Glossary
What is a podcast trailer?
By the KeyMo team · Updated
A podcast trailer is a short promo that introduces a show as a whole: who it is for, what it covers and what a listener gets. It is not a recap of one episode. A new listener should know within a minute or so whether the show is for them and what to play first.
Trailer versus clip
People mix these up because both are short. They have different jobs. A trailer sells the show. A podcast clip shows one moment from one episode.
| Podcast trailer | Episode clip | |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Explain and sell the whole show | Show one moment that works alone |
| Source | A script plus snippets from several episodes | One continuous stretch of a single episode |
| Audience | Someone who has never heard the show | Someone in a feed, any familiarity |
| Ends with | What to listen to first and where to follow | Usually the end of the point |
| How often you make one | Once, then update when the show changes | Every episode |
What goes in a trailer
- The promise: who the show is for and what they get, in a sentence.
- A voice that sounds like the show, so the host speaks it themselves.
- Two or three of the best moments, so the listener hears the actual show and not a description.
- One clear next step: play a specific episode, or follow.
- Short enough that a person finishes it. If a script runs on, cut it.
A trailer made only of the host reading a list of topics is the weak version. The strong one lets the audience hear a surprise, a laugh or a strong opinion, and uses the narration only to hold it together.
A worked outline
Take a fictional show called "Small Shops", about people who run local businesses. A tight trailer might run: one line from the host about who the show is for, a clip of a baker explaining what went wrong in her first year, a clip of a plumber with an opinion on pricing, then the host naming the episode to start with. Four pieces, with the show's actual voices doing most of the selling.
Common mistakes
- Describing the show and never letting anyone speak.
- Naming five topics so the trailer feels like a menu.
- Making it again and again for each season and never refreshing the best moments.
- No next step. A trailer that ends on a fade-out wastes the listener's interest.
- Using an excerpt from another person's work without permission.
If you are cutting clips from a finished episode, read about podcast content repurposing and the highlight reel, which stitches moments together in a different way.