Put a face to the voice behind your show.
This is part of a series of articles to help you make a great podcast website. Need a simple, beautiful, and affordable website designed just for your podcast? Start your Podsite free trial today.
What makes your podcast yours? You, of course! Part of what makes the connection between a podcast and a listener feel so real is because it’s a human talking to another human, and your website is the place to introduce yourself more fully.
Hello, it’s me you’re looking for
How you represent yourself on your website is a combination of words and pictures, through your biography (usually shortened to “bio”) and your headshot (exactly as it sounds: it’s a photo of you, from the shoulders up and focusing on your face). These bios are short, three to five sentences max, and highlight important things about you that establish your expertise as a creator.
How do you write a bio that captures your essence?
- Use your voice. How would you introduce yourself to someone at a party? Are you formal? Friendly? Funny?
- Demonstrate your abilities. What background or special skills should a listener know about that informs how you make your podcast?
- Share a little about your place in the world. This could include your location and who or what you spend time with outside of your podcast.
As you’re also introducing yourself for the first time, consider also including the pronouns you use, which makes it easier for people who are encountering your podcast for the first time to refer to you correctly.
We especially love the bios for the 99% Invisible team, Culture Hustlers, Girl in Space, Wild Thing, and Accession.
How do you select a headshot that’ll look great on your website?
- Choose an image of you (and only of you). Ideally, a clear, front-on photo of your face on a solid background keeps the focus on you. (Don’t like having photos of yourself online? A consistent online avatar works too; we like the on-brand approach Jack Rhysider takes with his.) Also, a photo that includes more faces than yours makes a listener question which person is which. Remember, your image is about you connecting directly with a listener.
- Does this image work well in a square or a circle crop? Not because specific shapes are the important thing here, but because it’s great when one image can be used in lots of places, and social media accounts are all about the square and circle crops. Having an image you know will easily convert to both these styles makes it easier for you, on your podcast website and beyond.
- High quality, high resolution images save you time. Get a good photo once and you (or others) can use it any and everywhere without worrying how it’ll look.
We especially like the photos on The Longest Shortest Time, Caravan, Outside/In, and Windfall.
Want to put your bio and headshot into action immediately? Add yours to your Podsite.