Create

How to Create the Perfect Podcast Cover?

The cover is an important part of your podcast because before being listened to, your podcast will be first and foremost seen. In the space of a small square, you’ll need to portray the identity of your podcast and at the same time make listeners want to listen to it. Nothing much!

What should I put on my cover?

Your podcast cover art needs to be unique and easily recognizable. So forget the images of headphones or RSS feeds, the first function of your cover is to make people want to listen to it. Yes my friends, people judge on the physical – it’s ugly, but often true – so try as much as possible to summarize in one image the topics that you will address in your podcast.

Do you talk about cinema? Why not go for a film reel for your cover? Or perhaps your podcast is more of an audio saga? In that case, you might want to highlight the main character of your story.

Should I include the name of my podcast on my cover?

There are two schools of thought in regards to this: Those who choose to make their title their cover.

Or those who choose their title and an image.

It’s entirely up to you to choose. Adding your title on your cover isn’t mandatory, but there are few counter-examples of this in world of podcasts, maybe you’ll be the first!

What tools do you need to make the perfect podcast cover?

When it comes to editing and retouching an image, Photoshop remains the undisputed master if you’re looking to create your cover from scratch. If you’re looking for a free alternative, why not check out Gimp.

Bad at design? The website 99designs offers to put you in touch with professionals. If you’ve got the budget, it’s an effective way of creating the cover of your dreams.

The MacGyver Approach: Google Drawing, is an online image editor. You can even import images from your Drive which is pretty convenient.

What size should my podcast cover be?

It goes without saying that it’s always better to have a square format. When it comes to working on your design, we recommend settings the size of your audio cover to 1400 x 1400. Note that the format required to add your podcast to iTunes is 170×170 pixels.

Where can I find inspiration for my podcast cover?

Not a graphic designer at heart and in need of inspiration? No worries, here’s a short list of image banks.

Attention: Do make sure to check whether the images are free of copyright should you decide to use them.

Freepik
Flaticon
Flickr

How did you create the cover art for your podcast? Feel free to share your top tips with us in the comments section!

Emma Potier

Emma Potier is Head of Brand Content at Ausha. She leads the company’s content strategy and works closely with her team to create content that helps podcasters successfully launch and grow their shows. She also regularly represents Ausha as a spokesperson, both in internal webinars and at industry events. A serial podcaster, she has launched several podcasts and currently hosts Tips, Ausha’s podcast. With over five years of experience and more than 100 episodes produced, she shares practical marketing strategies to help podcasters amplify their reach.