attention. If you can interest a person with your introduction, you have a chance at keeping them as a listener. Here are some practical tips to consider when writing a podcast intro.

  • First, don’t make it too long. Your podcast may have a lot of content, but the intro shouldn’t be more than a minute, and thirty seconds is a better goal.
  • Second, keep it short and sweet. The intro isn’t the place to tell a life story, and please keep it to where the listener clearly understands what’s coming next.
  • Third, give them a tease. Please give them a quick overview of what will happen in the podcast. If appropriate, offer a preview of the episode’s content.
  • Finally, make sure your podcast intro is the best it can be. Don’t use a generic intro from your podcast creation software. Please write your own (and make it great)!

When Should you Consider Making a Podcast Intro?

When Should you Consider Making a Podcast Intro?

An introduction of a podcast that is not just enthusiastic but also insightful and informative will let listeners know what the podcast is about.

The quality of an introduction largely dictates whether an audience becomes loyal because they have been able to connect with the content in the podcasts.

A good intro proves to be the first impression of your podcast and gives it authority to convince the listeners that they are listening to something much bigger than they think.

Intros can make or break your listeners and prevent them from switching onto other podcasts where some reputation is already built.

That’s why you should create them attentively and put in ample time because they’re mainly responsible for persuading new listeners that what they are listening to is worth more than just a passing interest.

How Long Should a Podcast Intro Be?

How Long Should a Podcast Intro Be?

A good podcast intro should serve to build up the overall anticipation of what’s coming next. But after about 20-30 seconds, listeners will begin to wonder when you will get to the actual content.

You should design your intros to move at a quick and snappy pace, roughly between 20-30 seconds in length.

Entrepreneurs should know how long their podcast intros are so they know when they can move on, which is a crucial part of successfully producing and launching your show.

Keeping your podcast introduction short and sweet can be a challenge, but it’s essential to know how to pace your speech effectively.

If you present excess information at once, you risk boring your listeners, losing their attention, or even losing them from the audience altogether!

Ideally, our podcast intros should be somewhere between 30 seconds and 1 minute in length.

One way to keep your podcast intro interesting is by sharing a specific focus with each episode that you publish, differentiating it from other episodes and something closely related to the topic at hand without necessarily giving everything away.

What to Include in your Podcast Intro?

What to Include in your Podcast Intro?

Mix up what you talk about in each introduction. Your audience does not want to hear the same speech every episode. Make a similar speech, but keep it fresh!

You probably have a lot of the same essential information you want to convey to listeners in each episode, and that means you’re probably at risk of sounding monotonous.

Your audience will lose interest quickly if they feel like it’s a pattern of the same thing every time they tune in.

When you repeat similar content, try different wording and phrases so that what you say is never precisely the same. It will keep them guessing (and interested) about what’s coming next!

Say your podcast’s name, and make sure that you provide your listeners with enough information that they can quickly identify what your content is about at a glance.

Be as direct yet creative as possible with the content of your podcast intro, so it grabs the listener’s attention.

Try an introductory theme song to get the audience excited for you and your show! It’ll help you create a sense of familiarity with listeners.

#1 Brand/podcast name

Most people who listen to your podcast have never met you personally or know much about you.

In a simple sentence, introduce yourself and list your credentials so that listeners can get a sense of why you’re an expert and how they can trust your opinions as they listen.

#2 Episode title/number

It will help your target audience learn about your previous episodes and keep them in the loop if they visit your site for the first time.

On the other hand, this might also help your regular listeners keep track of everything they have listened to before in your channel.

#3 The Hosts

If you are structuring an Interview podcast, introduce your guest/guests. If you have a co-host(s), don’t forget to mention their names and credentials. If you create a podcast with multiple guests, introduce them to your audience.

#4 Subject

Podcasting is a growing hobby for many people who take joy in sharing their unique perspectives about all sorts of things with any number of different people.

While your podcast name should give a big hint at its subject matter, you don’t have to be shy about explicitly describing the kind of content people can expect from your podcast.

#5 Let your audience know why your podcast is unique

When you can clearly explain how a podcast is helpful to its potential listener, new listeners will be more eager to subscribe and keep listening to your episodes.

Tell them how your podcast can enhance their knowledge about certain things and improve their lives.

Spice Up your Intro With Some Music!

Spice Up your Intro With Some Music!

One of the very first things you will want to do before recording any podcast episodes is select a musical soundtrack that works perfectly with all of your voice-over segments, then assemble them.

You can use an audio editing software program to sync the spoken words and map them to audio clips.

Make sure that your song selection matches the tone or mood of the podcast being produced. You can also add a professional intro or outro in need of development by utilizing assistance from an expert.

A phenomenon called the ‘Muzak factor’ refers to exposure to a particular piece of music repeatedly, leading to liking that song. It is one way you can use music to promote your podcast.

Start your podcast by playing a jingle over your spoken introduction and repeating it regularly throughout the episode instead of having your introduction fade.

This way, your intro music can serve as an effective brand ambassador.

Royalty or Royalty-Free Music?

Royalty-free music is any digital file that uses copyright law and allows others to use it without paying royalties. Typically, this applies to songs, films, or images.

Royalty-free digital music generally starts out being sold with a “Standard License Agreement,” which means the customer can sell the license to someone else after using it.

Many content creators choose this option, so they aren’t limited by the length before their license expires and then rebuy it each year.

However, you can also use public domain music for your podcast intro.

You can always hire a professional to do the writing and orchestrating for you or look into what royalty-free options might be available in using music from an existing library that you can sometimes even use for free.

Reach out to your contacts and ask their permission before using any of their music or images for your podcast so that you don’t run into any legal issues because this is particularly important if you go through with publishing and distributing your podcast on iTunes.

How to get music?

There are several options where you can find the right music track. We recently reviewed websites that make it easy to obtain free, high-quality tunes for your podcast (like the incredible Audio Jungle and Soundstripe).

Buy a pre-recorded track from a site like Audio Jungle or Sound Stripe. Both of these sites let you browse thousands of songs and tracks and pick the one that’s right for you.

You’ll have to pay to use these tracks in your episodes, but after spending a minimal fee — as little as $1 per song! — you’ll own all the rights to use that song forever in any project without getting concerned about anything going wrong down the road (no one wants their music being used without permission).

Should you Put Sponsors in your Intro?

Yes, you can put sponsors at the start of your podcast episodes.

It is a good idea to give a 30 second-1 minute sponsorship intro about your sponsor(s) and for the sponsor(s) to tell the listeners how they can get hold of them.

Examples of Podcast Intros

Examples of Podcast Intros

“Welcome to the Days of Our Lives podcast. I am Joey Tribbiani; a former struggling actor turned day-time soap artist.

Each week you’ll hear mind-blowing interviews with my co-stars, as well as actionable tricks and strategies that you can make a part of your daily life to become a more motivated person.

It is our 13th episode, and Jessica is with me today! Thanks for spending your precious time with me today now; let’s jump into your daily dose of Days of Our Lives.”

Should you Also Consider Adding an Outro?

Should you Also Consider Adding an Outro?

The podcast intro may be the most crucial part of your show, but your outro is equally as valuable.

It should serve as a bridge between what listeners have just heard and what they will do next, such as learning more about your podcast, subscribing to it, sharing with their friends, etc.

By using the tagline of your podcast in the background of the outro, you’re directing listeners to continue listening, subscribe or support future episodes of your show.

Also, by incorporating a call to action in your outro, like asking for feedback or announcing upcoming events, you’re providing a visible reminder to your audience (podcast listeners) that there is something more for them to do beyond hearing your episode.

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Brett Robinson

Head of content and marketing over at Wired Clip HQ. I'm an Audio enthusiast and have been interested in anything from microphones to speakers. I am the lead guitarist for a small band and my main passion is editing our tracks.

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