May 11, 2026 • 8 mins
In today's episode, we dig into a question every new podcast host wrestles with: How much should you share about yourself in your podcast? We share our recommendations about what to include, what's optional, and the best way to deliver it to your listeners.
If you have questions as you start your podcast, reach out to us on the Podcaster Success team by emailing support@buzzsprout.com.
Have a topic or question we should address on a future episode? Text us or email the Buzzsprout Podcaster Success Team at support@buzzsprout.com.
Keep podcasting!
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Episode Transcript
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Cara Pacetti (00:00):
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at Buzz Sprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
Today's listener question says,for my first podcast, how much,
if any, details do I go intoabout me, the podcast, why I'm
doing it, and what I hope toaccomplish?
(00:22):
Or do I just go right into thematerial?
You know, I mentioned recentlyon a Podcasting Q&A episode that
the questions that you all sendin can actually help hundreds
of podcasters who are listeningto this show.
And I feel like this is one ofthose questions.
It's such a good questionbecause it really boils down to
(00:44):
finding the balance betweenconnecting with your audience
while respecting their time.
And the honest answer is itdepends.
But let's walk through a simpleway to think about this.
So first, I want to focus onwhat should be shared and what
is more optional.
Some of the optional thingsthat you can share about
(01:04):
yourself when introducingyourself to your listeners would
be your name.
So do you want to include yourfull name or for privacy's sake,
are you just including yourfirst name?
I was personally on the fenceabout do I share my first and
last name when starting to hostPodcasting Q&A, or should I just
(01:25):
stick to my first name?
I ended up going with my lastname because I'm really okay
with listeners connecting withme on social media platforms if
they have questions or want totalk about the podcast.
So I felt comfortable to sharemy last name.
Now you may feel otherwise.
And that's why this issomething that is optional and
that you'll want to think aboutbefore you record this
(01:47):
information for your podcast.
You also want to think abouthow much information I should
share about my family or mypersonal life.
You want to ask yourself (01:57):
does this provide value for my
listeners?
Does this relate to my content?
And is it necessary to shareinformation that is personal to
me?
In some ways, it createsconnection, but you also want to
be careful about how muchyou're sharing.
You want to be reallyintentional about it and just
give it some forethought beforeyou just put all of that
(02:20):
information out there.
Some other optional things toinclude are your background.
So depending on the content ofyour podcast, will your
background help establish you asthe expert in this field?
For example, if you are hostinga podcast on world history and
you work as a historian, that'sgreat information to share.
(02:42):
Or if there is a specific lifeexperience that you've walked
through that you are nowfocusing on in your podcast in
order to give you somecredibility and to establish you
as the expert, then it may beworthwhile sharing more
information about thatbackground.
You just want to look at thesedetails through the lens of how
(03:04):
am I serving my audience bysharing this information.
You can share your background,you can share your experiences
as they relate to the podcast.
When it comes to sharing whyyou are doing this podcast,
again, that is optional.
I do recommend that you spendsome intentional time
determining your why so that youhave that personally and you
(03:25):
can always go back to that asyou make decisions for the
podcast.
But when it comes to sharing itwith your audience, while it's
not mandatory or necessary, italso could be beneficial
depending on your content anddepending on your audience.
The passion behind why you'redoing what you're doing does
make your podcast feel that muchmore human.
(03:45):
It invites listeners to jump onboard with you.
They are going to be more eagerto subscribe to your podcast
and to hear more of what youhave to say because you've
explained why this is importantto you.
So sharing your why, I wouldconsider that optional.
In some cases, it's veryimportant and it really helps
establish that connection.
(04:06):
But in some cases, it's justnot necessary to share your why
behind the podcast.
So, with that said, what is itthat you should share when you
are introducing your podcast andintroducing yourself?
So you should let yourlisteners know what your podcast
is about.
So, an introduction to thepodcast, what is it about?
(04:27):
Who is the podcast for?
You also want to share therelease dates for your episodes.
So, when can listeners hear newepisodes?
Are you releasing your episodesevery week, every day, maybe
every other month?
Whatever your publishingfrequency is, you want to make
sure you're communicating thatto your listeners so they know
when to check in for newepisodes.
(04:49):
You want to share where yourlisteners can hear your podcast.
So if you were listing yourpodcast on all the major
directories, you want to makesure that you share that with
your listeners.
You can also let your listenersknow if your episodes are
available on your website.
You want to make sure that youshare that URL.
This is the information that isimportant that you get to your
(05:10):
listeners.
Now that we've walked throughsome of the things that need to
be shared for your podcast andsome things that may be more
optional, I want to go throughhow do you share this
information with your listeners.
Some podcasters will start witha trailer.
So if you're just starting outwith podcasting, you may or may
not know this.
In order to submit your podcastto the directories, you have to
(05:33):
have at least one episodepublished in your feed.
That is why we typicallyrecommend starting with a
trailer episode.
Since you have to have anepisode there already, you can
go ahead and publish thatepisode and then submit to the
directories.
And if somebody stumbles uponyour podcast before your
official launch date, they willfind your trailer, which will
(05:54):
tell them what your podcast isall about.
It doesn't need to be as longas your other episodes.
So you can make it a littleshorter.
And the primary focus of thetrailer is just to introduce
yourself as the podcaster andshare some of those important
details that we just mentioned.
It's a great introduction.
And if you tag the trailer as atrailer type in Buzz Sprout,
(06:19):
the directories will sometimespull that episode kind of out of
your list.
So I know on some directories,they will show that episode at
the top of your list.
In some, it will show theepisode at the bottom, but it
marks it clearly as a trailer.
So for listeners who are notsubscribed to your podcast, but
they want to know a little bitmore about what to expect, they
(06:40):
can hear that trailer episode.
It's showing right there forthem very clearly.
Once they listen to yourtrailer, they can decide whether
or not they want to follow yourpodcast.
If you're not interested inrecording a trailer, another
option is just to go ahead andinclude that information about
you, that introduction into yourfirst episode.
So it can be kind of acombination.
(07:01):
It will be a little longer thanmaybe your other episodes
because the primary goal is tointroduce you, introduce the
podcast, and then you can jumpright into the content in that
first episode.
If you are producing a podcastthat is maybe more of like an
audio drama or it's more of atactical podcast, and you really
don't want to add a trailer ora full episode that is only
(07:24):
about you and why you'restarting the podcast, then you
can absolutely share thatinformation on a website.
Maybe you can create an aboutyou page.
That is an optional way ofgetting that important
information to your listenerswithout adding it as another
episode to your podcast.
These are all very acceptableoptions, but it is not an
exhaustive list.
(07:45):
You can get creative with this.
And really, I said this in thebeginning, but it just depends.
You just need to take some timeto think about all your options
and the why behind what you'resharing and how it benefits your
listener.
That's really the best approachto deciding what gets added to
your podcast.
If you have questions aboutyour podcast, please reach out
(08:07):
to us on the podcaster successteam by emailing support at
buzzsprout.com.
If there is one part of yourpodcast production process that
just feels harder than itshould, click the Send Us Fan
mail link in the show notes andlet me know.
I'd love to cover this on afuture episode.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
Thank you so much forlistening.
(08:29):
And as always, keep podcasting.
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at Buzz Sprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
Today's listener question says,for my first podcast, how much,
if any, details do I go intoabout me, the podcast, why I'm
doing it, and what I hope toaccomplish?
(00:22):
Or do I just go right into thematerial?
You know, I mentioned recentlyon a Podcasting Q&A episode that
the questions that you all sendin can actually help hundreds
of podcasters who are listeningto this show.
And I feel like this is one ofthose questions.
It's such a good questionbecause it really boils down to
(00:44):
finding the balance betweenconnecting with your audience
while respecting their time.
And the honest answer is itdepends.
But let's walk through a simpleway to think about this.
So first, I want to focus onwhat should be shared and what
is more optional.
Some of the optional thingsthat you can share about
(01:04):
yourself when introducingyourself to your listeners would
be your name.
So do you want to include yourfull name or for privacy's sake,
are you just including yourfirst name?
I was personally on the fenceabout do I share my first and
last name when starting to hostPodcasting Q&A, or should I just
(01:25):
stick to my first name?
I ended up going with my lastname because I'm really okay
with listeners connecting withme on social media platforms if
they have questions or want totalk about the podcast.
So I felt comfortable to sharemy last name.
Now you may feel otherwise.
And that's why this issomething that is optional and
that you'll want to think aboutbefore you record this
(01:47):
information for your podcast.
You also want to think abouthow much information I should
share about my family or mypersonal life.
You want to ask yourself (01:57):
does this provide value for my
listeners?
Does this relate to my content?
And is it necessary to shareinformation that is personal to
me?
In some ways, it createsconnection, but you also want to
be careful about how muchyou're sharing.
You want to be reallyintentional about it and just
give it some forethought beforeyou just put all of that
(02:20):
information out there.
Some other optional things toinclude are your background.
So depending on the content ofyour podcast, will your
background help establish you asthe expert in this field?
For example, if you are hostinga podcast on world history and
you work as a historian, that'sgreat information to share.
(02:42):
Or if there is a specific lifeexperience that you've walked
through that you are nowfocusing on in your podcast in
order to give you somecredibility and to establish you
as the expert, then it may beworthwhile sharing more
information about thatbackground.
You just want to look at thesedetails through the lens of how
(03:04):
am I serving my audience bysharing this information.
You can share your background,you can share your experiences
as they relate to the podcast.
When it comes to sharing whyyou are doing this podcast,
again, that is optional.
I do recommend that you spendsome intentional time
determining your why so that youhave that personally and you
(03:25):
can always go back to that asyou make decisions for the
podcast.
But when it comes to sharing itwith your audience, while it's
not mandatory or necessary, italso could be beneficial
depending on your content anddepending on your audience.
The passion behind why you'redoing what you're doing does
make your podcast feel that muchmore human.
(03:45):
It invites listeners to jump onboard with you.
They are going to be more eagerto subscribe to your podcast
and to hear more of what youhave to say because you've
explained why this is importantto you.
So sharing your why, I wouldconsider that optional.
In some cases, it's veryimportant and it really helps
establish that connection.
(04:06):
But in some cases, it's justnot necessary to share your why
behind the podcast.
So, with that said, what is itthat you should share when you
are introducing your podcast andintroducing yourself?
So you should let yourlisteners know what your podcast
is about.
So, an introduction to thepodcast, what is it about?
(04:27):
Who is the podcast for?
You also want to share therelease dates for your episodes.
So, when can listeners hear newepisodes?
Are you releasing your episodesevery week, every day, maybe
every other month?
Whatever your publishingfrequency is, you want to make
sure you're communicating thatto your listeners so they know
when to check in for newepisodes.
(04:49):
You want to share where yourlisteners can hear your podcast.
So if you were listing yourpodcast on all the major
directories, you want to makesure that you share that with
your listeners.
You can also let your listenersknow if your episodes are
available on your website.
You want to make sure that youshare that URL.
This is the information that isimportant that you get to your
(05:10):
listeners.
Now that we've walked throughsome of the things that need to
be shared for your podcast andsome things that may be more
optional, I want to go throughhow do you share this
information with your listeners.
Some podcasters will start witha trailer.
So if you're just starting outwith podcasting, you may or may
not know this.
In order to submit your podcastto the directories, you have to
(05:33):
have at least one episodepublished in your feed.
That is why we typicallyrecommend starting with a
trailer episode.
Since you have to have anepisode there already, you can
go ahead and publish thatepisode and then submit to the
directories.
And if somebody stumbles uponyour podcast before your
official launch date, they willfind your trailer, which will
(05:54):
tell them what your podcast isall about.
It doesn't need to be as longas your other episodes.
So you can make it a littleshorter.
And the primary focus of thetrailer is just to introduce
yourself as the podcaster andshare some of those important
details that we just mentioned.
It's a great introduction.
And if you tag the trailer as atrailer type in Buzz Sprout,
(06:19):
the directories will sometimespull that episode kind of out of
your list.
So I know on some directories,they will show that episode at
the top of your list.
In some, it will show theepisode at the bottom, but it
marks it clearly as a trailer.
So for listeners who are notsubscribed to your podcast, but
they want to know a little bitmore about what to expect, they
(06:40):
can hear that trailer episode.
It's showing right there forthem very clearly.
Once they listen to yourtrailer, they can decide whether
or not they want to follow yourpodcast.
If you're not interested inrecording a trailer, another
option is just to go ahead andinclude that information about
you, that introduction into yourfirst episode.
So it can be kind of acombination.
(07:01):
It will be a little longer thanmaybe your other episodes
because the primary goal is tointroduce you, introduce the
podcast, and then you can jumpright into the content in that
first episode.
If you are producing a podcastthat is maybe more of like an
audio drama or it's more of atactical podcast, and you really
don't want to add a trailer ora full episode that is only
(07:24):
about you and why you'restarting the podcast, then you
can absolutely share thatinformation on a website.
Maybe you can create an aboutyou page.
That is an optional way ofgetting that important
information to your listenerswithout adding it as another
episode to your podcast.
These are all very acceptableoptions, but it is not an
exhaustive list.
(07:45):
You can get creative with this.
And really, I said this in thebeginning, but it just depends.
You just need to take some timeto think about all your options
and the why behind what you'resharing and how it benefits your
listener.
That's really the best approachto deciding what gets added to
your podcast.
If you have questions aboutyour podcast, please reach out
(08:07):
to us on the podcaster successteam by emailing support at
buzzsprout.com.
If there is one part of yourpodcast production process that
just feels harder than itshould, click the Send Us Fan
mail link in the show notes andlet me know.
I'd love to cover this on afuture episode.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
Thank you so much forlistening.
(08:29):
And as always, keep podcasting.
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