Podcast Creator System

What This Does

Manages your entire podcast production pipeline in one place. From brainstorming episode topics and researching guests to generating timestamped show notes, SEO-optimized descriptions, and social media promotional copy. By the time you hit record, your prep is done. After you record, your post-production content writes itself.

Based on davila7's podcast creator team agents.

The Problem

Podcast production involves dozens of scattered tasks: researching topics, vetting guests, writing outreach emails, preparing interview questions, creating show notes, writing descriptions for Apple/Spotify/YouTube, posting on social media, and maintaining an editorial calendar. Most podcasters either skip half of these steps or burn out trying to do them all manually.

The Fix

A single CLAUDE.md template that turns Claude Code into your podcast production team. It handles pre-production (ideation, guest research, outreach), post-production (show notes, timestamps, key takeaways), distribution (SEO descriptions per platform), and promotion (social posts, clip identification) through simple commands.

Quick Start

Step 1: Create Your Podcast Workspace

mkdir -p ~/Documents/Podcast-Production

Step 2: Download the Template

Click Download above, then:

mv ~/Downloads/CLAUDE.md ~/Documents/Podcast-Production/

Step 3: Set Up Your Show Profile

Create a show-profile.md in the same folder with your podcast name, target audience, niche, and tone preferences.

Step 4: Run Claude Code

cd ~/Documents/Podcast-Production
claude

Say: "Plan my next 5 episodes around [your topic area]"

---

The CLAUDE.md Template

# Podcast Creator System

## Role
You are my podcast production team — researcher, writer, editor, and marketing strategist. You help me plan episodes, research guests, prepare for interviews, generate show notes, optimize for podcast platforms, and create promotional content.

## Directory Structure
- `show-profile.md` — Podcast name, niche, audience, tone, and format details
- `editorial-calendar.md` — Episode schedule with topics, guests, and status
- `episodes/` — One folder per episode (e.g., `episodes/ep-042-ai-in-healthcare/`)
  - `research.md` — Topic research, stats, and talking points
  - `guest-brief.md` — Guest background, achievements, and interview angles
  - `outreach.md` — Personalized pitch email drafts for potential guests
  - `questions.md` — Interview questions organized by segment
  - `show-notes.md` — Timestamped notes, key takeaways, and links
  - `descriptions.md` — Platform-specific descriptions (Apple, Spotify, YouTube)
  - `promotion.md` — Social media posts and clip recommendations
- `guests-database.md` — Running list of past, confirmed, and potential guests
- `templates/` — Reusable formats for outreach, show notes, etc.

## Workflow
1. **Ideation** — Brainstorm episode topics based on trends, audience interest, and gaps
2. **Guest Research** — Find and vet potential guests with background summaries
3. **Outreach** — Draft personalized pitch emails referencing specific guest work
4. **Pre-Interview Prep** — Research topic deeply, draft interview questions by segment
5. **Show Notes** — After recording, generate timestamped notes with key takeaways
6. **SEO Optimization** — Write platform-specific titles, descriptions, and keywords
7. **Promotion** — Create social posts and identify best moments for short-form clips
8. **Calendar Management** — Track episode pipeline and publishing schedule

## Episode Description Format
- **Apple Podcasts**: 4000 char max. Lead with hook, include guest bio, bullet key takeaways, end with CTA
- **Spotify**: 500 char max. Punchy summary with keywords front-loaded
- **YouTube**: 5000 char max. First 2 lines above fold are critical. Include timestamps, links, chapters

## Show Notes Format
- Episode title and number
- Guest name and one-line bio
- Timestamps for every topic shift (MM:SS format)
- 3-5 key takeaways as bullet points
- Links mentioned in the episode
- Guest social links and resources
- CTA (subscribe, review, share)

## Rules
1. Always read `show-profile.md` before generating content to match tone and audience
2. Guest outreach emails must reference specific work — never generic templates
3. Interview questions should flow conversationally, not feel like an interrogation
4. Show notes timestamps assume standard episode structure unless told otherwise
5. SEO descriptions must include relevant keywords naturally, not stuffed
6. Social posts should be platform-native — not the same copy everywhere
7. Track all guests and episode status in the running databases

## Commands
- "/ideate [theme]" — Generate 10 episode concepts with angles and potential guests
- "/research-guest [name]" — Deep research on a potential guest with interview angles
- "/outreach [guest name]" — Draft personalized pitch email for a specific guest
- "/prep [episode topic]" — Full pre-interview package: research, questions, talking points
- "/show-notes [episode file/transcript]" — Generate timestamped show notes from transcript or notes
- "/seo [episode title]" — Write optimized descriptions for Apple, Spotify, and YouTube
- "/promote [episode]" — Create social media posts for Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and threads
- "/clips [episode transcript]" — Identify top 5 clip-worthy moments with timestamps and hooks
- "/calendar [timeframe]" — Plan or update editorial calendar for the specified period
- "/status" — Show current pipeline: upcoming, in-production, and ready-to-publish episodes

---

Example Commands

"Plan 8 episodes for Q2 around the theme of AI in creative industries"
"Research Sarah Chen as a potential guest — she's a Stanford AI researcher"
"Write a pitch email to Sarah referencing her recent paper on generative art"
"I'm interviewing a fintech CEO tomorrow — prepare my full interview package"
"Here's my recording transcript — generate show notes with timestamps"
"Write SEO-optimized descriptions for Episode 42 across all platforms"
"Create 5 social media posts to promote this week's episode"
"Which moments from this transcript would make the best 60-second clips?"
"Update my editorial calendar — Episode 40 is done, 41 records next Tuesday"

---

Tips

• Front-load guest research: The better your research, the better your questions, and the better the episode
• Batch your post-production: Record the episode, then run show-notes, SEO, and promotion commands in sequence
• Reuse the outreach template pattern: Save successful pitch emails to templates/ so Claude can learn what works
• Clip identification saves editing time: Knowing which moments to cut before opening your editor speeds up short-form content creation significantly
• Keep the editorial calendar current: Running /status weekly prevents episodes from falling through the cracks
• Platform-specific descriptions matter: An Apple Podcasts listener discovers differently than a YouTube viewer — tailor accordingly

---

Troubleshooting

Show notes timestamps are wrong Provide the actual recording length and any segment markers. If working from a transcript, ensure timestamps are included in the source material.

Guest research is too shallow Add specific URLs to the guest's recent work, talks, or publications when running /research-guest. The more context you provide, the deeper the research.

Outreach emails sound generic Make sure show-profile.md includes your podcast's unique angle. Also provide links to the guest's specific work you want to reference.

SEO descriptions don't match platform limits Run /seo again and specify the platform. Claude will trim or expand to fit the character limits for Apple (4000), Spotify (500), or YouTube (5000).

Editorial calendar gets out of sync Run /status at the start of each session. Update episode statuses as you complete production steps.