Getting the right visual branding for your podcast can be a tough call. It takes time and money to change it, so really, you’ve only got one chance to get this right.
It doesn’t help that the style of podcast art has changed over time too. Not too long ago you could look at the podcast charts and see pictures of podcast hosts. That works if you’re well known – but what if you’re not? Why would someone click on a picture of you, if they don’t know who you are?
The key here is to identify some artwork that’s going to stand out; that’s going to promote your fantastic content – and is timeless too.
Here are some top tips when it comes to choosing the right image for your podcast:
- Before you start recording your podcast, do a vision boarding exercise, gathering the images that define your podcast from magazines, online, pinterest and your own sectors.
- Do your research. What are your competitors doing? What do you like about their artwork? What don’t you like? How can you stand out? Think about the answers to all these questions when putting together a brief for your designer.
- Think about your audience. Who is your dream audience member? Think about their age and their interests. This will help you when it comes to choosing artwork that will appeal to their tastes.
- Your podcast artwork needs to look great as a thumbnail. Most listeners stream or download their podcasts on mobile phones. When you look at your phone, the cover art can appear as small as 1cm x 1cm if not smaller. So make everything simple and bold. Your returning listener will look for the colour / pattern first. Get the size right: Images for Apple Podcasts need to be 1400 x 1400 pixels or a maximum of 3000 x 3000 pixels. The format needs to be 1:1 – a square format.
- Try to find an image that ‘does what it says on the tin’. By that I mean, can you tell what the podcast is about, simply by looking at the artwork? We love the podcast ‘Dead To Me’ here at Purposeful Podcasts. Check out their artwork. To us it says “history” and “funny”
Ultimately, the question to ask yourself when you look at your podcast artwork is: can you tell what your podcast is all about, just by looking at the artwork? If you’ve cracked that – then you’ve got the right image!