Podcast script template for a small business

A podcast script gives you the opening, the order of your ideas and the sentence that ends the episode. For a small business, start with one question a potential customer might ask before buying. Answer it with a useful example, then give the listener one next step.

The template below is designed for a solo episode with a target length of eight minutes. That duration is a planning choice for this example, not an industry benchmark. Rehearse aloud to discover your actual running time. The example uses a fictional office cleaning business and invented operational details, clearly labelled as an illustration. It makes no claims about real customer results.

Choose the question before writing the introduction

Write an episode brief containing the listener, their decision, your answer and the action they can take afterwards. Keep those four items visible while drafting. A cleaning business might address an office manager comparing suppliers. The question could be: 'What should an office cleaning brief include before I request quotes?'

That gives the episode a useful boundary. Discuss what belongs in a brief, with a worked example. Save hiring cleaners, cleaning products and contract negotiations for separate episodes. Put those related questions in your content calendar so they have a place without stretching this recording.

Check whether you already answer the same question in another article. If you do, adapt the established answer and link the two resources. If you receive no customer questions yet, use a clearly stated planning assumption and test it against later conversations. Never describe an imagined question as customer research.

Build an eight-minute episode outline

Use this allocation as a rehearsal sheet. It adds up to eight minutes, but the final edit may be shorter or longer.

Write the opening and closing in full. For the middle, use prompts with the example details beside them. This podcast outline should let you find your place when you pause. Mark optional material that you can cut if the rehearsal runs long.

Copy this podcast script template

Replace every bracketed field before recording. Production notes in brackets are instructions for the presenter; they are not words to read aloud.

Episode brief

• Listener: [one role in one situation].
• Question: [the decision this episode helps with].
• Answer: [one sentence the listener can use].
• Example: [documented case with permission, or labelled fictional example].
• Action: [one realistic next step].

Opening, written in full

'If you are [situation], you may be wondering [question]. In this episode, I will explain [specific answer] and work through [example]. By the end, you will have [concrete takeaway].'

Context and method

'This advice applies when [scope]. Start by writing down [first field]. Then add [second field], because [reason]. Finish with [third field], so [person] knows what happens next.'

[Explain each field. Define unfamiliar words. Add the source beside any factual claim.]

Worked example

'Here is a fictional example to show the method. Imagine [business and situation]. The brief says [specific entry]. That tells the person doing the work [practical consequence]. If [alternative condition], change the entry to [alternative].'

[Pause. Read the finished example once without commentary.]

Mistake and correction

'A vague version would say [vague instruction]. I would rewrite it as [observable instruction]. Check that the person receiving the brief can tell what to do and when to flag a problem.'

Closing, written in full

'Your starting point is [answer]. Before [next decision], write down [short recap]. Your next step is [one action]. The episode notes contain [resource that actually exists].'

Delete the last sentence if you have no resource. A spoken promise must match what you publish.

Work through the office cleaning example

The following material fills the template. It is a fictional teaching example, not a customer testimonial or a report of completed work. The extracts are speaking cues; expand the explanations during rehearsal rather than expecting this short text to fill eight minutes.

0:00-0:30, opening. 'Before you request office cleaning quotes, write a brief that says which spaces need attention, how often, and what the cleaner should report. I will show you a fictional office example that you can adapt before contacting suppliers.'

0:30-1:00, context. Explain that the episode covers the information to prepare before requesting a quote. Actual scope, access and pricing must be agreed with the supplier. Introduce a fictional office with 12 desks, one kitchen and two meeting rooms.

1:00-3:00, method. Describe three fields: area, requested task and timing. Add a reporting instruction wherever access or missing supplies could interrupt the work. Ask the listener to describe the condition they want someone to check. Leave specialist cleaning requirements for a separate assessment.

3:00-5:30, example. Read this draft brief: 'Kitchen: wipe accessible worktops and clean the sink each weekday evening. Meeting rooms: wipe tables after the final scheduled meeting, subject to agreed access. Report a locked room or missing supplies to the office contact before leaving.' Explain that these are example requests for discussion with the supplier. The task list would need the rest of the office scope before becoming a full brief.

5:30-7:00, correction. Compare the vague instruction 'keep meeting rooms nice' with 'wipe the tables and report visible marks that remain after the agreed cleaning method'. Discuss what the person can observe and report. Avoid inventing service promises or suggesting that one checklist guarantees a result.

7:00-8:00, closing. 'Write your areas, tasks, timing and reporting instructions on one page. Use that page when you ask suppliers about their scope. Your next step is to draft one room's instructions and check whether another person can understand them.'

Adapt the script for a guest interview

Keep the same listener question and replace the method section with three questions: 'What information do you need first?', 'Can you walk through an example?' and 'What would make you change your recommendation?' Ask for clarification when the guest uses a term your audience may not know.

Send the topic, boundaries and planned duration before recording. Agree what may be recorded and published. Do not script the guest's answers or manufacture a quote to make the episode fit. After recording, build transitions around what they actually said. If an answer changes the scope, revise the introduction to match the final edit.

Rehearse and check the finished recording

Read aloud with a timer. Note the total duration and the sections that feel rushed. Cut repeated explanations before cutting the example. Leave room to breathe after instructions, and say a web address only if it is short enough to remember. Put the full link in the notes.

Check names, numbers, pronunciation and source links. Remove any bracketed field that remains unfilled. Listen through the exported audio, including the beginning and ending, and compare the published notes with the final spoken version.

Provide a transcript beside the episode. Transcripts include speech and meaningful sounds, as described in W3C's transcript guidance. Correct the transcript against the edited recording; a preparatory script can differ from what was actually said.

Put the episode in your content plan

Give the episode one place in your content pillars, such as preparing to buy. Then plan a short post presenting the listener's question, the episode itself and a follow-up example. Assign a date and owner to each item.

For content repurposing, extract one complete answer with enough context to stand alone. Keep the fictional label when reusing this example. A clip that drops that label could misrepresent the material as a real customer story. Review evergreen content when your service or advice changes.

After publication, record production time, available listening data and relevant enquiries separately. Ask new contacts how they found the business. Treat one episode as an observation, and avoid attributing a sale to it without evidence. Use the next episode to answer a remaining question you can support.

Related glossary terms

• Podcast outline
• Content calendar
• Content pillars
• Content repurposing
• Evergreen content

See also

• Content for a marketing agency
• LinkedIn schedule for a B2B consultant