Complete podcast episode content production workflow. This skill should be used when a user provides a podcast transcript and needs a full suite of publishing assets generated including a blog post, slide deck prompt, YouTube title/description with chapter markers, cross-platform social copy, a Buffer queue schedule, an infographic description, and a full image brief system (A/B YouTube thumbnails paired with titles, and primary episode art in 16:9 and 1:1). Produces all outputs in a consistent order with copy-paste-ready sections for each publishing platform. Designed to be reusable across any podcast show — brand configuration is stored in references/brand.md and references/show-config.md and must be set up before first use.
40:T3821,
This skill transforms a raw podcast transcript into a complete, publish-ready content suite. It is show-agnostic — all brand identity and show configuration live in the reference files. Before using this skill for a new show, configure references/brand.md and references/show-config.md.
Trigger: User drops a transcript (PDF, text, or document) and asks for episode assets, publishing materials, show notes, or any combination of the deliverables below.
Always read before starting:
references/brand.md — visual identity, colors, typography, platform specsreferences/show-config.md — show name, hosts, URLs, CTA links, posting schedule defaultsBefore generating any deliverable, extract and confirm the following from the transcript:
EPISODE METADATA
- Show name: [from show-config.md]
- Episode title (working): [derive from transcript's biggest story]
- Date range covered: [stated in transcript or inferred]
- Number of sections/chapters: [count from transcript structure]
- Chapter titles and timestamps: [extract or approximate from transcript]
- Top 3 stories: [the three highest-impact items]
- Single most provocative hook: [the one thing that makes someone click]
- Key stats/numbers: [pull all specific numbers mentioned]
Present this block to the user for confirmation if any item is ambiguous. Otherwise proceed directly.
Produce all deliverables in this exact order. Each section must be clearly headed and self-contained for copy-paste use.
Format: Long-form article for dual publication (Substack + primary blog)
Requirements:
references/human-writing-standards.md throughout — no AI clichés, varied sentence structure, authentic voice[SLIDE IMAGE: description] placeholders at the top of each section — describe what the corresponding slide deck slide shows so the user knows where to place images after generating the deck[BUYMEACOFFEE BUTTON: "label text → buymeacoffee.com/[handle from show-config.md]"]
[SUBSCRIBE BUTTON (Substack): "label text"]
[LISTEN BUTTON: "label text — platform links"]
Format: One-shot prompt the user pastes directly into their presentation generator
Structure of the prompt:
Open with brand identity block (pull from references/brand.md):
Then list slides in order, one per podcast chapter plus:
For each chapter slide specify:
Close the prompt with: "Use the provided transcript as source material for all factual claims. Maintain the [mood from brand.md] throughout. No light backgrounds."
Present as two paired blocks — A and B. Each block contains all four elements together so the title/image relationship is explicit.
Block format for each:
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YOUTUBE THUMBNAIL [A or B]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
PAIRED YOUTUBE TITLE:
[Title text — written so it works with the image text, not duplicating it]
IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
[Episode-specific scene/composition prompt for image generation tool.
No text described here — text is handled by application fields below.
Include: subject, composition, mood, lighting, background elements,
camera angle, 16:9 with center-safe zone for 1:1 crop.]
APPLICATION FIELDS:
Main Headline: [Short, punchy — plays WITH the YouTube title]
Subheadline: [Optional — only include if it adds contrast or tension]
CTA: [Optional — if used, subtle, positioned bottom-right, echoes title]
BRAND INSTRUCTIONS:
Main headline: [typeface, weight, color, size descriptor, position]
Subheadline: [typeface, weight, color, size descriptor, position — or "not used"]
CTA: [typeface, weight, color, size descriptor, position — or "not used"]
[Pull remaining specs from references/brand.md]
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Thumbnail A: Bolder, more literal — represents the episode's biggest single story
Thumbnail B: More conceptual or provocative — plays on tension, irony, or the unexpected angle
After both thumbnail blocks, produce the full YouTube description:
YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION:
[2–3 paragraph description — hook paragraph, content summary paragraph, community/CTA paragraph]
📌 CHAPTERS:
[Timestamp — Chapter title]
[Repeat for all chapters derived from transcript]
🔑 KEY STORIES THIS WEEK:
[Arrow-prefixed one-liners for each major story]
🚀 JOIN THE COMMUNITY:
[Pull all links from show-config.md]
[Hashtag block — mix show-specific tags from show-config.md with episode-specific topic tags]
Two image briefs — same episode, same composition intent, two aspect ratios. These are the canonical episode images used on RSS feeds, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and as the primary social post image. All fields are required.
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PRIMARY EPISODE IMAGE — 16:9
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
[Same scene/composition as A/B thumbnails but composed for full episode
identity — richer, more complete. Subject centered for safe 1:1 crop.
No text described — handled by fields below.]
APPLICATION FIELDS:
Main Headline: [Full episode title or show name + episode hook]
Subheadline: [The three top story hooks]
CTA: [Full CTA — readable, complete, e.g., "Listen Now → mcgauleylabs.news"]
BRAND INSTRUCTIONS:
[Full typeface, color, weight, position specs for all three fields]
[Pull from references/brand.md]
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PRIMARY EPISODE IMAGE — 1:1 CROP NOTE
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Use identical fields as 16:9 above.
Crop instruction: Center square of the 16:9 image.
Verify subject and all three text fields remain fully visible in the crop.
If not, note which field to reposition before cropping.
Generate a keyword set for the episode and apply the correct optimized mix to every platform that supports keywords, tags, or hashtags. Produce the keyword set first, then embed the platform-specific optimized selections directly inside each platform's copy block in Deliverable 6.
Keyword Set Structure:
PRIMARY KEYWORDS (broad, high-volume — 8–12 terms):
[comma-separated list]
SECONDARY KEYWORDS (entity/topic-specific — 15–25 terms):
[comma-separated list — show name, guest names, company names, model names, key topics]
LONG-TAIL KEYWORDS (specific phrases, lower competition — 15–25 phrases):
[comma-separated list — conversational queries, specific claims, niche audience hooks]
Platform Keyword Limits & Format Rules:
| Platform | Format | Limit | Mix Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Tags | comma-separated, no # | 500 characters total | 5–6 primary + 8–10 secondary + 4–5 long-tail |
| YouTube Description | natural language inline | No tag limit in body | Weave 3–4 primary naturally into first 200 chars |
| hashtags (#) | 30 tags max | 4–5 primary + 8–10 secondary + 4–6 long-tail | |
| hashtags (#) | 5–8 recommended | 3 primary + 2–3 secondary only — quality over quantity | |
| RSS.com | comma-separated or tags field | varies by platform | 5 primary + 5 secondary — highest clarity terms only |
| Blog/Substack | inline natural language + meta keywords | meta: 10–15 phrases | Mix all tiers naturally; front-load primary in title/H2s |
Application rules:
Produce one block per platform, clearly labeled:
RSS.com (Podcast Listing)
Title: [Episode title]
Description: [3–4 sentence summary. Hook sentence. Content overview. Source/credibility line. Listen CTA.]
Instagram Caption
[Hook line — bold statement or provocative question, no hashtags yet]
[2–3 lines of content context]
[CTA line with link direction]
[Hashtag block — 8–12 tags, mix broad and niche]
LinkedIn Post
[Opening statement — professional framing of the episode's business/strategic angle]
[Bullet list of 4–6 key stories with brief context — professional audience lens]
[Closing insight sentence]
[CTA + link]
[Hashtag block — 5–8 professional tags]
Default schedule (override with show-config.md settings if specified):
Produce as a table:
| Day | Platform | Time | Post Type | Content Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Day] | [Platform] | [Time] | [Type] | [What to post — brief description or first line of copy] |
Post types across the week:
Adjust platform mix per show-config.md. Default platforms: YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, RSS.
FORMAT RECOMMENDATION: [Landscape 16:9 for LinkedIn/Twitter/YouTube community post;
Square 1:1 crop for Instagram. State which is primary.]
TITLE BAR: [Show name | Episode date range]
SUBTITLE: [Episode title]
DESIGN SYSTEM:
[Pull background, accent colors, typography from references/brand.md]
[Describe grid/overlay style consistent with brand]
[Describe footer bar — show URL, secondary URL, support link]
PANEL LAYOUT: [Number of panels based on chapter count — typically 4–6]
Panel 1 — [SECTION NAME] [badge color]:
Primary stat: [largest number or boldest claim from this chapter]
Supporting callouts: [2–3 secondary data points]
Visual element: [icon, map, chart type, or illustration suggestion]
[Repeat for each chapter]
FOOTER BAR (full width):
[Pull all URLs from show-config.md]
PRODUCTION NOTE: Build in Canva using brand hex codes.
Generate landscape first, export, then crop to 1:1 for Instagram.
Apply these checks before delivering any output:
Writing (Blog Post):
Completeness:
[SLIDE IMAGE] placeholders in blog postBrand:
Load these before beginning any episode:
references/brand.md — Complete visual identity specreferences/show-config.md — Show name, hosts, URLs, CTAs, platform preferences, posting schedulereferences/human-writing-standards.md — Writing quality rules (anti-AI patterns, voice, structure)