While music in your intro sets the mood for your podcast, the copy you use for your intro and how you announce who you are enforces it.
Your podcast intro should answer three questions:
- Who are you and who is your podcast for?
- What are you talking about?
- Why should somebody listen?
Here's an example from RED Podcast:
“This is the RED Podcast. The marketing podcast for experts — Rise above the noise. Expand your audience. Deliver impact. Here’s your host, David Hooper.”
The Art Of Charm uses this:
“This is The Art Of Charm. Learn everything you need to know to crush it in business, love, and life. The Art Of Charm is where ordinary guys become extraordinary men.”
The Most Ripped-Off Podcast Intro Copy
Anytime something is successful, people copy it. We all do this — we take great ideas and improve on them. That’s how innovation works.
But when writing the copy for your podcast intro and the way you'll announce yourself to listeners, don’t use the exact words somebody else is using, neglecting to add your own beliefs, spin, and style. For example, “Welcome to the XYX Podcast, where it’s all about __________, so you can __________ later.”
If you listen to podcasts about business, you’ve likely heard a line very similar to this one on Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income.
Pat’s intro:
"Welcome to the Smart Passive Income Podcast, where it’s all about working hard now, so you can sit back and reap the benefits later."
Founded in 2010, Smart Passive Income is one of the most popular podcasts online, getting as many as 350,000 downloads per episode. And Pat has done hundreds of episodes that use this intro copy.
Because Pat reaches so many people with his podcast and so many people want to do what he's doing, lots of people have copied his intro. But what works for Pat, at least when it comes to a podcast intro, won't work for you.
The reason somebody will listen to your podcast is because you have something nobody else can offer. That sounds cheesy, and maybe it is cheesy, but podcast listeners have virtually unlimited listening choices, each available without any extra work. Nobody is going to listen to a copy of something (or someone) when they can get the real thing just as easily.
If you want to have a successful podcast, you need to deliver your message in a way nobody else can. Using somebody else's words doesn’t set the proper stage for you to do this.
Let Your Freak Flag Fly
Jeff Brown of Read to Lead Podcast uses this intro:
I believe that intentional and consistent reading
is key
to/for success
in business and in life.
It's a flag in the ground – a statement that lets listeners know where you stand. And using Jeff’s “worldview” formula, you can do something similar with your podcast intro.
The "Worldview" Template
I believe that (fill in the blank): ____________ (OR: I believe that doing _______ )
is __________________ (key? instrumental? a must?)
to/for ________________ (success / overcoming X / achieving X)
in __________________________ (this and/or that endeavor).
Your podcast intro is like your name — it’s your identity. It attracts the people you want to listen and repels those for whom what you do isn’t a match. Own it and attract your audience, not somebody else's.
