How I Create Podcast Intros

In this episode, I take you behind the scenes as I walk through the process of creating a podcast intro for a brand-new show. If you're curious about Curiosity Overload, you can check it out [here]. The podcast will be available on all major directories starting October 14, 2024.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is Podcasting where I'm on a quest to conquer the podcasting realm,

(00:04):
and I'm bringing you along for the journey to help you achieve your own podcasting success.
In this episode, we're diving into how I created this.
This is Curiosity Overload, the podcast where we dive deep into the most fascinating and
unexpected topics that ignite our curiosity and, well, we just have some fun.

(00:28):
Let's dive in to today's episode.
Before we jump in, quick update. PodQuesting has a brand new website at, you guessed it,
podquesting.com. I'm testing out PodPage, a website platform built specifically for podcasters.

(00:52):
One cool feature is it offers the ability for listeners to leave voice mails, so if you have
any questions or comments and want to be featured on this show, head over to podquesting.com and
leave me a message. Now back to the topic at hand, podcast intros are arguably one of the most
important parts of your show. They set the tone and hook your audience right from the start.

(01:16):
If your intro doesn't give listeners a clear idea of what the podcast is about, or at least
establish the vibe, you risk turning people away. Some podcasters believe you don't need a standard
intro with background music or sound effects, and honestly I agree, a simple hook can work wonders
whether it's a brief topic overview or a teaser from the episode. But here's the thing, I'm pretty

(01:40):
biased, I love creating intros with music and sound effects, so let's walk through how I created
the intro for a podcast that's in development that I'm doing with step one. Alright, so step one is
crafting the script. The first step in creating any intro is scripting. I have a simple formula
I like to follow. It's like the ingredients for a spell that brings your podcast to life.

(02:05):
Here's how it goes, so start with a phrase like, this is, welcome to, or you're listening to.
This is, follow that with the podcast name, for example, this is Curiosity Overload or welcome to
Curiosity Overload. This is Curiosity Overload. After introducing this show, the next step is to
briefly describe what the podcast is about. For a show like Curiosity Overload, which covers a wide

(02:31):
variety of topics, I kept it broad without giving too much away. Originally the script for Curiosity
Overload was, this is Curiosity Overload, a podcast where we dive deep into the topics that spark our
curiosity. But as I recorded the voiceover, things evolved, which is pretty common for me at least.
Now let's dive into step two, which is recording the voiceover. So once I had the script, I recorded

(02:55):
multiple takes, experimenting with different tones and word emphasis. Then came the audio production,
which includes, you know, normalization, compression, limiting, and all that fun stuff, until I got
something like this. This is Curiosity Overload, the podcast where we dive deep into the most
fascinating and unexpected topics that ignite our curiosity, and well, we just have some fun.

(03:20):
Let's dive in to today's episode. Now step three is adding background music. This step often blends
with the recording process for me, because I like to experiment with background music while recording.
If you're looking for music like the kind I use here, check out PixBay or similar sites that offer
public domain media under Creative Commons licenses. And the best part is they are free, so check those

(03:45):
out. There are definitely some good options there. PixBay for instance has, as well as music, sound
effects, images, and videos that are all public domain. And so you can use those freely, which is
pretty awesome, so definitely check that out. For this intro, I wanted an upbeat tone, so I found a
track that was called Intro Fun, which obviously kind of makes sense, but it really did work. I

(04:12):
didn't know if it was going to, based off the title. So here's the background music all by itself.
All right, so now that I have the background music and the recording done, we are into step four,

(04:42):
which is mixing the voiceover and the music. So next I focused on making the voiceover stand out
over the background music. This involves lowering the music's volume, gain, and using a tool in
Audacity, which is the DAW that I use. It is a free option if you are not using Audacity and you're

(05:02):
looking for a free audio editor, definitely check out Audacity. And so I use a tool on there called
the Envelope Tool. Now this tool lets you control the track's volume over time, so you can make the
music louder at the start and then fade it down when the voiceover begins. Then when the voiceover
ends, you can raise the music back up. It is a really cool tool that they offer on Audacity.

(05:25):
So here's an example of before and after I use the Envelope Tool. All right, so once I use the

(05:51):
Envelope Tool and I've created more of a balance between the voiceover and the background music,
we are at step five, which is adding sound effects. Now at this point I liked the intro,
but it needed something extra. That's sound effects, so I tested a few different ones,
but eventually I found the perfect effect, and after experimenting with it, I decided it sounded

(06:15):
best at the beginning of the intro, which added a bit of magic to the whole thing. I actually try
it first at the end of the intro, which worked, but didn't have the same ring to it, the same magic
as it did when I put it at the front. So you kind of want to experiment with the sound effects and
the background music and really just enjoy the creative process. Now that's the process I use

(06:38):
to create this intro, and I could honestly spend all day creating podcast intros. I really enjoy
making them and the creativity that goes into it and just kind of trying different things and
experimenting with different music and tones and sound effects, and so I really enjoy doing that.
So hopefully walking you through this process was helpful. One final tip, if you want to add a touch

(07:01):
of professionalism to your podcast, you can consider using a different voice for your intro. So there
are plenty of options. You can hire a voiceover artist on Fiverr, or you could try swapping
intros with someone from the podcasting community, which I think is an awesome idea. I've seen people
on Reddit ask for intro swaps, and I think that is a great idea. So if you go on a sub right, like

(07:25):
podcasting, you can see those posts that I'm talking about where people are asking for podcast
intros swaps, which is a really cool idea. And I think that you should definitely check that out.
If you're working on your own intro and need a fresh voice, feel free to reach out to me through
podquesting.com. I'd be happy to help the community for free. I enjoy doing these intros, and I would

(07:50):
love to help you guys out. So feel free to reach out to me again on podquesting.com. That's it for
this episode of podcasting. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review on your favorite podcast
platform of choice, and we'll see you in the next episode. Good luck on your quest. Until next time.