What should you name your podcast? This is an important question. You’re pouring your heart and soul into this show and can literally name it anything you want (as long as it’s not trademarked). So how do you choose a good name for your podcast, also known as a podcast title?

Subscribe to Podcasting Step by Step for free to hear how to come up with an enticing podcast name that will help listeners discover you.

Clear is better than clever

Would your ideal listener understand what your show is about by looking at its title? Would this title be something they’d search for in their podcast player? Help listeners find you with an obvious name. It should be interesting and resonate with them. 

Are you trying to make a name for yourself in a certain industry? What are the keywords and phrases you want to be known for? It’s a good idea to have them in your podcast name. For example, Brooke Castillo named her podcast “The Life Coach School Podcast.”

Be careful using numbers

A marketing podcast I like is called Ticket 2 Blog. The number ‘2’ throws people off when they’re trying to find the show. The co-hosts have also gone beyond talking about just blogging to talking about life as a content creator in general. So future plan your podcast title as much as possible. 

Keep it short and sweet

Show titles should be short and to the point so that they’re easy to remember and talk about. Another reason to keep your title short: Your podcast name will likely be on your logo, which will be tiny on podcast playing apps.

You might want to use a power word or two. These are words that pack an emotional punch. 

According to Smart Blogger, there are seven kinds of power words: fear, encouragement, lust, anger, greed, safety, and forbidden. 

“Life-changing.” “Results.” “Satisfy.” “Money.” “Triumph.” “Fool-proof.”

An example of ‘greed’ power words they use is Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. So they’re not saying that greed is bad, but that it’s tied to a desire. 

If you want to create a successful business or podcast or both, tie it to helping people lose weight, find a date, or make more money. That’s what people can’t get enough of and want to pay for. They want: 

• a better body (lose weight; look younger; sleep better); 

• more money (retire early; make a million dollars); 

• more love (get the guy, stop fighting in your marriage). 

With your podcast, you can make yourself the leader in the niche you choose. Of course, you should be podcasting about something you’re passionate about, but if that happens to be something sex, money, or beauty-related, you’ll be two-steps ahead of the game.

But other podcasts use obscure titles...

Now you might be thinking, there are a lot of popular podcasts out there with names that don’t give any hint about what they’re about. That’s true. Most of these podcasts either came with a built-in audience from something else, or they’ve been around for a really long time and have had years to build their fan base and also have first-movers advantage. 

Write down a few podcast title options and ask other people to describe your show based on what they can guess from your title. 

Test your podcast title on other people

Check to make sure no one is already using the podcast name you want. Technically you can use a name that’s already out there if it’s not trademarked. However, some podcast players won’t pick up your show if the name is already being used. Plus, why not use something new so that you don’t have to compete in search? (Check the U.S. Trademark database).

Hopefully the web domain and social media handles are available, too, but if not, you can use a variation of your podcast name.

Don’t keyword stuff your podcast title

In the past, some people put extra keywords in their podcast title to help in search. For example, someone might have had: 

“The Best Marketing Podcast: Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Richard Branson”

They put those people’s names in there because they’re popular and when people searched for them in their podcast player, “The Best Marketing Podcast” would have popped up (this is an example, I’m not sure if that podcast has ever existed). 

Keyword stuffing can also include extra words that aren’t really part of your title like: 

“The Best Marketing Podcast: Online Marketing, B2B, Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Influencer Marketing”

Don’t keyword stuff or you’ll get kicked out of Apple Podcasts.

To sum up this episode 

Keep your podcast name short and sweet and choose clarity over cleverness (but do both if you can).