Today we’re diving deep into how to name a podcast or show. Your podcast name is one of the most important decisions you can make when getting started because it contributes to your identity. It’s what you become known for. Don’t take those decisions lightly.
Your podcast name is the first impression your audience is going to get of your show. It’s the first thing that they’re going to hear and that they’re going to see when deciding if this show is for them.
If the show that you built is what they are looking for today, it contributes to your findability within podcast players. If you’re using the wrong words to describe your show and people don’t already know about your show, then they’re not going to find you.
NAME YOUR PODCAST WITH CATEGORIES AND KEYWORDS
Category and keywords is where we’re going to start. If you’re talking about how to name your podcast, you always should be starting with the macro view of your category and your keywords.
Think about it this way. If you want to understand your category, it’s really figuring out which box you fall in. Apple podcasts have a great categorization for you. They’ve already done all the work to figure out what are the main buckets of information that people tend to look for.
They put them into boxes for you, categories like business, health, and finance. They’re all there already. You pick which bucket you want to play in. Yes, most of our shows can be put into multiple buckets, but when someone is actually looking for your content, if they were going to go on a category search, where would they start? Think about that and pick something.
NICHE DOWN INTO SUBCATEGORIES
Once you’ve picked that category, decide if there is a subcategory that you would fall into, like within business. My show is marketing. That is a subcategory of business.
There are many subcategories of business. Entrepreneurship is a big one for podcasts. There is a whole category and subcategory of that, but it all resides within business. Pick those subcategories.
Why is this important for figuring out the name of your podcast? Because when you know where you are heading, then you know how to get there. If my category is marketing within business, I now have to figure out what are the words that I can use to describe my show that helped define it within this category.
When you’ve isolated your subcategory, (it was marketing for me) how do you fit into that space? What’s your niche within that category? As you’ve identified that you can build that into the name of your show as well.
SUBTITLE WITH KEYWORDS
If your show is all about Facebook ads, then within marketing you can use the word Facebook ads in your title. Just call it “The Facebook Ads Show”. You can get more creative with that, and we’ll talk about that later, but the main keyword should be included somewhere in the title. You can either have it as part of the main title or as the subtitle.
For me, my show is called “Brands On Brands”. That is pretty vague, but at least you know it’s in that branding part of the marketing category. I’ve slightly niched down, but if you go a step further, I’ve subtitled it “Brands On Brands–Personal Branding and Content Marketing”.
Why is that important? It’s important because now if someone is specifically looking for personal branding, for branding that builds their own self, where they are the business where their name matters, they might type in the keyword, “Personal Branding.”
Guess what pops up to the top? My show, because I’ve listed it in the title and also in the descriptions. That’s what’s important. You can’t just throw out a vague name like “John Talks Today”, or “John Talks Live”.
NAME YOUR PODCAST TO BE SEARCHABLE
That is not going to help people find you. Maybe every Monday you go live, so you say, “It’s Mondays with John.” That’s fine, but no one going to type in John. No one is going to type in Monday. No one is going to find you because of that.
However, if you called it “Mondays with John–Facebook Ads and Funnels”, now you are helping the algorithm. You are helping these search tools tell the world what the show is about.
That matters. If you miss that step, then you’re not taking advantage of the functionality of search that’s built into these tools, and not just the podcast tools. The same thing works for Google search. When on your website, these titles will carry over to the blogs that you create.
They will carry over to the YouTube shows that you create, or the outputs into videos, and it all starts with the name of your show. You have to get those keywords built into your name.
YOUR PODCAST NAME DEFINES WHO YOU ARE
I know it’s hard to pick a name. You may say, “This is still kind of vague. It’s just my name and Facebook Ads. That’s not very specific.” Let’s get deeper. Step one was categories and keywords, thinking about those things. Number two is figuring out what you stand for. I’m going to call this your line in the sand. I’m not the only one that calls it this, but that’s what we’re going to call it today.
Think about what you believe in. That determines how you will own your corner, your niche. For me, I start the shows off by saying, “I believe that building a brand that matters today is the only way to thrive. I think your brand has to matter.”
You have to have some kind of connective tissue, some engaging experience. You have to touch each person individually and say, “Hey, what is it that you need? How can I help you?” That’s how I think you build a brand. One person at a time, one experience at a time. That’s my corner.
RELATED: Build your personal brand with the Content Marketing Starter Guide.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN?
For you, you have to determine what it is that you believe in that is what your audience needs to succeed or to benefit from this show. What is your approach to telling these stories and finding the next level for your audience? How does it position you versus the other shows in your field?
I’m going to continue with my example of the Facebook ads show. If your show was “Facebook Ads by John”, that’s fine. People will know what it’s about. However, if you say “The science of Facebook ads by John”, that is a very scientific type show.
If it was copywriting for Facebook ads, you can picture that to be slightly different. That’s a different ownable niche. If it’s building Facebook ads that convert, you can tell there’s a different approach to that. Each of these takes you down a different path. It might speak to what the common thread is that you bring into each show.
NAME YOUR PODCAST TO CREATE CONTENT
The questions you ask and the guests you bring on will all start to flow from this core premise, this line in the sand you’ve drawn. It says, “There are lots of ways to build Facebook ads. The thing that matters to me is how you write the copy.” That stands out as your core beliefs, so when you bring on these guests, that’s what you want to talk about. All that goes into the name of your show.
You have to figure out what is my show about, what is my line in the sand, and how do I incorporate that? Can I bring that into the name? If not into the name, can I bring it into the subtitle or at very least the description of the show, right at the top?
That will help you get a sense of what is it that I’m going to own in this space? It makes your show special. It answers that question, why does this show exist? You’re bringing a different perspective that is uniquely you in an area that you can own.
WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?
The third is to think about your audience first. When I’m going into naming my podcast, I want to figure out what is it that my audience is looking for? What is it they’re going to take away from this experience? Your audience matters.
The reason that is important is when we build these shows, we were building them for someone. If they are looking for something specific, you have to find a way to tap into that. If you think about your audience first, you might (either in your title or the name of your show,) include the word that you think they’re looking for the most.
You might actually name your audience. You might include what your audience calls themselves. If your show is a show for entrepreneurs, you might include the word “entrepreneurs” in the title of your show.
“Facebook Ads for Entrepreneurs” is very specific, or it could be “Facebook Ads for Musicians”, very specific. You could see how that show completely changes and also gets much more niched down to a very specific audience that you can deliver directly to.
YOUR AUDIENCE NEEDS TO INSPIRE YOUR PODCAST NAME
Picking your audience is important, but including it in the name helps. Maybe it’s a corporate title like CEOs, managers, or entrepreneurs, or it could be something that is describing them overall, like thrill-seekers or moms. If they were looking for other people like them, what would they name that community?
One of the top entrepreneur podcasts is called “Entrepreneurs on Fire”. It’s right there in the name and it’s them trying to grow and scale their entrepreneurial businesses. That leads to what they’re all about.
What I would say is, think about your audience and think about how you can catch their eye and tell them that this show is exactly for them.
ASK THEM QUESTIONS, GIVE THEM ANSWERS
It’s by tapping into their identity either, who exactly they are, what they call themselves, or what they search for the most when looking for information that helps them. If I’m looking for how to be a better entrepreneur, I’m typing in the word “entrepreneur” half the time so that I can find more things that help entrepreneurs.
If I am trying to be a marketer or the leader in marketing, I’m going to type in “marketing” because I want to know what that is. Or I’ll type in CMO or something like that to see how does this help? Do they have shows that cater to me specifically, people that are in my shoes or that maybe are ahead of me?
Think about that. How do you bring your audience into the title of your show? Then if you can, you can either name the show to incorporate them or to invite them. That would be the last way to look at that.
If you’re not naming them specifically, name the thing that they’re chasing. This is “Facebook Ads for Seven Figure Businesses.” Maybe that’s not them right now, but it’s going to be them in the future. That’s what they’re aspiring to be. If it’s a fitness show, it could be “The Fit and Fabulous Life”. They’re aiming to be there, whatever it might be. You either build something that they can aspire to or call them out specifically. I am you, you are me. This show is for you. Let’s do this.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS ALONE!
Think about your audience first. That’s the last tip in terms of naming your show. If those have helped, if you can go through that, you can build into your name of the podcast. You can make that strong first impression to your audience that says, “This show is exactly for me. It’s what I’ve been looking for.”
That is going to make your show more findable so that the audience understands that you built this specifically for them.
You don’t have to do this alone. I know this is a lot. Sometimes you might feel like you have a good idea, but you just need a gut check. If you have a great podcast idea and you aren’t sure what to name it, reach out to me. That’s why I’m here. Let’s chat. I’d love to hear from you. Just go to brandsonbrands.com/coach, and my schedule is right there. You pick a time and we’ll chat.
Remember, building your brand is a journey. Tackle little items, little steps each day, and move forward. I hope these tactics I shared today were helpful. Thank you so much for listening and I will catch you all next time.
MORE ADVICE AND INTERVIEWS
If you’d like more content about how to build your personal brand, check out my free Content Marketing Starter Guide.
And here are some more of my most popular thought leader interviews!
- What Business to Start with John Lee Dumas
- Personal Branding Masterclass with Chris Ducker
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Talk soon!