Podcast Show Notes Template
Copy the structure below, or skip the writing entirely: the free generator builds show notes from your transcript — every line grounded in what was actually said.
The template (copy-paste)
#[Episode number]: [Title — promise, not topic] **With:** [Guest name, one-line credential] **Listen:** [~length] · [Apple/Spotify links] ## TL;DR [2–3 sentences: what the listener walks away with. Written as a promise, not a table of contents.] ## Key moments - **[Timestamp] — [Heading]**: [One sentence about what happens here.] - **[Timestamp] — [Heading]**: [...] - **[Timestamp] — [Heading]**: [...] (5–8 entries. Headings are promises: "Why calendar blocks beat to-do lists" — not "Productivity talk".) ## The takeaway [The single most quotable idea from the episode, stated plainly.] ## Mentioned in this episode - [Thing/resource + link, only if genuinely referenced] ## About [Guest/Show] [1–2 lines + one link.]
What makes good show notes (the 5 rules)
1 · Title = promise“Focus is a budget” beats “Episode 47: Productivity”. Search and humans both reward specificity.
2 · Quote only what was saidIf you quote the episode, quote it word-for-word. (This is exactly what our generator enforces — AI tools inventing “quotes” is the top host complaint.)
3 · Timestamps are promisesEach one should earn a click: a claim, a story, a number — never “we continue talking about…”
4 · TL;DR before contentsGive the skim-reader the payoff first; the structure serves them after.
5 · Cut everything genericIf a sentence could belong to any podcast, delete it.
Filled-in example
Generated by the free tool from a real transcript — unedited
#12: Attention — The Budget Nobody Manages
TL;DR: Attention compounds like money, and most of us let anyone spend it. This episode walks through the friction changes — calendar blocks, input subtraction, scripts for boundaries — that get a full morning back.
Key moments:
· Opening: Attention — why focus is an environment you build, not a personality trait
· Cost of a ping — task-switching interest rates: one notification can tax the whole morning
· Calendar beats to-do — “a to-do item is a wish; a calendar block is a promise”
· Subtraction — the professional with three tools out-ships the one with thirty
· Scripts for boundaries — exact sentences that defend focus without burning bridges
The takeaway: “Your attention is the budget everything else is bought with. Spend it like it's yours — because it is.”
Generate yours from a real transcript — free, no signup, quotes verbatim: show notes generator →