We content creators often overcomplicate things.

In our efforts to make things better, we're often experimenting with new and different tools or approaches. Sometimes, that's good, as we do need to innovate for continuous improvement and to stay ahead of trends.

But we need to remember that "new and different" is not always better. Sometimes, it's worse. Scratch that, a lot of times, it's much worse, because most new things typically require a lot of testing and refinement before being optimized.

There are also certain types of content that work best when we establish and follow a fairly standard template, which is aligned to the information being conveyed and our audience's expectations.

So it is with podcast introductions. There's particular information to be conveyed, and a few standard formats for conveying this information in ways that audiences can quickly understand whether or not an episode is for them.

My Podcast Intro Template

This is the standard format myself (and many other) podcasters typically use:

Hook: What's an interesting way to introduce this topic? It could be a controversial statement, an interesting fact, a question, etc.
Guest bio and/or host credibility: Why is my guest (or myself as the host) qualified to speak on this subject? What do we bring to the table, either as subject matter experts or someone with a unique perspective?
Topics the audience can expect: What are the main topics and subtopics that will be discussed in the episode? A list of the 3-5 main ones are usually ideal, as more than that can be hard to follow.
Bonus - Open a "curiosity loop" to close out the intro: Here's a step we often forget. We've earned the click, we've gotten people to listen to our intro, now we need to "close the deal" with a retention sub-hook that makes it so people "have to stay tuned" (as they say😉). What does look like? It's a statement like:
- "At the end, I'll give you one more bonus tip that's essential to putting this this all together, without which, the whole thing falls apart."
- "Throughout each topic, we're going provide you with practical examples that will help you understand how to implement each of the strategies."
- "When we get to number four, I'll tell you what happened when I tried this approach in my own business."
OK, it's a bit cheesy 🧀, but top creators use this format because it works. The key is that is has to be true. If you offer one of these loop openers, but then fail to close it in a credible way, you're just going to be seen as clickbaiter, and we all know that nobody likes one of those. 😂

Trust Me: Do the Same Boring Thing Over Again

I sometimes look at this format and think: "Maybe I should try something different this time?" If you have this thought, I want you to resist that urge.

I've tried, and I just keep coming back to this approach.

It works. It's efficient. And sometimes, that's enough. After all, if I just stick with that same format, I can keep making the content (within the format) better and better. In particular, I'm working on that curiousity loop part right now.

My question for you today is this: What's one thing where you could make better gains by leaving the format alone, and improving the content within it instead?

My Podcast Intro Template for Faster Production Times and Better Quality

We content creators often overcomplicate things.In our efforts to make things better, we're often ex

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