Ep 77: 3 Things to Consider When Choosing a Podcast Name

[00:00:00] Verity: Hello there. And welcome back to another episode of The Lace Girl's Guide to Podcasting. It is fantastic to have you here. I am so excited to dive into this conversation today. 3 things to consider when choosing a podcast name.

00:00:15 Tips for Naming or Renaming Your Podcast

[00:00:15] Verity: Now this could be because you are starting a brand new podcast and you need to name that, or maybe you're going through this period of thinking, actually, I want to rebrand my podcast. I want to change the name of my podcast. And if that is you or you just haven't started your podcast yet, either or, this episode is for you. So let's jump into it. And also if you were thinking to yourself, well, is it logical to change my podcast title? I would say 100%. If you are feeling the need to change the title of your podcast, this is your permission. If you've been unsure about it, this is your permission to do so. And sometimes you need to go through a little bit period of experimentation and that's absolutely fine. Never ever be afraid to experiment in your podcast because you never know, you might actually have a change, which is which is for the better. My first podcast, The Competent CEO, did not start out being called The Competent CEO. It actually started out with the title bloggers creating courses because it was very much aimed at the blogging community creating online courses to support their blogs or as an addition for their blogs. However, as the time went by, I found that the conversation was diverting just more into generalized business and women in business, so I changed it to the competent CEO. So there is no reason why you cannot, you know, change your podcast title at all. I have a friend who had a podcast, and I can't remember what they started it being called, but it was nothing like the title it is now.

00:01:45 Choosing a Name for a Podcast

[00:01:45] Verity: Literally, just they could not think of a name for the show. So rather than just not creating any content, they gave it, like, this complete random name just so that they could get the show going and get the content out there and start growing a fan base until they could figure out. And they did. They figured out eventually what they wanted to call it, and they changed it, and that was absolutely absolutely fine. And it worked for them, and they were able to pull in different keywords that they realized their audience was searching for. And similar to this podcast, it started out with just the lazy girl's guide to podcasting. And in all fairness, that is what I call it. However, if you search and have a look at it on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, wherever, you'll see that the full title is something along the lines of the lazy girl's guide to podcasting, podcasting tips for podcasters? I can't remember. It's it's got a description at the end of it that is kind of like, you know, the quote unquote official title, but I just call it Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting because, you know, that is a long enough title as it is.

00:02:45 Choosing a Podcast Name: Three Key Considerations

[00:02:45] Verity: But three things that you need to consider when choosing a podcast name. First of all, and I feel like I've already touched on this, is searchability. So consider to yourself, what is it that your target audience are searching for? What are those keywords that they are using, that they are going to land on your podcast? Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting, somebody could be typing in guide to podcasting because I've got that elongated title, which includes the keyword podcasting tips. Again, somebody could type in podcasting tips, and my show could come up. And I know that my show does come up. It's in, like, the top 10, I think it is, for podcasting tips, which is great. I will totally take that. Thank you very much, Apple Podcasts. But the point is, is what is it that people are searching for? I could have easily called the podcast something like, I don't know, Get Your Mic Out. Okay. That's terrible. I've literally just thought that on the spot, but nobody's gonna be looking for that.

00:03:46 Choosing a Podcast Title: Key Considerations

[00:03:46] Verity: Equally, there are loads of amazing podcasts, which have got puns as the title, but nobody's searching for a pun. So you've got to consider to yourself, what are the keywords that people are searching for that is going to make your podcast title come up preferably in, like, the top 5 or 10 podcasts when somebody searches those keywords on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or wherever. The next thing to consider is does your title, does the podcast name draw your target listener in? Because if it doesn't, if it's just, you know, maybe it just doesn't make sense. Maybe the pun or you've tried to be funny and it just it doesn't it just doesn't make any sense to anybody.

00:04:34 Tips for Creating Engaging Podcast Titles

[00:04:34] Verity: Or maybe you've tried to be too witty and, again, nobody can really figure out exactly what your podcast is about, you've got to think to yourself, is somebody being drawn in? Is it what it says on the tin? And I think that there are too many podcast titles. This is completely my personal opinion, but I think that there are too many podcast shows which just don't draw people in. I mean, Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting, people know what they are getting with this show. It is a podcast about podcasting tips. Even if I didn't have that elongated part of the name, Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting, it is obvious what it does. If I'd called it the Verity Song Gone Show, nobody would have a clue what that was about because my name doesn't translate to podcasting. The Verity Song on show doesn't tell you. It could be a chat show like the Kelly Clarkson show or the Ellen DeGeneres show for all we know.

00:05:28 Tips for Improving Podcast Discoverability

[00:05:28] Verity: It just it doesn't bring my target listener in. Whereas, for them seeing for somebody seeing Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting, my target listener is like, oh, I want easy and simple and actionable advice to create a podcast. I'm going to listen to that podcast. So it's what is, you know, like I said, what is bringing your target audience in? And then the final thing to consider, which very heavily links into point number 2, point number 3 is, is it obvious what your podcast is about? So forget about the artwork for a minute because the artwork is a completely different conversation. Just when you hear the title, is it obvious what your podcast is about? And one of the main reasons why I say that is because the absolute number one way that people discover new podcasts is through word-of-mouth. Okay? You can spend as much money as you want on ads, like promotional materials and whatever else, and you can be on as many social media platforms as you want, the number one way of discovering a new podcast or being discovered as a podcaster is through word-of-mouth recommendations.

00:06:40 The Importance of Clearly Communicating Your Podcast's Content

[00:06:40] Verity: Is somebody turning around to the friend and saying, oh, I listened to this podcast or I listened to this episode sharing your episodes with people that they know who think are, you know, relevant to that to that audience and to that particular content. Without your artwork, because people aren't generally saying, oh, here's the artwork of somebody's podcast. You've got to listen. They are saying, oh, I've listened to this podcast. It's called the lazy girl's guide to podcasting. I know you're signing up a podcast. I think you should listen to a few episodes. And I know that people have done that with my show. So thank you very much, lovely people who have done that. But my point is is if somebody just turned around and said, oh, I think you should listen to this show. It's called the Verity Song On Show. That doesn't mean anything to anybody. It's not obvious what my podcast is about from that. But if someone turns around and says, oh, I think you need to listen to Verity's podcast. It's called the lazy girl's guide to podcasting. There we go. It's obvious what my podcast is about. And then somebody can say, yeah. I'm really into podcasting. I wanna start my own podcast or I wanna grow my podcast. I'm totally gonna listen. Or people can say, actually, yeah. No. That's not interested in setting up my own podcast, so that's not that's not what I need to, that's not what I need to listen to. So it's always thinking, is it obvious what your podcast is about?

00:07:53 Tips for Choosing a Podcast Name

[00:07:53] Verity: So just to recap those three things to consider when choosing a podcast name, either because you're starting out with a new podcast or you were rebranding your current podcast, searchability. Think about those keywords that people are using to search for your podcast or a podcast about your topic, and they will hopefully find your podcast. What are those keywords that people are typing into Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and any other, you know, platform they're using to listen to, their podcast? Number 2, does it draw your target listener in? Is there something about your title where people are thinking, 'Yeah, this speaks to me. This connects to me. I want to be drawn in.' And finally, is it obvious what your podcast is about? Is it clear from the outset that somebody knows exactly what they're getting into when they click on that title because it just captures everything to do with your podcast. So those are my three things that I'd really like you to consider when choosing a podcast name or rebranding your podcast title. As ever, I really hope you found this podcast episode useful. If you did, I would love it if you could smash those 5 stars in whichever podcast app you are listening on because it is lovely to know that the content is resonating with you guys and that you are enjoying it as well. So, as ever, hope you found this useful, as I said, and I'll see you next time. Happy podcasting.