podcast-production_skill

Overview

This skill transforms a raw podcast transcript into publish-ready YouTube, social, and blog assets using a four-checkpoint workflow. Each checkpoint produces a decision-ready markdown file for your feedback before moving forward. Final deliverables include a YouTube strategy, cold open, social clips, polished transcript, and a narrative-driven blog post.

How this skill works

Start by supplying the raw transcript and context notes. Checkpoint 1 finds the episode's story arcs and the single Big Idea; Checkpoint 2 crafts a cold open and three social clips; Checkpoint 3 defines YouTube titles, thumbnail specs, description, and chapters; Checkpoint 4 delivers a cleaned transcript and ~1,000-word blog post. You approve each checkpoint file in sequence to unlock the next phase.

When to use it

• You have a raw transcript and need a clear marketing angle.
• You want a short, high-impact cold open that hooks listeners.
• You need platform-ready social clips with on-screen hooks.
• You want an SEO-optimized blog post derived from the episode.
• You need a YouTube title, thumbnail plan, and chapter timestamps aligned to the story.

Best practices

• Mine the entire transcript — the strongest moment can appear anywhere.
• Use verbatim quotes only; cut and reorder but never paraphrase quotes.
• Prioritize story over summary: identify a 6-beat arc, then derive the Big Idea.
• Keep thumbnails simple (max 3 elements) and on-screen hooks 2–4 words.
• Follow the checkpoint quality gates — approval at each stage prevents rework.

Example use cases

• Turn a guest interview transcript into a YouTube episode with chapters and a thumbnail spec.
• Create three distinct 60–90s social clips with on-screen hooks ready for Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
• Generate a 22–35s cold open that ends on a cliffhanger to boost retention.
• Produce a polished transcript plus a ~1,000-word blog post that highlights the episode’s core insight.