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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the 10 tips suggested by the blubrry network for the first 2 minutes of your episodes in your show.

In this post called “10 tips for the first 2 minutes of your podcast,” we get some pointers and best practices from real podcast professionals from the blubrry network, headed by Todd Cochrane.

Now, I have known Todd since 2006, and I am a big fan of his work, his business and his contributions to podcasting. He was one of the very first podcasters and the author of the first book on podcasting. His business includes the rawvoice, the blubrry network (from which this post came) and Geek News Central.

Here, he delivers WHY the intro to a podcast episode in your show is so important for success: “The first two minutes of your podcast are the most important of your show. And even if you don’t agree with that statement, you surely agree that your podcast must quickly achieve the following goals based on these suggestions:” (and then he gives a short list of three suggestions from experience of the VALUE that your intro can have:

Confirm your branding and the ‘feel’ of your show.
Let your audience know what to expect with your episode.
Make your audience want to listen more.

and then he delivers the ten tips, which you will also get with some detailed explanations. These tips can be a good cornerstone or checklist for your own episodes, because many podcasters can tell you that they are very much like BEST PRACTICES:

Limit your intro music.
Use a brief prerecorded intro to convey the ‘feel’ of your show.
Let your audience hear your voice as soon as possible.
If you use a ‘highlight’ clip from your episode as part of your intro, make it brief.
Share key takeaways that your audience can expect from listening to the episode.
Greet the listener.
Segue into the main part of your show.
Seek the best audio quality.
Validate that your first 120 seconds is connecting with your audience through podcast analytics and statistics.
Do not alter the first 120 seconds frequently. Your listeners like consistency: Do not drastically change the format of the beginning of your show once you have created something both you and your audience like.

I know that I have used many of these practices for improving the quality of my shows and their episodes. And it has paid off big-time for me with more audience growth and downloads. In fact, other shows have taken it upon them to repurpose my episodes, and thus it provided a win-win result.

I hope that your shows can be improved by including some of these best-practices into your podcasts.

Thank you for your attention.