10 Tips to Turn a Podcast Episode Into a Blog Post

Repurposing content is a great way to save time and money while reaching new audiences. We use Descript to help podcasters repurpose their episodes into compelling blog posts that boost traffic to their website and podcast.

Descript’s cutting-edge technology allows us to easily re-work episode transcripts into reader-friendly, SEO-optimized blog posts that reach new audiences. We know a transcript can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the transcription process. We’ve put together 10 actionable tips to help podcasters like you navigate this process with ease.

How to Make Editing Decisions

Editing transcripts is one of the hardest parts of transforming a podcast into a blog post.  When you know what to look for — and what’s most important — it’s easier to feel confident about what you’re cutting out. Follow these three tips for choosing what to cut and what to keep.

Stay Actionable and Relevant

Start by asking yourself what’s most important for your readers. For a blog post, that means choosing information that’s actionable and relevant. For example, include the most important takeaways from the guest. Do they reference data or resources? Is there a clear takeaway or a set of instructions? Focus on fresh insights and tips. If the information is easily found with a Google Search, cut it — or explore how to write about it from a new angle.

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Be Succinct and Summarize

In natural conversation, ideas are often repeated, revisited, and reinforced. So are ums, buts, ands, and other filler words. There’s also a lot of irrelevant small talk that happens at the beginning of a podcast. When you’re transforming these conversations into blog content, condense repeated information into succinct sentences or a short paragraph (perhaps with a quote) and cut the rest to minimize redundancy.

Include Important background Information

An effective blog post has context. Be sure to explain who your guest is and why they’re qualified to speak on the topic. You also want to keep anything that explains concepts or terms your readers may be unfamiliar with. If at any point you reference podcast show notes, instead elaborate on that section with a definition or explanation — or simply cut it altogether if it doesn’t serve the overall message.

What Makes an Effective Podcast Blog Post?

To make sure your blog post has value for readers, make sure you maximize the advantages of the format. The most effective blog posts created from podcasts capitalize on the best information from the podcast while also utilizing the multi-dimensional format of a blog.

If you’re wondering how to maximize the best parts of your podcast to generate new readers and listeners, the following elements can help.

SEO-focused content

It’s hard to stand out among all the articles on the internet, but SEO can help. Consider the topic of your podcast to choose what keywords to focus on. Then, take a look at existing content that targets that keyword. How can you stand out from the existing content on that topic? Are there different angles or search keywords that you can explore in your post? To make the most of SEO discovery, using a keyword research tool like Ahrefs is a must.

Expert Quotes

Podcasts are a goldmine for one-liners and quotes that can be repurposed into tweets, graphics, audiograms, and more. We use Descript’s AI-powered Speaker Detective to differentiate guests from hosts. That makes it easy to identify quotes that can be used in the article — and repurposed later, too.

For example, my team at Drafted created a blog post for the professional athlete and coach Sonya Looney, repurposed from her podcast episode on mental toughness. We took quotes from her guest, Olympian Joanna Zieger, and transformed them into clear headers with actionable takeaways. We preserved Zieger’s words and language with tips like, “you can’t control how a game turns out, but you can control how well you play it.” This wasn’t a direct quote, but we used the words that she spoke with to preserve her voice and ensure her expertise and character didn't get lost in translation.

Focus on the questions you asked of your guest

Since your podcast likely involves you asking your guest questions, you can easily repurpose this flow into a “Q&A” format in a blog post. Start with the most common and relevant questions around the topic — listener questions, if you have them, are a great place to start — and then share your guest’s answers.

Supporting Visual Assets

Make your blog post stand out by reinforcing podcast themes and tips with photography, videos, audiograms, quote graphics, infographics, and other visuals that demonstrate information and data. You can reuse these assets on social media or in email newsletters to further promote your blog, podcast, and insights.

Supporting Research

Are you discussing cutting-edge findings? Exploring controversial histories? The more you can link to research, statistics, and complementary resources to back up the information your guest shared or referenced, the more value you’re adding for readers.

In another blog post we wrote for Sonya Looney on exercise guidelines for pregnancy, we linked to an article about core temperature. This is an important factor to consider, but not one that was explained in-depth on the podcast. That way, we offer the reader (in this case, expecting mothers) an opportunity to explore the topic further, if they like, without taking a major detour on the conversation.

This is essential for topics on science or health, but no matter what the topic, it will boost your audience’s trust in your word, which is important for retaining them as listeners (and readers).

Take a Human Approach

Listeners love podcasts because they feel like talking to a trusted friend. Try not to lose this magic when you translate those conversations into a blog. When it makes sense, use direct quotes from your guest, and provide backstory to who they are, where they come from, and what challenges they’ve faced helps readers feel connected to you and the subject.

Call To Action

Once you’ve succeeded at getting readers on your page, make sure to have a call-to-action at the end of it. This can link to your podcast, social channels, or newsletter. Inviting the reader to continue exploring your website or show will help you convert them into regular listeners. At the end of our blog posts, we often link to resources from both our host and their guest to ensure equal promotion from both parties, as you see below. This helps maintain reader engagement and boost the number of touchpoints they have with your and your guests’ content, rather than clicking away.

Repurposed blog posts will benefit your podcast’s brand and mission, no matter your experience level. These tips can equip you to transform your own podcast episode into a blog post that attracts a wider audience.