How to pick the right name for your podcast: Dos and Don’ts

Have you ever wondered how to name your podcast? How can you make sure you pick the right title for your show? There are many podcast titles out there, but how do you come up with something really memorable? The two most powerful things a podcast has are its name and its artwork. This guide’s focus is to help you answer the question ‘What should I call my podcast?’ 

It’s an important job, and you’ve got to get it right. This is something that most people struggle with — me included. I’ve named a lot of podcasts over the years (I used to run a podcast agency) — all sorts: business podcasts, book podcasts, interview podcasts…After all of that I’ve learned that two key things can make or break a podcast.

  1. Your podcast name 
  2. Your podcast artwork. 

Why?

The importance of podcast naming cannot be stressed enough. Your podcast’s name will help define what it is, a part of its branding, and it will need to bring up the right emotions for your audience. In order to bring some clarity around the topic, we’ve built a list of reasons why you need to give a podcast name your full attention. The sooner you start using these techniques, the better — before you record your next episode or before you announce it on social media here are a couple of dos and don’ts:

DO:

  1. Think about your content and themes
  2. Keep it short and sweet
  3. Pick a name that feels true to you
  4. Make it relevant and easy to search
  5. Ditch the ‘The’ and ‘Podcast’ ‘cast’
  6. Say it aloud a few times and have friends say it too!
  7. Remember that you can change your name.

DON’T:

  1. Choose something abstract and obscure to your target audience.
  2. Pick an inside joke that only your friends/family will understand
  3. Use a foreign term that will be challenging to your target audience, e.g. using a German phrase when your target audience only speaks English.
  4. Pick hard to spell words or special characters.
  5. Choose a name that’s been used by another ‘active’ podcast.

This is a sample from our ‘How to pick an impactful name for your podcast’ guide available to our members—more information on accessing the full guide below.

Need more help picking a name? Become a Digital or Studio member and get the full podcast naming guide which provides an in-depth resource for podcast naming. From brainstorming ideas to seeing successful examples of names that are actually used, you’ll learn important elements needed to create your own great podcast or business name.

Our ‘How to pick the most impactful name for your podcast‘ guide also includes TWO scientifically proven ways to add oomph to your podcast, social media headlines, or episode titles. You’ll get a comprehensive list of word choices and the best practices for using them! There are also professional copywriting tools that will help anyone create a compelling headline for their own use.

Become a Digital member today. Sign up here.