Show Notes
The main purpose of show note writers is to write SEO-rich show notes to accompany each audio file to get each episode indexed online.
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Clients typically fall into 1 of 2 categories:
Weekly show notes are written by PNS writers (most common)
The client writes their own show notes (least common)
Spreadsheet Production Key
Show note writers play a crucial role in keeping the spreadsheet updated to the correct color.
We use the same color key guide for every show so it’s easy to remember. It’s also posted at the top of each spreadsheet. Checking the color guide will also give you a good idea of where in the production process the audio file is.
The main color a writer will turn the show notes cell or in some cases, the full line to is yellow. Please see below for some common scenarios.
The main focus of a writer will be on the Show Note CTAs and Show Notes columns, which come directly after the title column.
Show Note CTAs - not every client will have these. Some rotate their CTAs more regularly than others, while some just have the same evergreen CTA to subscribe and links to their social media. But if they do have a product or sponsor CTA it should be noted in this column.
Show Notes - this is the most important column and the one that lets the client & Traffic know the status of the episode notes. Once the notes are written, the cell should be turned yellow and “complete” added.
All clients are given the opportunity to review the show notes before they are published, although only a handful actually do. In some cases, they will review and approve before publishing. In those instances, instead of writing complete, you could put “in review” or “waiting for approval” in the cell and still turn it yellow. Then change to “complete” once the client gives the green light.
Scenario Examples
Common color coding scenarios that might occur:
The entire line is yellow, while the show notes cell is still blue. Once you finish writing the notes & load them to dropbox, you’ll put “Complete” in the show notes cell for that episode & turn it yellow.
In some cases, the audio team, may have turned the entire line is yellow, including the show notes cell even though you haven’t written them yet. It’s okay. Either turn your cell blue, while you work on them, then change it to yellow and write “complete” in the cell once done. Or if they are already written, simple write “complete” in the cell. Traffic knows that if “complete” is not written in there & there are no notes loaded to the show notes folder, then they are not actually ready to be loaded.
2. The entire line is purple. This means the audio is in the Ready to Load folder, but it still needs the episode title and show notes before loading can happen. Once you’ve written the show notes and come up with a title, input the title into the title cell, add “complete” into the show notes cell, and turn the entire line yellow. This tells Traffic that everything is ready to go.
Note: that the audio can be loaded without notes, but it cannot be loaded with a title, so Traffic will be waiting on this last piece to complete the final step in the process.
3. The entire line is dark blue. This means that the audio is not yet ready to load. If you’ve finished the notes early, change only the show notes cell yellow and write “complete”, but don’t change the full line. The audio engineer will turn the entire line yellow once it is finished being built.
4. The entire line is green, but the show notes cell is still blue. This means that Traffic has already loaded the audio file and is waiting on show notes. Once written, change the show notes cell yellow and write “complete”. Traffic will get the Trello notification that they are ready to load.
If it happens to be less than 24 hours before publishing, notify them directly in Slack that they are ready to load.
5. The entire line is green as everything had already been completed, but there was an edit needed to the show notes and they need to be re-uploaded. Change the green cell back to yellow and tag the appropriate traffic person in the client channel that the show notes are ready to be re-uploaded. Once they are re-uploaded, they will change the cell back to green to show that everything is complete.
Note: Traffic will get an automatic notification every time a file is loaded to the show notes folder. But in the case of re-uploads, it’s best to notify them of the change as they may not have seen an edit was made after they loaded.
As you can see from the scenarios above, the color coding system is a way of internal communication and very important to each team. It’s everyone’s responsible to keep the spreadsheet up to date. If something is off or doesn’t make sense, use an internal Slack channel (ie not the client channel) to get it addressed ASAP.
Internal Show Note Processes
General Workflow is as follows:
The client loads their raw audio file to their “To Be Edited” dropbox folder,
A Trello card will appear within the appropriate list on the writer’s Trello board.
The writer will then use the raw audio file to write the show notes using the provided show notes word doc template. This can be done in 1 of 2 ways:
Listen to the audio and extract the most important details and information
Run the audio file through Rev, to get a rough transcription of the episode to work from. The transcription can then be used to pull episode details and quotes.
For episodes with guest interviews, guest bios should be loaded by the client into the “Guest Bio” subfolder located within the Show Notes folder. If no assets have been uploaded, see if you can find the guest on LinkedIn via episode clues or ping the client on Slack to get the information needed.
Check the Show Note CTAs column in the production spreadsheet for which CTA to include at the bottom of the show notes.
Note: CTAs typically get used over and over for a while before being replaced. However, you may be asked to write a new one when needed. CTA copy can be kept in a subfolder in the main Show Notes folder labeled “CTA” for quick use each week.
Once the episode notes are complete, review & spell check the document before uploading.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to use the PNS grammarly account to assist in writing the show notes.
Our subscription login is:
username: kate@podcastnetworksolutions.com
pw: 88Astra88!
Here are instructions on how to download grammarly to your computer: https://www.grammarly.com/office-addin/downloading/mac )
Once final, upload the final Word document to the client’s Show Notes folder following this naming format: Show Abbreviation - Episode Number - Episode Title - Guest Name (if applicable)
Example: PPP267 - Joe Kenn on 32 Years of Continued Success
Example: AF182 - Don't Do This Alone
Example: PFC028 – Six Figure Freelancing with Kate Bagoy
Open the client’s production spreadsheet and note in the Show Notes column the notes are “complete” and change that cell to yellow.
If you created the episode’s title, also add that to the title column in the spreadsheet and turn the line the appropriate color.
Ping the client in their Slack channel that their show notes are ready so they can review and make edit requests in a timely manner.
All edit requests should be made in the channel & not via DM to you. If they consistently DM you please notify Kate to talk with them.
The Trello card can then be archived/deleted from your board
Timeline Examples
Timeline for Shows Produced Weekly:
Clients are told they need to upload their audio files, no later than 1 week or 7 days before the episode is to air. And Traffic needs at least 1 day before the air date to load the audio & notes and get ready for publishing.
This means that episode show notes should be loaded to the dropbox folder no later than 3 business days before the episode is to air, in order to give the client time to review & make edit requests.
A Monday show would look something like this:
Monday (Day 1) - Client loads audio
Tuesday (Day 2) - audio is available
Wednesday (Day 3) - Show notes are loaded for client review
Thursday (Day 4) - Client makes edit requests & show notes are edited & reloaded
Friday (Day 5) - Traffic loads & schedules the upcoming episode for Monday
Saturday & Sunday (Day 6 & 7) - nothing as no one is expected to work weekends
Monday (Day 8) - episode publishes at 5am
A Thursday show would look more like this:
Thursday (Day 1) - client loads audio
Saturday & Sunday (Day 2 & 3) - nothing
Friday (Day 4) - audio is available
Monday (Day 5) - show notes are ready
Tuesday (Day 6) - client makes edit requests & notes are edited & reloaded
Wednesday (Day 7) - traffic loads & schedules episode
Thursday (Day 8) - episode publishes at 5am
Of course, we always try to get the client’s to load their audio more than a week out, and many do, but this is an example of short timeline if they do not.
And if you ever need help send a Slack in the #staff-writers channel to ask questions, ask for assistance or to communicate any issues.
New Podcast Launch Timeline:
New shows launch with 10 episodes right off the bat. This means that the lead up to launch day will be more intense than the ongoing weekly rotation.
The client will load audio episodes as they get them recorded to their “To Be Edited” folder. During this time your Trello Board and the Production Spreadsheet will greatly help you keep track of what is in, what still needs to be completed and where each episode is in the building process.
Ideally you would have all 10 episode show notes docs created and loaded to the Show Notes folder 7 - 10 days before launch day, 4 days at the very latest. This gives the client time to review & make edit requests as well as give Traffic extra time to load.
We tell clients to have all episodes recorded and in their To Be Edited folder no less than 3 weeks before launch. But deadlines frequently get missed, so the launch timeline is all very client dependent. It’s important to pay attention to conversations happening in the Slack channel and stay up to date with the production calendar so you know where episodes stand.
The Purpose of Show Notes
The primary use of show notes is to get the attention of Google and other search engines. These notes are not written as stand alone articles or with creativity in mind, although they can be the basis of blogs and much more. We encourage client’s to repurpose them to grow their show.
The purpose of show notes is to drive traffic to the client podcast and website. When posting the episode to their website, we encourage them to post them to post the show notes along with the podcast player.
The below videos are provided to the client to introduce and explain show notes in further detail.
PART I
What Are Show Notes?
What Will PNS Do With Them?
What Will Show Notes Do For Me?
PART II
Where Can I View / Find My Show Notes
Can I Review / Edit My Show Notes?
Why Do They Look That Way?
PART III
How Will PNS Know If I’ve Made An Edit
How Can I Help My Writer?
What About Info From Guests?
PART IV
How Else Can I Use My Show Notes?
How Else Can PNS Help?