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ChatGPT is the online tool of the minute that everyone seems to have an opinion on.
But, regardless of if you’ve used ChatGPT or not, or what your opinion of AI tools is, it’s safe to say that AI is here to stay in some form or another.
Creating compelling podcast show notes can be a time-consuming and challenging task for many podcasters. That’s where can ChatGPT come in.
ChatGPT is an AI-powered writing assistant that can help you write high-quality show notes in a fraction of the time it would take to write them manually. In this blog post, we’ll explore how ChatGPT works, its benefits for podcasters, and how you can use it to write effective and engaging show notes for your podcast episodes.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an AI language model developed by OpenAI, based on the GPT-3 architecture. It is designed to generate human-like responses to text prompts. It uses machine learning to analyse vast amounts of text data. ChatGPT is capable of understanding natural language input and producing output that is fluent, coherent, and contextually relevant. However, it does have its limitations, including having up-to-date knowledge on events post-2021, and as my husband and I found out when we were messing around on it the other day, it’s quite capable of making up quite legitimate-looking references.
In the context of podcasting, though, ChatGPT can be used to generate show notes based on your podcast episode’s transcript. You simply provide ChatGPT with the transcript of your podcast episode, and it will use its language processing capabilities to read and analyse the text. It will then generate a summary or outline of your episode’s main topics, key insights, and notable quotes.
To some, it might feel a little like ‘cheating,’ but there’s no doubt that this can save podcasters a significant amount of time and effort. Think about it, you no longer have to manually go through your podcast transcript and then summarise it into show notes from scratch. How much time could that save you?
What are podcast show notes?
Podcast show notes are a written summary of the content covered in a podcast episode, a bit like the blurb of a book.
They typically include a brief overview of the episode’s main topics, key insights, and notable quotes, as well as any relevant links or resources mentioned in the episode. Show notes can be helpful for listeners who want to quickly skim the episode’s content, revisit specific topics, or follow up on additional resources or follow links mentioned in the episode.
For podcasters, show notes can also be a valuable tool for driving traffic to their website and building their audience.
Well-crafted show notes can help improve a podcast’s SEO and make it easier for potential listeners to discover the podcast through search engines and social media. Additionally, including links to relevant resources or products mentioned in the episode can help generate affiliate revenue or direct sales for you if they link through to your products or services.
How to use ChatGPT to write your podcast show notes
Using ChatGPT to write your podcast show notes is a straightforward process that I have to say I’ve used several times (with gradually improving results) for both The Confident CEO Podcast and The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Podcasting.
- Before using ChatGPT to generate show notes, you’ll need to have a transcript of your podcast episode. My personal favourite transcription services are Descript and Otter.ai. Before you use your transcription, though, do make sure that you spend 10 minutes or so going through it and making sure any errors are corrected. ChatGPT can only create show notes with what you give it. So, if you give it a transcript with errors, you’ll likely waste your time and get inaccurate show notes generated.
- Once you’ve got your transcript ready, use one of the prompts below and instruct ChatGPT to write you your podcast show notes. It’s important to be specific in what you want. In addition to the prompts below, you can also tell ChatGPT how long you’d like the show notes to be (i.e. 200 words), and the tone you’d like the show notes written in too (for example, funny, informal, professional, etc).
- Hit ‘return’ on your keyboard and let ChatGPT work its magic. ChatGPT will analyse what you’ve instructed it to do along with your transcript and will pull the information it needs to generate your show notes.
- Once ChatGPT has finished creating your show notes, you can review and edit them. This is a crucial step and must not be missed! It might be very tempting to just copy and paste the text you’ve been given, but, you need to check for accuracy, and also that the text sounds like how you write and talk. You don’t, after all, want to produce show notes that everyone can recognise as being a copy and paste from an AI tool. Once you’ve reviewed your show notes and made any necessary edits you can enter the show notes to your podcast episode on your podcasting hosting platform.
ChatGPT prompts for writing your podcast show notes
Below are some prompts that you might want to use to create podcast show notes in ChatGPT. Have a play around with the different prompts, and remember that the more you use ChatGPT, the more it understands your tone and the style in which you write and talk.
- “Can you summarise the main topics discussed in the podcast episode, and provide a brief overview of how they were explored or analysed? I need approximately 300 words for podcast show notes and I need the show notes to be written in an informal and chatty manner using the following transcription {insert transcription here}.”
- “Use the following podcast transcript and identify some of the key insights or takeaways presented in the podcast episode, and how might they be relevant or useful to listeners. I need you to use this information to create podcast show notes. Here is the transcript {insert transcript here}.”
- “Can you identify any notable quotes, anecdotes, or examples from the podcast episode that help illustrate the main points or themes discussed to create show notes for this podcast episodes. Use this transcript to write the show notes {insert transcript here}.”
- “Based on the transcript of this podcast episode, can you provide a brief introduction or overview that effectively captures the main theme or takeaway of the episode {insert transcript here}. I need the show notes to be around 200 words long and written in a persuasive way to engage the reader.”
Conclusion
Podcast show notes are an important part of any podcast episode. They help to engage listeners, can improve SEO, and drive new listeners to your podcast. However, manually creating high-quality show notes can be a time-consuming and tedious process for many podcasters. This is where ChatGPT can be a game-changer, enabling you to generate professional show notes in a matter of minutes.
What do you think? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!
