How to Create a Podcast Trailer (& Why You Should!)

It’s a good idea to create a short promo trailer for your podcast for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, you can embed it on the front page of your website. That way, everyone who lands on your site can get an immediate taster of your content without the need to jump through any hoops.

Secondly, your trailer can be featured and played on other shows. There are entire podcasts dedicated to playing trailers, but a more effective and targeted approach would be a ‘trailer swap’ agreement between yourself and another podcast to promote each other to your respective audiences.

Podcast trailer example: Hostile Worlds

Having your trailer easily accessible means you might get promotion without even being aware of it, too. If another podcaster likes your work, they can download the audio and play it on their show.

The only potential downside of having a promo trailer is if you have a bad one. But of course, after reading this guide, that isn’t going to happen.

Let’s kick things off with a few frequently asked questions about podcast trailers.

How Long Should a Promo Trailer Be?

So the infamous podcasting “it depends” answer isn’t just as wide open here.

I’d say that having two versions of your trailer, one at 30 seconds and one at 60 seconds, will cover most bases.

If you submit a trailer to a particular podcast, they will likely have their criteria. For example, Libsyn’s The Feed asks for no longer than 30 seconds.

The bottom line is that trailers are pretty short, and the seconds tick by quickly. So, how do you make the most of the short amount of time you have to grab the attention of potential listeners?

What Goes in My Podcast Trailer?

You’ve always got creative license in podcasting, but there are some bare essentials here. These may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many trailers leave some of this stuff out.

The Name of Your Podcast

Yeah, you’ll want to include that…

If you don’t have one yet, check out our ultimate guide to podcast names.

What’s It About, & Who’s It For?

Don’t rely on the name of your show to tell people this valuable info. Tell them yourself. You can nail this down to a sentence or two.

A popular approach is to open with a question, like, “Are you a ___ who struggles with ___? Then join us on the ___ podcast where we help you ___.”

Or “Have you ever wondered about ___?, or what about ___? Well, these are just two of the topics you’ll find us discussing each week on the ___ podcast.”

Make sure your target audience knows this is the show for them, and that people who aren’t your target audience know that it isn’t for them.

For a deeper dive, check out Who is your podcast for?

Your Website

Like any good call to action, send them to one single easy-to-remember place – preferably your own website. Don’t say things like “Look us up on Facebook” or “Find us in Apple Podcasts” and run through a list of podcast directories. This is totally redundant and a waste of valuable space.

It’s good practice on your website to have a “Subscribe and Follow” page with links to everywhere your show can be found.

If you don’t have a podcast website yet, then check out Podpage, which can get you up and running with a great site in a few minutes (with no technical knowledge necessary).

The Creative Bit: Tone & Personality

So, providing you’ve got the essential details, we don’t want this to be a rigid formula that leaves every promo trailer sounding the same.

You want yours to sound unique, and that means getting creative. That’s a challenge with such a short amount of time available, but you wouldn’t be podcasting at all if you didn’t have a creative streak in you. You’ll manage!

Your promo trailer will be the first impression of your show for most of the folks who hear it, so you want to set the mood right up front. For example, if you cover your topic in a lighthearted or comedic way, how can you succinctly convey that?

Your audio quality (as well as any music or sound effects you use) will all filter into this just as much as what you actually say, too. If you run a highly-produced series, or pride yourself on your production values, then be sure to demonstrate that in your trailer.

Publishing Your Podcast Trailer

When uploading your promo trailer to your podcast feed, it’s a good idea to backdate it to a date before the release of your first episode. That way, it’ll keep your feed tidy and can be easily found. 

With that said, many hosting providers now provide dedicated “trailer” tags to help identify them from standard episodes, and some directories and apps recognise these, too.

Once you’ve uploaded your trailer, embed it onto your website’s home or “about” page. You can also embed it anywhere else on the site you think might be useful.

If you’re looking for podcasts to run a trailer swap with, check out Rephonic’s Podcast Audience Graph to find shows with an overlapping target audience.

How to Add Your Podcast Trailer to Spotify

A large chunk of podcast consumption (around 37%, in fact) takes place on Spotify. And, Spotify has a quick and easy way to set your podcast trailer on the platform.

Log in to your Spotify for Creators account and go to settings; then, you’ll find a ‘select your trailer’ button. This means that any new listeners who find your show on Spotify will spot your trailer right away. Hopefully, that will win them over to try a full episode afterwards!

How to Create a Podcast Trailer: Anything to Avoid?

I’ve already mentioned the “find us in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Overcast…” thing as a no-no. So, are there any other things you might want to leave out?

Explicit Language

Alright, I’m not saying don’t have explicit language if it’s integral to your show’s mood or tone. But do consider that it might limit where your trailer will get played.

If you absolutely do need an explicit trailer, you might consider making an alternative clean version, too.

Asking For Stuff

The only thing you want to ask people to do here is to listen to your podcast.

I’ve heard a couple of promo trailers over the years that have managed to squeeze in requests for iTunes reviews and Patreon support. That’s something you can talk to your actual listeners about, not your potential listeners.

Your trailer should be all about them, and what they’ll get from listening.

Podcast Trailer Resources & Next Steps

Still feel like you need a helping hand getting started? Our free Alitu Showplanner will generate a first draft of a podcast trailer script for you. You don’t even need to log in to use it.

And, once you’ve created something you’re happy with, be sure to share it with us in the IndiePod community. There, you can get feedback and suggestions, and you might even find another podcaster to run a trailer swap with, too!