They say first impressions count. What your listeners hear within the first minute of your show determines if they'll stick around or not, which is why you need to get your podcast intro right. Captivate your audience with just the right words and set up your show to keep listeners hooked.
Keep Your Podcast Intro Short ⏱
A nice length for a podcast intro is about 30 secs long maximum. It’s only a taste of what listeners can expect from a full episode, so don’t go giving listeners the whole meal and telling them every detail about what’s coming up in a podcast intro. A bit like this episode of Create. Reach. Inspire.
Try This: Start a timer for 1 minute and try to summarise your podcast episode before the time goes off. Then repeat with 40 secs, then 30, and so on. Hopefully, by the end you should have a super-condensed version of what you’re trying to say.
Hook Your Listeners in the First 30 Seconds 🎣
A strong hook is very important for attracting an audience into your podcast episode and keeping them listening. A fantastic example is this episode of true crime podcast Small Town Dicks, which uses an audio recording from a violent guy having a breakdown over the phone to the police to attract the listeners attention:
Note: Be aware that there is explicit language used in the following clip.
Obviously, not every podcast is a true crime podcast that can draw on such emotional content for their introduction. But there’s always valuable information to put in your podcast intro.
Let’s say you were a health podcast and in your episode, you wanted to discuss healthy eating, a brand new exercise regime and an interview with a top nutritionist.
Bad Intro
“Hi Guys! Welcome back to the Healthy Podcast hosted by me, Joe Bloggs!
Today we’re going to be talking about the food triangle and what you should be putting on your plates, the new fitness regime sweeping the nation that involved 7 push ups, 5 sit ups and 10 star jumps. And we’ll be talking to Roger Federer about the latest news story we’ve seen recently.”
This introduction is far too long and gives out way too much information. You’ve practically told the listener exactly what you’re talking about in the episode so they may as well not listen now. A good version of this podcast intro might sound something like this:
Good Intro
“What should you be putting on your plate? Are you joining in with the latest fitness fad? Roger Federer reveals EVERYTHING! You’re listening to the Healthy Podcast!”
This podcast intro still mentions what you’ll be talking about but with far far less given away. The listener will HAVE to keep listening to find out the full details of each story, so you’ve hooked them!
Hopefully, this has all helped you to get an idea on how to come up with a good introduction for your podcast. If you’re still unsure, feel free to email us at [email protected], or click the chat button in the bottom right of the page.
