How to Script a Podcast (with Free AI Tool)

To script or not to script. If you script, you may sound robotic. And if you don't script, you will run into Erm..., Ahh..., You Know..., those fillers. But one thing we can be sure of is that there is an art and science behind drafting a podcast script that doesn't sound robotic. Yet it captivates, engages, and keep your listeners coming back for more. And we're going to talk about that. Let's go. Hey, it's Jack from Rank Math, the ONE WordPress plugin that brings the fastest and the most conve

nient SEO and AI tools for WordPress. And this channel is all about helping you grow your search traffic. So if you're new to us, consider subscribing. Podcasting is an ever-evolving medium with thousands of shows fighting for attention, so standing out is more crucial than ever. The difference between listeners tuning in once and those that become a lifelong fan boils down to a well-crafted podcast script. But before we even think about writing the script, we've got to understand the WHY behind

your podcast. Is it to educate, to entertain, to inspire, or maybe a mix of these three? Understanding the core purpose of your podcast guides every decision you make, from the topics you choose to the guests you invite, and most importantly, the way you script each episode. And before we talk about scripting your podcast, let's consider the different types of podcast scripts. So depending on the purpose of your podcast, there are three types of podcast scripts to consider. First is the fully s

cripted show where the entire podcast episode is word-for-word scripted. This is ideal for narrative-driven podcast or those information-heavy podcast where precision is key. For example, you are teaching people something in your podcast episode. Because remember, with podcast, there is no visual representation. People can't see what you are describing, so you need to carefully script your content so that people can imagine what you're talking about. Then there is the outline script, which provi

des an outline of your podcast episode with a bullet point list of topics, questions, and key points. This type of script is perfect for interviews or conversational podcasts. It keeps you on track and gives you the freedom to explore and let the conversation flow naturally. Finally, we have the hybrid script, which is a blend of the two, where certain sections are scripted word-for-word, like the intro and outro, while the main content follow a more flexible outline. This approach offers struct

ure as well as the spontaneous aspect of your podcast episode, which allows you to adapt on the fly. I find this is the best type of podcast script, but it really depends on what you are working on. So whether it is a fully scripted episode, an outline script, or a hybrid script, The one thing that is certain to create an awesome podcast episode is to have a podcast outline. So before we talk about the structure of your podcast, let me share with you a free AI tool that can help you create an ou

tline no matter what topic you are discussing in the episode. And with that outline, you can put them into the structure that fits your show. So this is the podcast episode outline tool, among many other available tools. And to use it for free, you first need to have a WordPress website, and you need to install the free version of Rank Math. Then you need to connect your site with a Rank Math account. By hovering over Rank Math SEO, visit its dashboard, and on the Help tab, click on this Connect

Now button. If your site is already connected to an account, you will see this instead. Once you click on the button, if you don't have a Rank Math account, click on Register Now, and you can create a free account by using one of these methods or by using your email address. Once your site is connected to your account, we will inject 750 credits into it every month, forever. Every credit allows you to generate one word. So with 750 credits, assuming you are using it all on the podcast episode o

utline tool, you can generate about 4-7 outlines a month. And if you want to know how to maximize those credits, you can check out this video. And now, back to the tool. To use the podcast episode outline tool, hover to Rank Math SEO, and you will see the Content AI module here. This is activated by default. But if you don't see this, then on its dashboard, the module is right here. All you need to do is to turn it on. Simple as that. Now, let's go to the module. You can search for the tool here

, or you can find a tool in the marketing and sales category right here. So there are two mandatory fields, which are the topic and the key points fields. These are marked with red asterisk. So you've got to add something to these fields for the tool to work. Now, the first field is the topic field. You know what it means. It is the topic you are covering in the podcast episode. So let's say that we are discussing the topic of gentle parenting. We will add that topic here. This is for the main t

opic of your podcast episode, not for the secondary topics, all right? And keep this field within 200 characters. Then let's say that I'm hosting the podcast, so I will add my name here. As for a guest or co-host, this needs no explanation. You will add the names of your guests, but separate them with a comma. Now, the key point, this is a mandatory field, but let's say that you are not sure what to discuss on this topic and you want Content AI to help you out. You can't leave this field blank,

so you can say, "I don't know". Let's generate something and see what we can get. Okay, let's see. We have our guests here and the topics to be covered. We'll give an introduction to gentle parenting, benefits, techniques and strategies, and then the key takeaways. But if you don't think that this is good enough and you think that it is missing out on an important topic, let's say that you need to discuss the difference between harsh and gentle parenting, which is not discussed here. You can add

that here. If you have more ideas, you can separate them with a comma. Keep this field within 400 characters. And now let's generate it again. Is this good enough? I think it is. And if you You're going to use this episode outline, as you hover to the output, click on copy, close this off, and paste it to wherever you need it to be. But what if you need the ideas from the previous generated outline? The problem is when you revisit the tool, the generated outputs will not be there. But fear not.

Just click on the history button, and here are all the past generated outputs. Now, there are a couple more inputs you can tweak to make the output better. You can add appropriate audiences. You see, as you click on this field, you will see a long list of pre-made audiences. You can select a couple, say "Parents", and if you can't find an audience that you need from the list, you can always customize it. Say "Guardians". Hit a comma and a tag will be created for it. Then depending on how you wa

nt the podcast outline to sound, you can set the tone. There is a list of pre-made tones here as well. Maybe you want it to be informal and friendly. Let's remove formal. And again, if you can't find a right tone from this list, you can always customize it as I've shown you in the audience field. And Content AI is not limited to US English. As you remove this language, you can select one of the 28 available languages. More will be added in the near future. If you don't find the language you need

, do leave a comment down below and let us know. Right at the bottom, this is where you can set the number of outputs to be generated. Let's say we just want one podcast episode outline. Let's hit Generate, and here we go. I think this tool is very useful to you as a podcaster. Now that you have somewhat of an outline, let's talk about the structure of your podcast. Every podcast show will have different structures, but the elements within the structure are similar, so you can use it whenever it

fits your show. A typical podcast will start with a hook, which is something that grabs the listeners' attention. If your target audience or people who subscribe to your podcast want to learn more about SEO, for example, and your episode is about beginner SEO tips, where you will interview a couple of experts to gain that knowledge, what you do is to take out the most interesting tip in your entire interview, cut out the most interesting parts of that tip, and make it a hook. So any beginner or

even advanced SEOs will hear of that tip, will want to learn more about it. Or maybe it is something that an expert said. For example, the expert said this, "Many people think SEO is dead, but it is more alive than ever." So if I'm the one creating the hook, I would play "many people think SEO is dead." Then I'll add on with, "That's what expert one said. Let's find out in the Rank Math podcast if it is true." These are just a couple of examples of creating a hook. There are many different ways

you can do it, as long as it captures your listeners' attention and make them think, Oh, I need to listen to this. Give this section maybe 30 seconds or less. Then the next element is the introduction. This can include a sponsored message if you have one. For example, if Rank Math were to pay me to create an episode, I'll definitely need to say something good about Rank Math, right? So it'll be something like, "This podcast episode is brought to you by Rank Math, the most powerful WordPress SEO

plugin. If you're looking to boost your website's visibility, drive more traffic, and achieve higher search rankings, Rank Math is your go-to solution. Visit them at rankmath.com" something like that. Your intro should also introduce the host of the show. So if you want to host, tell your listeners who you are and what are the topics that you'll discuss in this episode. If there are guests in this episode, give a very short introduction of the guests as well. And as the interview progress, your

listeners can learn more about the guests. Then you can have some brand jingles like this as you're giving your introduction. Or not, it's totally up to you. Give this introduction about 30 seconds to a minute. Then, follow by the why. This section should give your listeners reasons to continue listening and what they will get out of it after listening to the entire episode. Earlier, we have the hook, which will get people to listen to the episode, and this acts as the second hook that will get

your listeners to stay for as long as possible. Then, after all the introductory sections, we will break into the main body of the episode. If your podcast channel is about telling stories, you'll start talking about the story. If it is an interview, you will start the interview. This is the meat of your podcast episode. This is where your outline comes into play. Let's bring out one of the outlines we have generated about gentle parenting. You will be giving an introduction explaining gentle p

arenting and its core principles, and differentiating between gentle parenting and harsh parenting. In each of these sections, you can follow this format. You, as the host of the podcast, will introduce the concepts of subtopics, and then you will interview the experts and seek their opinion on each of these topics. For example, when discussing the benefits of gentle parenting, you can talk about some general benefits, and then you will start interviewing your guests, asking them about their opi

nion on this topic. Then when talking about the challenges and the misconceptions of gentle parenting, you can maybe share a little bit of your personal experiences and ask for opinions from your expert guests. Do the same for this. You will talk about some effective communication techniques, and then you ask for opinion. Then we will share some personal stories and experiences, maybe not from yourself, but from your other listeners, and then you ask the opinion again. So this will create a comp

lete dialog between discussing the topics at hand and then interviewing your guests. So when it comes down to an interview, the best type of script is to have talking points instead of word for word. But it really depends on what type of episodes you are working on. If it is a solo episode, a word-for-word script might work better. It is up to your comfort level. And then before you wrap up your podcast episode, you want to have a section discussing the key takeaways of the episode. You will bas

ically summarize the key things or takeaways you and your listeners have learned in this episode. This reinforces the value listeners have gained from tuning in and helps solidify the episode's main messages in their minds. Your key takeaways should be clear and concise and highlight the most impactful moments of the episode. Following that, you will end your episode with an outro, which is as important as your intro. This is your last chance to leave a lasting impression and have your new liste

ners tuning into your future episodes. You could have a call to action. It can be asking your listeners to subscribe to your channel, connect with you on other social platforms, or check out a product. Basically, you want to give your listeners something to do after listening to your episode. Your outro should also entice your listeners to look forward to your next episode. Maybe you can share a little bit about the topic you'll be discussing in your next episode, so it gives them a reason to su

bscribe to your channel. So here's a recap. These are the elements that should be included in all your podcast episodes. How you want to structure it, it's up to you. I would say a hybrid scripting style works best for an interview podcast. You can script word-for-word in the hook, introduction, and the why, as well as the outro. And you will have bullet-point outlines for the main body and the key takeaways for the episode. If it is a solo episode, you can have a word-for-word scripting style.

And if you are comfortable, you could have either the outline style or the hybrid style. With this, I hope you are able to script a podcast that is compelling and attract lots of listeners. If you are getting value from this, how about smashing that thumbs up? And if you want to learn more about growing your search traffic, our channel will help me with that. So subscribe to us if you haven't done so. This is Jack from Rank Math. I'll see you soon.