Create Podcast Artwork That Makes People Click Play

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Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you by the people at Buzzsprout.
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I'm your host, Cara Pacetti, and I'm bringing you the best tips and strategies to keep you podcasting with confidence.
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Whether you're just curious about something related to podcasting or you want to show us some love here at the Podcasting Q&A podcast, we'd love to hear from you.
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You can click the Send Us Fan Mail link in the show notes and send in your message as a text or a voicemail.
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Today we're answering a listener question about podcast artwork.
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It says, I'm getting ready to launch my podcast and I know I need artwork, but I have no idea where to start.
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What makes good podcast artwork?
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I'm excited to cover this question because your podcast artwork is often the first impression of your show.
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Before someone ever listens to an episode or reads your podcast description, they see a little square image inside of their podcast app that is your podcast artwork.
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This is actually a requirement.
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Before you can even submit to the listening directories, you have to have podcast artwork as a part of your show.
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So today I want to talk about how to create artwork that catches your listeners' attention and represents your podcast well.
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First, I want to start with some of the technical requirements.
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Before you start picking out colors, fonts, and images, the first thing you'll want to do is make sure your artwork meets the technical requirements for the podcast directories.
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So Apple Podcast has actually put out some specifications for the artwork that you need for your show.
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Your artwork will need to be 3,000 by 3,000 pixels in size.
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It needs to be a JPEG or a PNG file, and it needs to be high resolution.
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And while some of this may sound really technical, depending on the design tool that you're using, you can easily set these parameters before you start designing your image.
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In fact, some of these design tools will actually set these parameters automatically.
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So now that we know what those specs are, why did Apple put these out?
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So a 3,000 by 3,000 pixel image actually sounds like a huge image, but don't let that intimidate you.
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Podcast directories will automatically resize your artwork depending on where it's being displayed.
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Keep in mind, your cover art is going to be displayed everywhere where your listeners are tuning in from.
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This means it might appear as a tiny thumbnail on somebody's phone, inside a podcast directory like Apple Podcasts or Spotify on a desktop computer, or even as an icon in Apple CarPlay.
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That's why it's important to design artwork that looks good at every size.
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So before you worry about making your artwork look creative, make sure it's built to work everywhere your listeners are going to find your show.
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One of the biggest jobs your cover art has is helping potential listeners quickly understand what your podcast is about.
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Your artwork doesn't need to explain your entire podcast, but it should give listeners some clues.
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So some examples of this might be if you are producing a hobby podcast, your artwork should connect with that community you're speaking to, maybe like a pickleball podcast.
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If your podcast is on a popular movie, like, say, Star Wars, go ahead and incorporate some Star Wars-inspired design elements.
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This immediately tells fans this show is for me.
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If your podcast represents a known business or an organization or a church, this is where your existing branding becomes really important.
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Make sure you're using the same colors, fonts, and visual style people already associate with your brand.
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This consistency helps your current audience recognize your podcast.
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And if your podcast is a personality-driven podcast, consider featuring the host in the artwork.
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A lot of successful shows are built around a person's voice, experience, or perspective.
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So including a photo of the host can say a lot about your podcast visually.
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Another benefit of including the image of a person is that this does a really great job of connecting your listeners to the host in a really personal way.
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The biggest thing to remember when you're thinking about what to include in your artwork is that it doesn't need to appeal to everyone.
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It just needs to attract the right listeners.
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So once you have a clear message, the next step is to make sure your design choices support that message instead of distracting from it.
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One of the most common mistakes podcasters make with their artwork is trying to include too much information.
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A good rule of thumb is to limit your words to seven words or less.
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Less is more in this case.
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You want to focus on the most important information somebody needs to know to recognize your show.
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So a common theme that we see is that podcasters will include podcast gear like a microphone or headphones in their podcast artwork.
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Our recommendation here is to actually avoid adding those elements to your podcast artwork unless your podcast is actually about podcasting, like podcasting QA.
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If it's not, those images don't really tell your listeners anything about your show.
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If you think about it this way, podcasting is the format that you're using.
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It's not actually what your show is about.
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Your podcast artwork really should include images about the subject of your podcast, not the format that it's being presented in.
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So once you've decided on the images or the elements you want to include in your podcast artwork, I want you to think about colors.
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So colors are the easiest way to create a recognizable brand.
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Choose colors that match the feeling of your podcast and make sure there's enough contrast so your artwork can really stand out in a podcast app.
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And finally, think about consistency.
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Your podcast artwork should connect with your website, your social media channels, and other places people find your podcast.
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You want to treat your podcast artwork as part of your cohesive branding.
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This allows listeners to recognize you and your show across all platforms.
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Now, if you're listening to this thinking, this all sounds great, but I'm definitely not a graphic designer and I don't even know where to start.
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Don't worry.
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I have more good news for you.
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While you don't have to be a professional designer, you also don't need expensive design software in order to create podcast artwork that will stand out above the rest.
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You have a lot of options here.
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One of our favorite tools for creating podcast artwork is Canva.
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So Canva is an easy-to-use online graphic design platform.
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You can create a free or a premium account with them and choose from thousands of podcast templates.
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And you can even customize the design to match your podcast.
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It's a simple way to create professional-looking artwork while making sure your image meets the podcast directory requirements.
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In addition to Canva, there are free tools like Adobe Express or GIMP.
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I can link to these resources in the show notes if you want to check them out.
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Another great tool for creating podcast artwork or maybe just getting inspiration for your artwork is AI.
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You can use an AI tool like ChatGPT to submit a prompt to create an image and include the elements you want in your podcast artwork.
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AI does a really great job of creating an image super fast, and it can even help streamline creating some of the other branding material you may be working on, keeping everything consistent with your branding.
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My final piece of advice here is to design your podcast artwork with repurposing in mind.
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Your podcast cover art doesn't only live inside of your listening directories.
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You can use versions of your artwork for social media posts, your website, promotional graphics, business cards, and many other marketing materials.
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So creating a consistent visual identity helps listeners recognize your podcast wherever they see it.
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Remember that your cover art is often the first invitation someone gets to check out your podcast.
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You don't need expensive software or a professional design degree to create something great.
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You just need artwork that represents your show and helps the right listeners find you.
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If you have questions about your podcast artwork, branding, or anything else podcasting related, please reach out to the podcaster success team by emailing support at buzzsprout.com.
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Be sure to join us every Monday to kickstart your week.
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Thank you so much for listening.
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And as always, keep podcasting.