I love being silly with my son. The other day while sitting on the couch watching T.V. I asked him, “You want a Chelbow?” His nose scrunched up, his eyes got wide, and he excitedly asked, “What's that Daddy?”
I proceeded to poke my elbow into the middle of his little chest. He squealed with laughter. Now we chase each other around the house asking, “You want a Chelbow?”
The funny part is, had I asked him if he wanted an elbow to the chest, he would have quickly said, “No.” Because I gave it a unique name, he was curious, and said,”Yes.”
It's exactly the same in podcasting. No matter what your show is about, people become interested when you give it a great name. Today we'll discuss:
1- Why naming matters
2 – How to pick a great name for your podcast
3 – A fast way to validate the name of your podcast
WHY NAMING MATTERS
In a crowded market where people have lots of choices, it might seem impossible to stand out. Especially if we sound like everyone else in the market. Consumers will choose based upon price or convenience. To command higher prices and attract the best clients, we must use great names for our products and services.
When we name what we do, it instantly becomes unique in the marketplace. Plus, a unique name gives you more credibility. Naming is important in all areas of your business. Let's take a look at how to name your podcast.
HOW TO PICK A GREAT NAME FOR YOUR PODCAST
One of the biggest sticking points new people new to podcasting is choosing a name for their show. They don't want to screw this up. The name is the first thing everyone will see. To pick a great name for your show three questions must be answered:
- Are you fired up about it?
- Can you create a movement around it?
- Do you want everyone to know about it?
Let's take a closer look at each one.
Are you fired up about this?
Podcasting is a marathon, not a race. When choosing a name you want something that grows with you, over the long run. The name and topic of the show should give you room to evolve and grow. One of the biggest mistakes people new to podcasting make, is choosing names and topics that don't give box them in.
Take my friend Doberman Dan for example. His first podcast was about copywriting. On the surface, this makes perfect sense. He's a copywriter and he was interviewing other copywriters. The only problem was, he got bored. Only a few months into his show he stopped recording.
When he and I decided to work together on his second show, we didn't want to paint him into a corner with such a narrow topic. We ended up naming his show, “Doberman Dan's Off The Chain Show.” The first few months we talked about marketing and sales. After that it was politics and conspiracies. Then it was personal development and spiritual growth.
In all, we recorded over 200 shows in a span of 5 years. The only reason we were able to do this was because the name of the show gave him room to grow. Now let's look at the second question we need to answer to choose a great name.
Can you create a movement around this?
The real power of podcasting lies in the ability to move people to action. When properly planned, a podcast, is only the beginning. The underlying philosophy should be something people want to be a part of.
A great example was Chris and Taylor, from Traffic and Funnels™. When they were ready to start their podcast they wanted it to be something bigger than their company. They wanted it to be fun, edgy, and represent their personalities.
We came up with the concept, “The Smartest Guys in Marketing.” Anyone who listened to the show quickly realized the name was only 1/2 serious. The guys were really smart, but they were also having fun, and their listeners were too. This name, and their personalities gave them a huge advantage over their competitors. Their Facebook Group and their business grew as a result of the show. Now let's take a look at the last question we need to answer to ensure we've picked a great name for our podcast.
Do you want everyone to know about this?
One of the biggest mistakes new podcasters make is pandering to search engines rather than humans. They stuff their show name with keywords that don't make sense to human readers. It's hard to get excited about your show if you can't get excited about the name. When you have a great name for your show, you want everyone to know about it.
Greg Smith nailed this when he named his show, “Rise Above Podcast.” Greg rose above his humble beginnings to create a business empire. He's passionate about showing his listeners how they can do the same, no matter where they're starting from.
These 3 questions will set the foundation for a great name. But there's one last thing we can do to ensure the name we choose is a hit. Let's take a look at the final step.
A FAST WAY TO VALIDATE THE NAME
Want to know if you've got a great name for your show? There's a really simple way to find out. Find a group of your ideal listeners and… Ask them.
If you ask people why they want to start a podcast, one of the most common answers is, “I want to be a thought leader.” I've heard this on countless sales calls. Armed with that information, I decided to run a quick test inside The Podcast Factory Insider's group. I created a quick poll and asked my clients,
Would you rather be:
a.) Results Leader
b.) Thought leader
Since most of them told me they wanted to be “Thought Leaders” on our initial call, you'd think this would be their choice. Interestingly, “Results Leader” won by 9x. Using that information, I quickly decided to name my new podcast, “Results Leader.”
A QUICK RECAP:
To guarantee you have a great name for your podcast, start by asking yourself these three questions:
- Are you fired up about it?
- Can you create a movement around it?
- Do you want everyone to know about it?
Once you've answered these three questions, and picked a name. Ask the people most likely to listen to your show what they think about the name. If they like it, you're good. If not, go back to the drawing board and try again.
NEXT STEPS:
We talked a lot about naming your podcast in this article. Naming your show is one of the most important decisions you make when getting started. For more insights into picking a great name for your podcast, check out this case study https://thepodcastfactory.com/how-do-you-pick-the-perfect-name-for-your-podcast/
When you're ready to grow your business with podcasting, schedule a 30 minute call with me. I'll show you how you can leverage podcasting to create a bigger impact and grow your bottom line.
