At the Assembly stage of the P.A.L.M podcast strategy, you’ll need to design graphics for your podcast.
These graphics are used in different ways and serve different purposes for your show.
Some will be used to present your show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting apps and platforms, while others will be used to promote it on youtube, social media, and so on.
Below are the 5 main types of graphics you’ll need to create for your show and how to use them with your podcast.
1. Podcast cover art
This is the main bit of graphic for your podcast.
The main purpose of the podcast cover art is to convey what your show is all about visually. So anyone that hasn’t watched your show before should be able to look at your cover and have an idea of what the show is about.
Think of it as the album art of your Album, E.P, or Mixtape.
The podcast cover art is also required to submit your show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and will be displayed when people search for podcasts on these platforms.
Here are some examples of what they look like:
2. Video Thumbnail
A video thumbnail is used to represent your podcast videos on Youtube. It’s the first thing a viewer sees of your podcast episodes on their Youtube home page, or when they search for videos on Youtube.
Your video thumbnails are super important as they can make all the difference when it comes to a viewer clicking through to watch your video or scrolling down to the next one.
In other words, a good thumbnail makes a viewer want to watch your podcast episodes. This is why it’s so important to put a lot of thought into it when designing them.
Here’s an example of the video thumbnail that I use for my channel:
3. Channel icon
A Channel Icon is a small, visual representation of your podcast on YouTube and on Google. Channel Icons appear on Channel Pages, in the YouTube search results, and on video watch pages.
Your Channel Icon will probably be the most seen graphic of your podcast as it appears in more places on YouTube than any other element of your youtube channel.
Here’s what the channel icon of my channel looks like:
4. Channel art
Another important graphic you need to design for your podcast is channel art.
Sometimes called the “YouTube Banner” or “Channel Header Image”, the channel art is the large graphic that appears at the top of your youtube channel page.
The main purpose of this graphic is to communicate in a visual way what the podcast is all about.
Stuff you typically find on this are the name of the podcast, the tagline, and what days or how often new episodes are published.
Here are some examples for these:
5. Social media graphics
The last bit of graphics you’ll need for your show is some social media graphics.
These are used to promote your show on social media and come in all shapes, sizes, and different designs. It all depends on the platform that you choose to promote your podcast on.
You’ll need new to design graphics for each show you promote and this can be time-consuming.
To save you time and headache, you might want to create a template for your social media graphics and just use that whenever you promote your shows.
Here’s an example of an image I make out of a quote of one of the guests on my show
Learn More
- Learn what production elements are and 5 types of elements you need for your podcast.
- Looking to pick up some podcasting gear? Check out all the podcast equipment that I use and recommend for my clients.