First impressions are crucial, especially in the noisy landscape of podcasting where dozens of new podcast shows are launched every day.
The truth is, your next potential listener will probably judge your podcast based on its artwork before even getting around to listening to your first episode.
Great artwork means investing real time, thought and effort into creating a quality image that will stand out in the iTunes store and make potential listeners want to hit the play button. Here are a few guidelines on how to get podcast artwork looking great in iTunes and beyond – getting the attention is deserves!
Design for Different Sizes
Create your podcast artwork that works on both a large and small scale to have it fit in areas like the iTunes Podcast Page, New and Noteworthy Section as well as other podcast apps.
Keep Words to a Minimum
Remember: your cover art isn’t your podcast’s about page. A good rule of thumb is to stick to five words or less to make your podcast artwork easy to read when it’s at thumbnail size.
Stick to Clean, Legible Fonts
Your podcast artwork needs to stand out. Stick to fonts that make it easy to read, like Sans Serif fonts instead of Script fonts that might get lost in the details of the other elements of your podcast’s artwork.
Avoid the Cliché
Use images that are relevant to the topic. Skip the artwork that involves microphones, headsets and other overused podcast gear.. unless your podcast happens to be about podcasting, of course!
Branding Consistency
Your podcast is part of your overall brand, so remember to use consistent imagery like sticking with the same colors, logos, and images to help your followers recognize you!
Test it Out
Test out your artwork by shrinking your image and placing it on a screenshot of the iTunes podcast section to check how it shapes up against others. Ask yourself, does your artwork standout? Does it relay the right message?
The content of your podcast is what will ultimately determine if your listeners will stay and become loyal subscribers, but having eye-catching artwork is what can help elevate your image as a professional podcaster with a real message to share.
What’s your favorite podcast artwork so far? I’d love to check them out – let me know over on Twitter and via Facebook – I’d love to hear from you!
