The fastest way to write podcast show notes is to start from a transcript of the episode. You get the transcript, pull the timestamps for your chapters, use it to find the takeaways and every resource mentioned, then edit the result by hand so it sounds like you. Working from text means you don’t have to scrub through the audio again.
Below: a template you can copy, a filled-in example, the workflow, and tips for search and accessibility.
The short version
- Get a transcript of the finished episode, from its public link or by uploading the audio file.
- Pull 5 to 10 timestamps where the topic changes. These become your chapters.
- Find the takeaways and resources with an AI summary and a few questions to the transcript.
- Fill in the template below, then edit it by hand.
- Publish the notes in your podcast host and on the episode page of your website, with the full transcript below them.
A podcast show notes template
Copy this and fill in each part. Not every episode needs every section, but this order works for most interview and solo shows.
[Episode title]: a specific promise, not just the guest's name
Summary
2–3 sentences: who's on, what the episode covers, and why
it's worth a listen. Put the most searchable words first.
Key takeaways
- 3–5 points a listener could act on or remember
Chapters
00:00 Intro
mm:ss Topic in plain words
mm:ss Next topic
...
About the guest
1–2 sentences on who they are and why they're on the show.
Website · social handle · their book, product or show
Resources mentioned
- Every book, tool, article, study or person named, with a link
Next step
One clear action: subscribe, leave a review, join the newsletter,
or listen to a related episode.Example: filled-in show notes
Here’s the template filled in for a made-up episode of a fictional show. The guest and details are invented; it’s here to show the level of detail to aim for.
Episode 48: How to price your first freelance project
Pricing your first client project is where most new freelancers undercharge. Freelance designer Maya Ortiz explains how she moved from hourly rates to project pricing, what to say when a client pushes back, and the one question she asks before every quote.
Key takeaways
- Quote by the project, not the hour, once you can estimate the scope.
- Ask what the project is worth to the client before you name a number.
- Put a limit on revisions in writing before you start.
Chapters
- 00:00 Intro
- 02:15 Maya’s first underpriced project
- 09:40 Hourly vs. project pricing
- 21:05 The question to ask before every quote
- 33:30 Handling “that’s over our budget”
- 44:10 Listener questions
About Maya: Maya Ortiz is a brand designer who works with small food businesses. (Links to her website and social profiles go here.)
Resources mentioned: the pricing worksheet from episode 31 and the contract template Maya uses (each with a link).
Next step: If this helped, follow the show and send it to a friend who just went freelance.
The workflow, step by step
1. Get the transcript
If the episode is already live, copy its episode link and paste it into the Spotify podcast transcript generator or the Apple Podcasts transcript generator. It reads the episode’s audio from your public feed and returns the full, timestamped text in a few minutes. (The guides to getting a Spotify transcript and an Apple Podcasts transcript cover the details. If the episode is on YouTube or you’re starting from another app, see how to convert a podcast to text.)
If you want the notes ready the day the episode goes out, upload your final audio file before you publish. MP3, WAV, M4A and other common formats work, up to 6 hours and 500 MB.
Transcribe the final edit, not the raw recording. If you cut the intro or move segments after transcribing, every timestamp after the cut will be wrong.
2. Pull the timestamps
Skim the transcript and mark each point where the conversation changes topic. For a 45-minute episode, 5 to 10 chapters is plenty. Name each one in the listener’s words (“Handling budget pushback”), not your internal shorthand (“Segment 4”).
One thing to check: if your host inserts ads automatically, the timestamps listeners see can be pushed later by the length of the ads. After the episode goes live, check two or three chapters against the published audio and adjust if they’re off.
3. Find the takeaways and the resources mentioned
This is where the transcript saves the most time. On the result page:
- Generate the AI summary for a first draft of your episode summary. The podcast summarizer puts the summary first if that’s all you need.
- Use Ask AI to ask questions such as “List every book, tool, website and person mentioned,” “What are the three most practical tips?” and “What did the guest say about [topic]?” Answers are drawn from the transcript, but check anything you publish against it.
- Use the search box to check every name and link before you publish. Spelling of names and brands is the most common transcription error.
Each AI action uses 1 credit.
4. Edit by hand
AI gets you a draft, not finished notes. Rewrite the summary in your show’s voice, cut generic takeaways, and add the links yourself. A good test: would a listener who skipped the episode know whether to play it?
Show notes that help people find the episode
- Lead with the topic. Podcast apps show only the first line or two of the description before cutting it off. Say what the episode is about there, in the words people search for, rather than “In this episode we…”
- Name the guest and their work. People often search for a guest by name.
- Give each episode its own page on your website with the show notes and the full transcript. Search engines can read your website far more easily than a podcast app listing. A full transcript adds every topic you discussed as text that search engines and AI assistants can read and quote.
- Link to past episodes when they come up.
Accessibility: publish the full transcript
Without a transcript, deaf and hard-of-hearing people can’t get your episode’s content at all, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) call for a text alternative to prerecorded audio. It also helps skimmers and anyone hunting for one quote. Put it on the episode page below the show notes, with a heading such as “Full transcript,” and correct names and obvious errors first.
Common questions
How long should podcast show notes be?
Long enough to help someone decide to listen and find what was mentioned: usually 150 to 400 words, plus chapters and links. Keep the summary to two or three sentences. The full transcript can live below the notes on your website.
Should I publish the full transcript?
Yes, on your website’s episode page. It makes the episode accessible, gives search engines more text to index, and lets listeners find quotes. In the podcast app description, show notes and links are enough.
Can AI write my show notes?
AI can write a solid first draft from the transcript: the summary, takeaways and resources mentioned. Still edit it. AI drafts tend to be generic and can miss what made the episode interesting.
What format should timestamps use?
Use mm:ss (for example 09:40), or h:mm:ss once the episode passes an hour, with one chapter per line and the first one at 00:00. Some apps and hosts turn timestamps in the description into clickable chapters; check your host’s documentation for its exact rules.
Is the transcript free?
Podcast transcripts and file uploads are Plus and Pro features. They cost 10 credits per hour of audio, so an episode up to an hour is 10 credits. If you also publish the episode on YouTube, transcribing the video is 1 credit on any plan. See the credits page for plans.
Write the notes from the text, not from memory
Show notes are much faster to write when the whole episode is text you can search. Upload your final audio or paste your episode link, and you’ll have a timestamped transcript to fill the template from in a few minutes.