Jan 31, 2021
5 ways you can name your podcast
Along with a few tips along the way to nail your podcast name the first time and get your listeners attention.
If you’re at the stage of naming I can totally empathise with the fact of how hard it can be to come up with a name that best represents you, your listeners and your podcast.
From the experience of naming 3 podcasts of my own and a handful of businesses, including my own, G’day Frank. Naming a podcast is so freakin’ similar to naming a business, an event, or even your own child. Naming your child though is obviously at a totally different end of the spectrum, but if you’ve also been there, done that as a parent, you’ll be able to relate.
So to make it easier and give you some added inspiration. I’ve put together a few considerations and tips, along with 5 ways to name your podcast.
Naming can satisfy a need, it can shorten a conversation that otherwise might go on for hours. — Nihad Sirees
Why you want to pick an appropriate name from the beginning
When we chose a name, we want to stick with it. If you decide to change it later, especially if you have a loyal listenership, you’re introducing friction into that listener’s experience of your podcast. It’s a brand experience after all and more often than not, we are typically adverse to change.
So the lesson here is to measure twice, cut once. Pick a name and stick with it. Because as the quote above suggests, we want our listeners, especially new listeners, to get a sense of our podcast from the name alone. So that it either has a clear association to their interest topic or to an already established brand.
3 Considerations before choosing a name for your podcast
1. What is your podcast going to be about?
My guess is you already have this nailed down here. But if you haven’t 100% nailed down the broad topic of conversation of your podcast, this is the time to do so. Because it is typically the biggest influencing decision of what you will name your podcast. It might sound obvious as hell, but you’re going to want to have your podcast topic locked down before naming.
2. Is your podcast tied to your personal brand?
If you already have an established personal brand with an audience of existing followers/students/clients/customers. It’s worth considering how valuable your own name is when developing your podcast name. But I'll circle back to this point a little further down in the article.
3. Is your podcast tied to your business?
Similar to having a personal brand, is your podcast an extension of your business? Perhaps it’s a lead generation communication tool to attract new new clients, customers, or students and be a value add for your existing target market. Integrating your business name into the name is something to consider, but again, I’ll circle back to this point further down in the article.
5 naming conventions for your podcast name
After doing a bit of research into the different types of names podcasters are naming their shows, I found there are 5 typical naming conventions that are used when coming up with a great podcast name:
1. Using the topic of your podcast in the name
It may seem soooo freakin’ obvious, but including keywords that represent your podcast’s topic of discussion is a no brainer. However, it may not sound as basic as you may think.
If you pick 1–3 keywords people are likely to search when wanting to discover podcasts about that topic and integrate them into the name of your podcast, guess what? New listeners can more easily discover your podcast without ever having discovered anything about you.
Much like SEO for a website, including these keywords in your podcast name can be a great way to become known, especially if you don’t have an established brand presence.
Here are 3 examples of podcasts who do just that:
2. A catchy name that is punny, witty, snappy, punchy, etc
This type of naming convention is a podcast name that can either deliver an ‘Aha’ or ‘Haha’ moment. Alternatively, it could be a name that rhymes, has alliteration and even includes those keywords I mentioned previously for added benefit.
What this type of name can do is increase the chance of listeners remembering your show & catching the attention of new listeners, making them want to listen and hear more. Because the way I see podcasts grabbing our attention is just the same as how many of us judge a book by its cover. First focusing on the pretty cover art and secondly by the podcast title.
Here are 3 examples of podcasts who do just that:
3. A symbolic name that your listeners will understand
For this type of name imagine giving your ideal listener a name only they would truly understand after discovering you and your podcast. Be it an in-joke or a symbolic term that represents your topic.
From that first touchpoint, you’re immediately aligning with your listeners.
For example, and this is one I thought of myself when recording the latest podcast episode about this topic. If you were to start a podcast about Star Wars, made for die-hard fanboys and called it the “Tantive IV Escape Pod-cast”. True fans of Star Wars would get a massive kick out of the title alone because they totally get the reference. Did you understand it?
Here are 3 examples of podcasts who do just that:
4. A podcast named after you, the podcast host
Remember when I asked if you had an established personal brand? Well, this is where that comes into play. If you have an audience that already knows you and a clever title or title that describes what your podcast is about is all too hard-basket. Then simply consider titling the show with your name.
It may not seem inventive but if your name is synonymous within your industry as well as your existing audience and you are the host of the show. Then naming your podcast after yourself is a simple but effective naming convention to go with.
The key benefits of naming a podcast after yourself is that it’s immediately creating a human connection between you and your listeners as they are not just there for your content in each episode, but they are there for you.
Though if your name is not easily pronounced or spelt, this may not be ideal an ideal choice of naming convention. So alternatively you could either use a part of your name (first, middle, and or last name) and integrate it into the name with two of the previous naming approaches. Or choose one of the other naming conventions entirely. To give you a prime example of this, I named my business name G’day Frank after my middle name, because my full name Reagan Mackrill is harder to spell, pronounce and as a result, remember easily.
Here are 3 examples of podcasts who do just that:
5. A name that includes your business name
If your podcast is tied to your business as a branded touchpoint for your audience and/or customers to additionally connect with. Including your business name in the title can create greater consistency for your already established business brand.
What it can additionally help with is that because your podcast becomes another branded touchpoint, if your business name is included in the searchable title (not just on the cover artwork) it can help with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
This isn’t to say you can’t call your business’ podcast a different name, but it could include your business’ name as well as a catchy title or topic-specific keywords.
Here are 3 examples of podcasts who do just that:
A few final tips for the name of your podcast
- Make it catchy if possible.
- Make it easy to spell and pronounce.
- Make sure it’s available for other touchpoints like social media handles and domain names where required.
- MAKE SURE THE NAME IS AVAILABLE BEFORE BECOMING ATTACHED TO IT!
On that last point, come up with a couple of different names and first and foremost check it’s availability by searching it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. But also test out the name with those who you trust the opinion of for this type of thing. So maybe leave your mum or dad out of this one. Or better yet, see what those who would likely listen to the podcast think of the title.
There is even an opportunity for you if you have an already established audience to have their input on the name. Either by throwing in suggestions or voting on a select few options. This creates even stronger buy-in from your audience to boost the chances of them becoming your superfans.
Best of luck with naming your podcast. It’s one of those tricky first challenges of starting your podcast but once you do and move onto the next steps of recording and publishing your podcast, you’ll have so much confidence when you step up to the mic and announce the name of your podcast in your very first episode.
But if it becomes too challenging and you need an extra helping hand with naming, podcast cover art design, strategic planning for your podcast and even a perfect website landing page for your podcast. Hit me up at Brand My Podcast
Frank.
Frank is a brand identity designer, podcaster and host of Brand My Podcast, a podcast show AND service to help podcasters start their podcast and build their podcast brand.
For info about how to start and brand your podcast with confidence, to make podcasting as easy as pressing record, visit: brandmypodcast.com
