How to Design an Impressive Podcast Cover Art that Stand Out

 

Excellent content is at the heart of a good podcast. But you cannot ignore the visual aspect linked with podcasts. Before your audience tunes into your podcast, they notice your cover art. It can play an important role in giving them the first impression of the podcast.

Notably, there are over 750,000 podcasts on various platforms like Spotify, iTunes etc. In this cluttered space, if you want your podcast to stand out, you need visual content that will engage your audience. You need visuals that will hold them back from scrolling through your podcasts. Impressive cover art can speak a lot about what your podcast is about. It is said that, Apple considers artwork an important feature as it selects podcasts to be found in the new and entertaining sections. Going forward, we will look at some things to keep in mind when designing a podcast cover.

Things to Keep in Mind while designing an Impressive Cover Art:

Consider Demographics: The initial step in before deciding on a podcast cover is to be clear about the title of your podcast.  However, that is not all.  You also need to always remember your target audience.  As the main objective of your web recording is to stand out and get noticed.

First, you need to consider the demographics of your audience like age and gender. You additionally need to consider basic interests they may have. Will your audience be familiar with the topics you include in your podcast? 

These are a few things you can look into before creating a podcast cover as they help you add clarity and determine the tone of your podcast content.

 

Remember Cover Size: Your audience can view your podcast photos on their phones, PC’s or tabs.  You need to remember this while planning your cover. It should look good on screens of any size.

Fortunately, the format requirements for podcast covers are the same for most platforms - the size should be 3000 x 3000 pixels.

When designing podcasts cover, you need to make sure they look good anywhere, from the big screen to the app on your phone.  Make sure, to create files with relevant extensions in PNG or JPEG format.  You should also make sure that the podcast cover is designed taking into account the color of the RGB space. 

Above all, the podcast cover should look extraordinary on both screens and on the thumbnail.  Make sure your design stays in place, whether it is stretched or large.

Keep It Simple: Simplicity is the fundamental key to build a decent podcast cover.  You don't have to occupy your art work with complicated things to make it look good and engaging.  Instead, choose a simple clean design with good quality. 

A good idea is to use a simple image that fits your podcast.  Alternatively, you can add words to the logo or background.  Choose Contrast Colors Using the right colors can be a great way to make your podcast stand out from the crowd.  First, check out some of the podcasts in your category.  If most of them use a dark background, you may want to choose something bright and colorful. Choose a color that is different from the others.  In addition, you can use a combination of different colors to make your art more attractive.  

Branding:

Whether you know it or not, your podcast is an extension of your product/service. Thus, it's important to follow your brand guidelines, so that the branding stays consistent even on your cover.

This will not only make your brand furthermore visible but also make it more attractive to the right audience.  It is also a good idea to use a similar color scheme, label line and logo that of your business.

No to General Visual: Microphones, Headphones, Microphones, or mics - These are the most widely used static graphics on podcast art covers.  If your topic is not podcasting, there is no point to use such images, as that doesn't blend with the topic of your podcast. 

Similarly, when you talk about romantic relationships, you don't necessarily need to use hearts.  Be creative and choose something very different. 

Do not use too many fonts and make sure the text on the cover should be clear.  Therefore, you need to pay attention to the fonts you choose. Ideally, you should choose bold fonts and clear letters.  Also, keep in mind that too many fonts can confuse you and ruin your design.

Conclusion: Remember, just like any other business, there is stiff competition in the podcasting space but with an impressive art cover, you can grab the attention of your target listeners and make a great first connection. 

So, follow the tips and come up with an exclusive, eye-catching, and engaging design for your podcast art cover.

Thank you for reading

www.spokenwordmarketing.com

What should be the Ideal Length of a Podcast?

Are you among those who intend to start a podcast, then the length of the episode is one of the first things you need to decide when starting a podcast? All things considered, length plays a vital part in creating an exciting podcast. Deciding on the length of your episodes can seem pointless though, so I thought to break down everything that you need to think about when deciding on the length of your podcast episodes.

To simplify this question which constantly keeps coming to our minds, we can split it into “what, who, when, where, how,” so you can use this method directly while preparing for your podcast. Given that each podcast is different, we would like to give you a bunch of questions and suggestions that you can use in your podcast to determine the length for you instead of giving your comments about the length of the podcast.

What is the topic?

Think about your podcast topic. The theme is also a good guide to the length of the episodes. Does the course take a few hours to clarify and pass? Or, does it take 30 minutes or less? If you have a subject tutorial-based podcast, you want to consider doing your 2-3 hour podcast, which is very separate and complete. If the content of your podcast is fun or inspiring, so in those cases it can take a while to get into everything you want to talk about. This can be the case when the ideal length is 45 minutes or more. You know your topic better, so think about the time it will take you to discuss your topic, as well as how it will be resolved.

Who is your target audience?

Think about your audience. You can expect to have a wider target audience, or you can expect a very specific audience if you are a niche podcast. For a wider audience, you can have more opportunity to pick which length is best. For a specific audience, however, you can think about the audience's lifestyle. For example, if the subject of your podcast is about a group of active people, such as working moms, you can rely on the length of the podcast for 30 minutes or less because they have less time to devote to listening to the podcast. On the other hand, your podcast ads can target retirees who have more free time so that an hour or more will be longer than required in this regard. Whether you already have an audience or you are planning to form a group, consider them in your decision. Do some research on demographics, preferences, lifestyle choices etc. and this can be a great way to help guide the flow of the content.

When are you posting?

How often do you present podcasts? You can make the episode live several times a week, once a week, once a month, or sometimes it suits you. Generally speaking, if you post often, the episode should be short, and if you post often, the episodes should be long. You can think of an interval of 15-20 minutes if you upload several times a week, 45 minutes or an hour if you upload once a week, or an interval of 2-3 hours if you upload once a month. You especially don’t want to bother readers too much in a short amount of time and you don’t want to make the audience wait too long for a short story. So in this way, discover a balance between frequency and duration that suits you. 

Where does your crowd tune in?

Keep track of where your audience tunes into your episodes. Your audience can listen at home, in the car, at work, while exercising, or anywhere else. All of these places have a different environment, which is a vital factor while deciding the length of your podcast. For example, if your listeners are at work, they may not be able to concentrate for long periods of time as compared to when they may be able to think clearly while listening at home or in the car. However, if the status of your podcast needs to last longer, do not let such factors put a constraint on the length of the podcast. All things considered, if someone likes your podcast, they will close and resume your podcast at their convenience.

How is your podcast displayed?

Think about how you present your podcast. How much different information do you want to put into one episode? Is all the information you want to include equally interesting? How is your content presented? Remember, if the content is not engaging, but you still have all the power, then the listener will lose interest in the podcast because of the content. While on the other hand, if you do not have the energy but still have interesting content to share, then also your podcast will see a drop in the audience. So be sure to have an ideal length of the podcasts so that you have the most powerful and engaging content during the episode.

Conclusion:

As usual, there isn't any specific answer here, because everyone's podcast is different. But the overall theory of podcast episode lengths is simple and straightforward.

If you’ve got 30 minutes of excellent, on-subject content, and your episode lasts 60 minutes, then the episode is too long. If you’ve got 30 minutes of excellent, on-subject content, and your episode lasts 20 minutes, then the episode is too short. And if you're consistent and planned with your content, then it’s likely your episodes will fall within a particular length that will keep the audience engaged.

So the point here is that the sole thing which will dictate the “correct” length of your episodes is your content!

Happy podcasting!

Thank you for reading.

www.spokenwordmarketing.com