Podcast post-production
How to make a podcast trailer: what to say, how long it should be and where to upload it
Updated October 23, 2026
A podcast trailer is a short piece, 30 seconds to two minutes long, that says what the show is about, who makes it and why it's worth following. It works best when it opens with the strongest moment of a real conversation, is cut to music and ends by inviting people to follow.
What a podcast trailer is and what it's for
A trailer is the advert for your own show. It isn't an episode or an intro: it's what someone who doesn't know you yet sees when they have a few seconds to decide whether to give you their time. That's why Spotify and Apple feature it on the show page, and why it's worth having before launch.
It does three jobs. First, it makes the show exist from day one: with a trailer published you can already list the podcast on the platforms while you finish the first episodes. Second, it gives you something to show the guests you want to bring on and the brands that might sponsor you. Third, it gives you social content before there are any episodes to cut down.
Many people confuse it with the intro. The intro is the opening that repeats at the start of every episode so the show is recognisable; the trailer is made once, or once per season, and sells the whole podcast. They share a craft, though: rhythm, music and an opening that grabs you. We explain it in how a cinematic intro is made.
If you're preparing a launch, the trailer fits into the timeline we describe in how to launch a podcast: it goes out one or two weeks before the first episode.
How long it should be and what to say
There's no official length. Platform and hosting guides range from 30 seconds to two minutes, and our experience matches that: under a minute for social media and up to two for the show page. Any longer and it's no longer a trailer, it's an episode zero.
What you need to say fits into five beats. A hook: the strongest line you have, said by someone on the show or by a guest. What the podcast is, in one line that needs no explanation. Who hosts it and why they're worth listening to. What listeners will get and how often. And a clear invitation to follow the show on their platform.
People ask Google a lot about which phrases to use to start a podcast. In a trailer, the best way to start is almost never "hi, welcome". A question left hanging, a statement that jars or a moment in the conversation where you can feel the chemistry works far better.
What to cut: the list of every topic you'll cover, thank-yous, the logo spinning for ten seconds and lines that could belong to any podcast. If the trailer could be for another show, it needs redoing.
How to make a podcast trailer, step by step
Ideally, you cut it from real material. If you've already recorded two or three episodes, the trailer comes from there: you listen to them in full, mark the moments with the most tension, laughter or honesty, and pick the ones that best show what the show is. Ten seconds of a real conversation sell more than a minute of a host reading a script.
If there are no episodes yet, you record a piece of its own: the host to camera with a short script, or a test conversation with the first guest. In that case it's worth writing and rehearsing it; in how to write a podcast script we explain how to prepare what's said without it sounding read.
Then comes the edit. The clips are ordered so the intensity builds, cut to the beat of the music, with a pause before the final line. The music has to be licensed for use in the podcast and on social media; if you take it from just anywhere, YouTube may block it. The sound is levelled, because a trailer has many voices one after another.
If the show is on video, make two versions: a horizontal one for YouTube and the show page, and a vertical one with subtitles for Instagram, TikTok and Shorts. It's the same work, put to good use.
Where to upload the trailer: Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube
If you host the show on Spotify for Creators, you create a new episode with the audio or video file and, under additional details, choose trailer as the episode type. Video can only be uploaded from the web, not from the app. If you host elsewhere, you choose which of your episodes works as the trailer in the Spotify for Creators settings. Spotify shows it at the top of the show page.
On Apple Podcasts you don't upload anything by hand: the trailer arrives through the RSS feed like any other episode. What you do is mark it as a trailer on your host, which almost all of them allow, and Apple presents it when there is one. If your show runs in seasons, you can have one per season. The full steps are in how to upload a podcast to Spotify and how to upload a podcast to Apple Podcasts.
On YouTube, upload it like any other video and feature it on your channel for people who haven't subscribed yet. And don't leave it there: the trailer is also your first reel, the video you pin to the top of Instagram and what you send a guest when you invite them on the show.
A template, AI or a production company?
When you search for how to make a podcast trailer, Google suggests templates, apps and AI generators. They'll do if the show is small and the trailer is only going to live on Spotify. The problem is they all look alike: same music, same transitions, same animated text. And a trailer that sounds like a template tells listeners the podcast will too.
We approach trailers with the same craft as our intros, which are our signature. On Aladetres, the interview podcast whose entire post-production we handle, every episode opens with a 30 to 45 second intro with motion graphics and original music, and with more than a hundred episodes done the channel has gone from around 100,000 to over 800,000 subscribers on YouTube. With our partner Dull Light we do the intros, editing, colour, sound and clips for shows like those of Peter Crone and Sadia Khan.
If you're about to launch a podcast or want to give a second life to the one you have, at Bostak Films we do it from Barcelona and remotely for the whole of Europe and Latin America: trailer, intro, episodes and clips with the same finish. Book a free diagnosis and we'll tell you how we'd approach it. Everything we do is on our podcast production page.
FAQ
How do you make a podcast trailer?
You pick the strongest moments from the first episodes, or record a short piece with the host if there are none yet, and cut them to music in this order: hook, what the show is, who makes it, what listeners will get and an invitation to follow.
How long should a podcast trailer be?
There's no official length. The usual range is 30 seconds to two minutes: under a minute for social media and up to two for the show page on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube. Any longer and it stops being a trailer.
How do you upload a trailer to Spotify?
If you host on Spotify for Creators, you create a new episode and choose trailer as the episode type under additional details; video can only be uploaded from the web. If you host elsewhere, you choose which of your episodes works as the trailer in the settings.
What's the difference between a podcast trailer and an intro?
The intro is the opening that repeats at the start of every episode so the show is recognisable. The trailer is made once, or once per season, and is there to convince people who don't know the podcast yet to follow it.
Want to know what your podcast needs?
Book the free podcast audit. We look at your show or your idea and tell you what we would change and where we would start.
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