What are podcast show notes, and are they even necessary? First, think of podcast show notes like a synopsis to a book. Show notes are text (typically set up as a blog post) that describe any individual podcast episode. They can include information about the episode, guest information (including guest photo and bio), links to any resources or information mentioned in the episode, and highlight topics (usually as bullet points). Show notes can be short and concise or long and descriptive.

So are show notes actually necessary? Well, I can count the times I’ve personally looked at show notes after listening to a podcast on one hand. And I can bet the same holds true for many other podcast listeners. BUT, by posting show notes on your website or blog, you greatly increase the SEO (search engine optimization) for your website. Search engines love new content, so for SEO alone, I encourage you to create show notes for your podcast episodes. Further, someone may stumble upon your website or blog for the first time and know nothing about you or your podcast. By posting show notes (even concise ones) you provide them the opportunity to get to learn more about you and your work through the power of words.