Have you ever sat down to record a podcast episode and you didn’t know where to begin? Or, maybe, that fear is what is holding you back from starting your podcast. I get it, I’ve been there. That is why I script my podcast episodes, I’ve tested it and scripting works for me. Today, we’re going to dive into how I outline and script my podcast episodes. This episode will hopefully answer whether or not you should be scripting your solo podcast episodes.
Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com, plus you’ll also find resources, show notes, and more for the Clocking In Podcast.
What Does Scripting Mean?
A lot of podcasters start podcasts because they are passionate about certain topics and know that they could simply talk about them all day long. For many of those people, scripting episodes isn’t necessary. They can sit down in front of a mic and can confidently record an episode.. even some of my clients create far better content when they don’t script them out—otherwise they sound a little robotic. They prefer to let the topic come naturally.
That’s where scripting your episode comes in.
Now, what does it mean to script an episode? Essentially, you’re sitting down before you record and writing out the entire podcast episode. This sounds like a bit of work, but really it’s as much or as little as you want to make it. You can choose to create a word for word script, a list of topics to go over, or just a loose outline. Overall, the goal of a script is to help you gather your thoughts and stay on track while recording your episode.
Creating a script is extremely helpful in recording your podcast, but it’s okay to go off script sometimes! For example, when recording last week’s episode I went off script quite a bit. That topic is so exciting to me, I had a lot more to say than I had planned for, and it was for my listeners’ benefit! Check that episode out here!
Why do I script?
Well, for the most part, I don’t want to miss any key points for my content. For me, I know that if I’m just talking, I can really miss things I wanted to share and I’ve even had times where I was editing episodes and recorded additional content to drop in that I had forgotten to mention.
Another reason is that I when I don’t script, I lose my train of thought, which makes editing more work, but also it makes the final product of the episode not as seamless.
The final reason that I think some people should script their episodes is because they need some sort of guidance when recording. There are so many tangents that we all go off on and having that script really does help with guiding you.
If you’re thinking, well I like the flexibility of not having a script, that’s totally fine! My recommendation to you would be to build an outline. This will help you staty on topic, remind you of the key takeaways you want to highlight, any examples you want to highlight regarding the topic, and guide you in ending your episode. And if you don’t know what each of these are as you’re building your outline, then here’s some tough love for you—you shouldn’t be recording an episode about it.
What to Include in Your Script or Podcast Outline
Now, for most of my audience, you’re business owners educating your audience on content related to your industry or services, so I want to walk you through what your outline should contain. Inside this outline, you should include the following:
- An introduction to the topic
- Why you believe the topic is important
- Experience to back you up in the topic
- Your primary message, so think like Three main takeaways for insert topic here..
- Examples if you have them
- Wrap up of the episode
- Your CTA
Now, every single podcast type is different and this won’t work for everyone, but I do recommend you jump into your podcast recordings with at least an outline!
Learn How to Batch Your Content
If you’re thinking about scripting your episodes, I want to let you in on another quick secret: if you batch your outlines for the month all at once, then your scripting for those episodes at a different time, then recording them back to back, you’ll complete this process so much faster. Batching my content like this for the month of May and June has truly been a game-changer.
I want to quickly plug my friend Amanda, who taught me how to batch! If you’re ready to learn from the best, head to the show notes in today’s episode where I’ve linked her information and details on Club Content Batching, her membership program that I’m super active in each month!
Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
The links included in this blog post may contain affiliate links, which means when you sign up or purchase through them, I will make a small commission. I only share products that I love and trust!
Show Notes:
What does it mean to script a podcast episode? (1:19)
Why do I Script (1:50)
Build an Outline (2:44)
What Should be in Your Outline (3:25)
Batch Outlines and Scripts (4:38)
Club Content Batching (5:00)
Review the Transcript:
Have you ever sat down to record a podcast episode and don’t know where to begin? Or maybe that fear is what’s holding you back. I get it—I truly do. That’s one of the main reasons that I primarily script my solo podcast episodes. Now, I’ve tested it here and there on if I should continue to script, but today’s episode is going to help answer whether or not you should be scripting your episodes.
Hey y’all welcome to the clocking in podcast the podcast for entrepreneurs and professionals making their way in the working world i’m your host Haylee Gaffin this podcast is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com plus you’ll also find resources show notes and more for the clocking in podcast so let’s clock in and get to work.
A lot of podcasters start podcasts because they are passionate about certain topics and know that they could simply talk about them all day long. For many of those people, scripting their episodes isn’t necessary. Even some of my clients create far better content when they don’t script them out—otherwise they sound a little robotic.
Now, what does it mean to script an episode? Essentially, you’re sitting down before you record and writing out the entire podcast episode. This sounds like a bit of work, but really it’s as much or as little as you want to make it.
There are some times that I’ll go off script—last week’s episode is a good example if you haven’t checked it out yet.
Why do I script?
Well, for the most part, I don’t want to miss any key points for my content. For me, I know that if I’m just talking, I can really miss things I wanted to share and I’ve even had times where I was editing episodes and recorded additional content to drop in that I had forgotten to mention.
Another reason is that I when I don’t script, I lose my train of thought, which makes editing more work, but also it makes the final product of the episode not as seamless.
The final reason that I think some people should script their episodes is because they need some sort of guidance when recording. There are so many tangents that we all go off on and having that script really does help with guiding you.
If you’re thinking, well I like the flexibility of not having a script, that’s totally fine! My recommendation to you would be to build an outline. This will help you staty on topic, remind you of the key takeaways you want to highlight, any examples you want to highlight regarding the topic, and guide you in ending your episode. And if you don’t know what each of these are as you’re building your outline, then here’s some tough love for you—you shouldn’t be recording an episode about it.
Now, for most of my audience, you’re business owners educating your audience on content related to your industry or services, so I want to walk you through what your outline should contain. Inside this outline, you should include the following:
- An introduction to the topic
- Why you believe the topic is important
- Experience to back you up in the topic
- Your primary message, so think like Three main takeaways for insert topic here..
- Examples if you have them
- Wrap up of the episode
- Your CTA
Now, every single podcast type is different and this won’t work for everyone, but I do recommend you jump into your podcast recordings with at least an outline!
If you’re thinking about scripting your episodes, I want to let you in on another quick secret: if you batch your outlines for the month all at once, then your scripting for those episodes at a different time, then recording them back to back, you’ll complete this process so much faster. Batching my content like this for the month of May and June has truly been a game-changer.
I want to quickly plug my friend amanda, who taught me how to batch! If you’re ready to learn from the best, head to the show notes in today’s episode where I’ve linked her information and details on Club Content Batching, her membership program that I’m super active in each month!
And if you’re thinking about scripting your shows, I’d love to hear about them! Head over to Instagram and drop the link to your scripted or non-scripted episodes!
Thank you all so much for all of your support on this show! I truly appreciate you continuing to listen, whether you’re a podcaster or dreaming of launching one someday! I’ll see you all next week in another episode!
This has been another episode of The clocking in podcast. You can find the show notes for this episode and more at Gaffincreative.com. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. If you love this episode, I’d be so honored if you leave me a review in Apple podcast app. Until next time, I’m your host Haylee Gaffin, clocking out.
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