Should Your Photo Be in Your Podcast Cover Art?

Podcast cover art is usually the first and most prominent thing people will see about your podcast—often even before the title itself! Visual space is limited (usually only half an inch or 1.25 cm square—or about the size of your thumbnail). So should you include a photo of yourself in your cover art? Here are some questions to help you decide!

This episode is not sponsored, but I still want to promote my friend Mark Des Cotes from PodcastBranding.co. Please mention that you heard about him from me and I'll earn a commission, but I recommend Mark's personalized design services because I believe in him and his niche skills, not because of any potential earnings.

1. How well-known are you?

“Celebrity” and “influence” come in all sizes. You might not be known to the average person, but if you're known outside of your own audience within a niche, then it might be helpful to include your face in your podcast cover art.

One of the benefits of this is when someone recognizes you from a collection of other podcasts. That will make your podcast stand out more. Imagine what you would do if you recognized one of your favorite celebrities with their own podcast.

What faces stand out to you in this selection of top podcasts?

For example, if you watched the American version of The Office, you would probably instantly recognize Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer on the cover art for Office Ladies. In fact, you might recognize them so much that you would just assume it's a podcast about The Office because that's how you know them. And even if their podcast wasn't about The Office, you might still be interested to try the podcast because of how much you enjoyed those actresses.

So if you are already well-known (even if only widely within your niche), then you might want your photo in your cover art. And even if you're not well-known, yet, then keep reading!

2. What is your show's focus?

Does your podcast focus on specific topics, or does it focus on your perspective on various topics?

For example, what is Joe Rogan's podcast primarily about? It's actually right in the title: “The Joe Rogan Experience.” It's about his experiences and perspectives through the variety of conversations he has with diverse guests. Thus, it's very fitting for the cover art to have his photo in it.

I would suggest the same for any kind of “The [your name] Show.”

But when your show focuses more on the topic than on the person, your photo might actually be