show-notes-writer · diff
git:20260619.e84def4 to git:20260704.b0a8f98
64 added, 14 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: Show Notes Writer
- description: Produces complete podcast show notes including summary, timestamped chapters, key takeaways, and links. Use from a transcript or episode outline after recording.
+ description: Produces complete podcast show notes from a transcript or episode outline — a standalone summary block, timestamped chapters that name what happens, screenshot-worthy key takeaways, guest bio, curated links, and keyword placement for search. Use when someone says "write show notes for this episode", "turn this transcript into an episode description", "add chapters and timestamps", or "make this episode findable on Google". Do NOT use to fan the episode out into clips, quote cards, and social posts — use content-repurposing instead; do NOT use to write burned-in video captions from the transcript — use captions-from-transcript instead; do NOT use to pitch the show to other podcasts — use podcast-pitch instead.
---
# Show Notes Writer
- Show notes are the SEO and discoverability layer of a podcast episode. They serve three audiences simultaneously: the search engine that indexes the episode, the new listener deciding whether to play it, and the returning listener skimming for a specific moment. This skill produces show notes that serve all three.
+ Show notes are the SEO and discoverability layer of a podcast episode, serving three audiences at once: the search engine indexing the page, the new listener deciding whether to press play, and the returning listener skimming for one specific moment. Skipping them, or pasting a transcript dump, throws away the compounding search value every episode should accrue — the costly mistake this skill prevents.
- ## Episode Summary
+ ## Operating procedure
- Open with a two-to-three sentence summary written in present tense, active voice. The first sentence names the guest (if any) and the central topic. The second sentence names the key insight or tension explored. The third sentence states what the listener will take away. This block doubles as the podcast app description and the social share text, so it must stand alone without context.
+ ### Step 1: gather inputs
- ## Timestamped Chapters
+ 1. The transcript (preferred) or a detailed episode outline. Without either, stop and request one — show notes written from memory invent timestamps.
+ 2. Guest name, title, and preferred links, if an interview episode.
+ 3. The episode's primary keyword: the phrase a searcher would type to find this content. If the host has not chosen one, propose one from the transcript and label it a suggestion.
+ 4. Episode length, to set the chapter count.
+ 5. The host's standing links (newsletter, community, sponsor), which always go last.
- Provide chapters at the natural topic breaks in the episode. Each chapter entry follows the format: time code, then a six-to-ten word title that names what happens, not just the topic. Bad example: "00:04:22 - Marketing." Good example: "00:04:22 - Why most creators price too low and burn out." Aim for five to eight chapters per hour of content. If a transcript is available, pull the exact chapter titles from the strongest sentence in each section.
+ ### Step 2: write the summary block
- ## Key Takeaways
+ Two to three sentences, present tense, active voice. Sentence one names the guest (if any) and the central topic, and carries the primary keyword naturally. Sentence two names the key insight or tension explored. Sentence three states what the listener takes away. This block doubles as the podcast-app description and the social share text, so it must stand alone with zero context — no "in this episode of the show we've all been enjoying."
- List three to five bullet points, each a single actionable or quotable sentence. These are the lines a listener would share or screenshot. Prioritize surprising, specific, or counterintuitive insights over generic summaries. Each bullet should work as a standalone social post.
+ ### Step 3: build timestamped chapters
- ## Guest Bio and Links
+ Place chapters at the natural topic breaks, 5–8 chapters per hour of content. Each entry: time code, then a 6–10 word title that names what happens, not merely the topic.
- If the episode has a guest, include a two-sentence bio written in third person. Follow with a links block: the guest's primary website, social profiles the guest prefers, any product or resource mentioned, and the host's own newsletter or community link last. Keep anchor text descriptive, not generic (not "click here").
+ - Bad: `00:04:22 — Marketing.`
+ - Good: `00:04:22 — Why most creators price too low and burn out.`
- ## SEO Optimization
+ When a transcript is available, pull each chapter title from the strongest sentence in that section rather than summarizing from above — the guest's own sharpest phrasing outperforms a paraphrase. Work the primary keyword into at least two chapter titles where it fits naturally. Use the `HH:MM:SS` (or `MM:SS` under an hour) convention consistently, starting at `00:00`, so podcast apps and YouTube parse the chapters automatically.
- Work the episode's primary keyword into the first sentence of the summary and into at least two chapter titles. Use the guest's full name if the episode is an interview. Do not keyword-stuff; one natural occurrence per key term is sufficient. A well-structured show notes page ranks for the guest's name, the topic, and long-tail question phrases.
+ ### Step 4: extract key takeaways
- ## Do and Do Not
+ Three to five bullets, each a single actionable or quotable sentence — the lines a listener would screenshot or share. Prioritize surprising, specific, or counterintuitive insights over summary ("Pricing is important" fails; "Raise your rate until the wrong clients leave — that is the filter working" passes). Each bullet must work as a standalone social post; this is also the seam where content-repurposing picks up if the episode becomes a pillar asset.
- Do write show notes every episode without exception; skipping them destroys compounding SEO value. Do not copy the transcript verbatim as the summary. Do not include every link mentioned; curate to the most useful five.
+ ### Step 5: write the guest bio and curate links
+
+ Guest bio: two sentences, third person, ending with why this guest is credible on this topic. Links block, in order: guest's primary website, the social profiles the guest prefers, products or resources actually discussed, and the host's own newsletter or community link last. Curate to the five most useful links — not every URL mentioned. Anchor text is descriptive, never "click here."
+
+ ### Step 6: run the SEO pass
+
+ The primary keyword appears in the first sentence of the summary and in at least two chapter titles. The guest's full name appears if it is an interview (the page should rank for the guest's name, the topic, and long-tail question phrases). One natural occurrence per key term is sufficient — keyword stuffing reads as spam to both audiences that matter.
+
+ ## Worked example (episode summary + chapters)
+
+ Episode: 52-minute interview with a pricing consultant, primary keyword "freelance pricing."
+
+ > Pricing consultant Dana Reyes breaks down why freelance pricing fails long before the negotiation call. She argues that hourly billing punishes the freelancers who get faster, and walks through the per-project reprice she has run with 200+ clients. Listeners leave with a three-step script to raise rates inside one client cycle.
+
+ ```
+ 00:00 — Why hourly billing punishes freelancers who improve
+ 07:40 — The $9k project Dana lost by quoting hourly
+ 15:12 — Freelance pricing as a client filter, not a number
+ 24:05 — The three-step reprice script, walked through live
+ 36:30 — Handling the client who pushes back on the new rate
+ 44:18 — When to fire a client instead of discounting
+ ```
+
+ Six chapters for 52 minutes, each naming what happens, keyword in two titles, every timestamp verifiable against the transcript.
+
+ ## Deliverable
+
+ Produce a complete show-notes document containing: the standalone summary block, the timestamped chapter list, 3–5 key-takeaway bullets, the guest bio and curated links block, and a one-line note naming the primary keyword and where it was placed.
+
+ ## Do NOT
+
+ - Do not paste or lightly trim the transcript as the summary — a transcript is a record, not a pitch.
+ - Do not write chapter titles that name topics instead of what happens; "Marketing" earns no click and no skim.
+ - Do not invent or eyeball timestamps; every time code must be verifiable against the source.
+ - Do not include every link mentioned — an uncurated link dump buries the five that matter.
+ - Do not keyword-stuff; one natural placement per term, or the page reads as spam.
+ - Do not skip show notes on "small" episodes; SEO value compounds only when every episode has them.
+
+ ## Quality bar
+
+ - The summary stands alone as app description and share text, with the keyword in sentence one.
+ - Chapter density is 5–8 per hour, every title is 6–10 words naming an event, and formats are consistent from 00:00.
+ - Every takeaway bullet would survive as a standalone social post.
+ - Links are five or fewer, ordered guest-first host-last, with descriptive anchors.
+
+ If the host wants the episode turned into clips and social posts, route to content-repurposing; the takeaway bullets are the starting nuclei.