Crafting the Perfect Podcast Name: Strategies for Success | EP295

Unlock the secret to crafting the perfect podcast name in this episode of Mindset & Action! Drawing from my own journey and stumbles, I'll guide you through the crucial steps to name your podcast, channel, or business, ensuring it reflects your brand and captivates your target audience. Expect to learn about avoiding the traps of confusing or forgettable titles and why clarity, memorability, and searchability are your best allies. We'll also talk SEO and navigate the complex waters of trademarks and legalities to fortify your podcast's foundation.

I'm also thrilled to share details about my upcoming birthday celebration event, where you'll have the chance to hear from guest speakers like Janine Coney on audience building and Nicola Tonsaga on mindset. It's a day designed for learning, networking, and celebrating—and you won't want to miss it. Grab your early bird tickets and prepare for an unforgettable experience filled with insights and inspiration! Https://donnaeade.com/birthdayevent

FREE name brainstorm https://donnaeade.com/whatname

Jules White SEO episode - listen in

Jules did a podcast SEO audit on my podcast on her podcast check that out here. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Choosing a Podcast Name
• 13:11 Creating a Podcast Name

Transcript

Donna Eade: 0:57

You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast, the place to be to grow and streamline your business. I'm your host, donna Eade. Let's jump into the show. Welcome back to the podcast, everybody, I am excited to have you here today. Today, we are gonna be talking about naming your podcast, so this is going to be an interesting one if you are obviously interested in starting a podcast. If you are not, I would say listen anyway, because this could apply to if you're naming a blog or a YouTube channel or you know, you're just naming your business. Even so, it can be useful, but listen in to this conversation and let me know what name you would choose. So, even if you haven't planned a podcast, what would you call yours? Let me know.

Donna Eade: 1:50

So, before we jump into today's episode, I do want to remind you. I'm going to bang on about it and you are going to get sick of me, but I need to let you know because there will be somebody who's listening that didn't listen last week or the week after. You know, not everybody hears everything or sees everything, and you may not know that I am having a birthday celebration to celebrate my fifth year of podcasting. It is happening on the 3rd of April. It is happening in my home county of Northamptonshire and currently tickets are available and there is an early bird offer, so you can grab the tickets at an absolute bargain price, especially for what we're going to get for the day. So I am bringing you five special guests. So last week I announced Nicola Tonsaga is coming to speak with us on that day, and today I wanted to let you know about another one of my speakers that is coming, and that is the wonderful Janine Coney. Now, if you have been listening to the podcast for a while, you will have heard Janine on the podcast. She was here last year. I absolutely love this lady. I went on her podcast. She doesn't live too far from me either, so we have had, we've got to meet in real life, which is awesome, and she is going to come and join us on the day to share with us audience building tips. So that is one of the pillars of this podcast is audience building. So she will be coming along to talk to us about audience growth, audience building, how we do it and all the ins and outs. So if you are interested in building your audience and you want to learn from a visibility specialist, then come along to the day. We have Nicola coming to talk to us about mindset.

Donna Eade: 3:30

I have four other no, three other guest speakers to talk to you about over the coming weeks, and then I will be also doing a session on podcasting. And we have these two special cat sessions which I am eking out. I'm going to tell you about maybe one of them. Maybe in a couple of weeks time, I will tell you about one of the cat sessions that we are going to do. We're going to be having a beautiful afternoon tea buffet and we are going to have birthday cake. So what more could you want?

Donna Eade: 4:01

We have got a fantastic photographer, becky Kerr, coming to take photographs. She is also another sponsor of the event, so I am so, so grateful that she is also going to be sponsoring um. She will be there on the day to take photos, so make sure that you uh, put your lippy on, uh, give your hair a good brush whatever you need to do to get camera ready and she will take some fantastic shots during the day. I know that you will be able to see on social media after the event and be able to share with your audience. So it's going to be a fantastic event. It's going to be a lot of learning, a lot of note-taking, a lot of fun. We're going to have two networking sessions, so we're going to get to know each other really, really well. It is an exclusive group of people, so it's a limited number of tickets available. I would love to sell out so that we have got as many people there as possible, but it it's such a nice, uh intimate space that we can only fit a certain amount in. So I'm really excited to have just just under 100 ladies with me on that day and giving us that time to really get to know each other. So come along and join me for that. Then it's wwwdonnadeedcom forward slash birthday event and if you go to that link, or if you just go to donnaeedcom, it is a link on top of my website right now. So go and grab your early bird ticket if you haven't yet. They are limited, so once they're gone, they're gone, and I hope to see you in April in person so I can give you a hug and say thank you for listening to the show. Right, let's get on with today's episode.

Donna Eade: 5:44

So when we are talking about a name for your podcast, you might be thinking what's in a name. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. However, it is really important to have a strong name for your podcast because it is the first impression that your listeners have. You'll know, if you've been a long time listener, that this podcast has had a couple of names, and that is because the audience changed and also because I'm not going to lie.

Donna Eade: 6:15

I did not set my podcast up right in the beginning because I didn't know. I didn't know what I didn't know. There was nobody to help me, there wasn't anybody doing courses and programs like what I did, except for you know very big name in the industry and and the course was just way out of my realms at that time. I couldn't justify the cost of it because I had bought another big program at that time. So it was just like I'm just going to have to wing and a prayer it. And I didn't. I didn't do my due diligence and the name I thought was a clever name. It was my company name, it was nice and easy, but unfortunately that led people to think that it was a members only podcast. So then I had to change it and then the audience changed because that business didn't work out. So I changed the name of the podcast again and I've sat there and I've thought about it over the years and will I change it again? I don't think I will, just because I think that I'm quite settled in where it is now and what it does.

Donna Eade: 7:21

So, mindset and action a business podcast that is what my podcast is called and I think it is very accurate to what we do here. We talk about mindset, we talk about taking action in terms of that kind of back end systems of your business and, with you know, amplifying your voice, building your audience. Those are the things we talk about. So that is how my podcast name sort of came about and evolved. But for you, I don't want you to make that same mistake I did in naming the podcast incorrectly in the first place. So it's really important to really have a session where you sit down and you really think about this. So we're going to go through all of the things that we want to address and think about when we're choosing a name.

Donna Eade: 8:08

But I do have a free brainstorm to help you. So it's a guided brainstorm to help you come up with your podcast idea. We'll talk about some of the stuff that we've got in here. I'll probably mention a few things that aren't in that brainstorm, because I did it a while back. I should probably go and update it, but it will definitely help you to put pen to paper and start brainstorming a name. So if you go to donnaeedcom, forward slash what name or one word donnaeedcom forward, slash what name. You'll be able to download that free brainstorm.

Donna Eade: 8:41

So why your name matters? Your name, the name of your podcast, is part of the brand of your podcast. So it's very important that it evokes the right feeling and the right message to your audience so that you attract the right people to it. So when you're looking at your podcast, you can either do it one of two ways. You can either have it that it is connected to your business and your business brand, so the colours follow through, the fonts follow through and it's just an extension of your business, or you might want to have it as a separate, standalone brand that is recognisable and then you filter people into your business in another way. So for me it is. It's connected. So if you go to my website, you will see the colours on my website match the colours of my podcast graphic. Although I don't have, you know it's not strong on the colour on the podcast graphic, so I keep it all together so that the branding is the same.

Donna Eade: 9:45

Obviously, the name is different because I wouldn't call podcast Donna Ede the Donna Ede show. I wouldn't do that because I'm a relative nobody. And so who's going to want to listen to me? So don't use your name unless you are Jasmine Starr or Joe Rogan or any of those huge names that can get away with it, because they already have a massive audience. So if you've got hundreds of thousands of people following you all over social media, by all means use your name if that's what you want to do. But I would steer clear of it if you are not a huge name, because people will be attracted to the name when it's a big celebrity type name. But if you are somebody who is not well known, then new audience members are. They're not going to know what the podcast is. They're not going to know who you are, what you're about, what it is that they're going to expect.

Donna Eade: 10:37

So your podcast name really needs to reflect what it is that the listener is going to get when they listen to the podcast. So that is the first thing, and then also it's really important to consider seo in your podcast title. So this is something I talked about with jules White and we did a podcast audit. She did a little podcast SEO audit of my podcast and she pointed out that my podcast name being Mindset and Action, which is what I had as my name, doesn't really cover it and the tagline really cover it. And the tagline a business podcast to grow and streamline your business that came afterwards. It's not in my name. So when it comes to SEO and searchability, if somebody puts in business podcast, my podcast wouldn't have come up because mindset and action doesn't say anything about business. So I did add that first part of the tagline a business podcast into my name on my host so that there would be that connection on SEO.

Donna Eade: 11:41

So you do have to think about that, because podcasts aren't run by like social media algorithms. It's not the more somebody listens to you, the more you're going to show up. It's not that you know you're not fighting with those algorithms that are completely unknown to you, the more you're going to show up. It's not that you know you're not fighting with those algorithms that are completely unknown to you. It's SEO based. So you need to have any text within your podcast name with your podcast titles and things like that. They need to be optimized for SEO. So if you don't understand SEO, I would highly recommend doing a short course in SEO. Definitely reach out to Jules. I leave her links down below. She has some fantastic podcast, specific SEO stuff that she does. So go over and check her out.

Donna Eade: 12:27

But SEO is really important. So when you're considering your name, think about the SEO impact that will have. Does it say what it says on the tin? Is it something people will search for? So a good name also is easier to share and remember. So if you make it something that is memorable, easy to spell, don't, you know, don't make it. Don't make it so that it's it's a weird spelling of something because it looks good. That is not going to help you. You need to make sure that it is something that people could type in to Google and would type into Google to be able to help with that discoverability. So let's talk about things that you should avoid when naming your podcast.

Donna Eade: 13:12

Try to avoid being too vague. So calling your podcast something like the talk show and that doesn't say anything about what you're talking about. Okay, so I'm going to listen to some people talking, but I've got no idea on the topic. So don't leave it vague. And that's again why I had to add in that a business podcast to mindset and action, because mindset and action that could be quite vague. That could be that could relate to the health industry. You know you've got to get your mindset sorted before you can make body changes and then you've got to take action if you want to see change in your body. So that could well be appropriate for a health and wellness podcast as well as a business podcast podcast, and it could probably fall into other categories as well. So make sure that you aren't being too vague or generic in your title.

Donna Eade: 14:03

Don't use complicated words. Again, think of the spelling. Is it something that is complicated to spell? Try not to use long words either I'll come back to that in a second and don't use inside jokes. So if you've got like a nickname or something within your audience, you know, don't use that because that's going to be an absolute nothing to anybody else.

Donna Eade: 14:27

When it comes to the length of the words, you've got to think about your podcast graphic. Your podcast graphic is tiny whenever it is seen. I think Apple asks it to be 600 by 600 pixels. And when you think about that as a size, it's small. And then when you see, if you go onto any of your podcasting apps and look at the size of the graphics on there, they tend to be pretty small until you click into the podcast and then it might get a little bit bigger and be more readable. But you want it to be really obvious what your podcast name is on that graphic when it is at the really small size, because that's where most people are going to see it. So you want it to be readable.

Donna Eade: 15:13

And if the word's too long, it takes up too much space and you have to then make it smaller. And if it's smaller it's hard to read. So have something that you can create at a larger level. So for mine, mindset and action I put it over two lines. It allows me to make that quite big so anybody can read that on the smaller graphic. Okay, so think about that. Think about making it short, sharp and snappy, something that you can really blow up big on that tiny, tiny graphic so that people can read it. Again, you know, don't use your name for the reasons that we've said. Don't make it too long because it can be hard to remember.

Donna Eade: 15:58

So for me it's Mindset in Action. That's easy for people to remember. It is Mindset in Action, a business podcast. That is the full title of the podcast, but I never finish the title because it's too long. So I use it for the SEO purposes, but I don't use it when I'm talking about it generally. So when people tell people mine is mindset and action.

Donna Eade: 16:20

Now, another mistake that I made and this was obviously a couple of years into my podcast is when I created it as mindset and action, I used the ampersand to for the and, because I really like the ampersand, and that goes back to my very first photography business and the designer that I had. Do that. Shout out to James. He created my very first business logo for my photography business. He is the pink octopus graphic designer and it had an ampersand in it which really beautifully joined my two initials, d and E, and it was really clever how he did it and I've always loved the ampersand. Ever since.

Donna Eade: 17:07

Now the ampersand that I use in Mindset in Action the font it doesn't show up as a D and an E. It looks more like that figure of eight, so it's not the same one, but I've always loved using it for and unfortunately that means that when somebody types in mindset and the word and and then action, my podcast doesn't always come up because they haven't used the ampersand. So that is a problem. Um, I could, I suppose, change it, but it does upset me a little bit. So don't use symbols and don't use anything that's too complicated too long.

Donna Eade: 17:50

Don't ignore SEO, because it is a really popular way of people finding and searching for you. You've got to think of the directories as if they are search engines, and that is what people will do. They will go onto their podcast app, they'll decide what they want to listen to. They will go and they will look at what podcast can I listen to that talks about XYZ, and they will type that in the XYZ and that will bring up podcast episodes. So if your podcast is in the mix with that SEO title, then you're going to get pushed forward. So really important.

Donna Eade: 18:29

And then something else that is really really important to consider is like trademarking and copyright issues issues. Please, please, please, check your name with trading standards. Trademark whoever you need to go to for registered trademarks and copyright, because if you use somebody's name that is already trademarked, you could get in trouble. Now do? I suggest you trademarking your own name. I don't think there's much to say about it, in all honesty, in terms of being for it, and that is just because of the way that trademarks work. So for those of you who don't know and you know I'm not a trademark expert by all means go and do your own research. Talk to an expert about it before you decide. But trademarks have to be registered in all the countries that you want to to have that trademark in.

Donna Eade: 19:23

And there's been a big, big issue with Uggs on this. Fact is that the Ugg boot was made by a company in Australia. They created Uggs since 1974 or something was their brand name. They've got the brand name in Australia, but another company in America saw it, took it over, created their own Uggs and then sold them and got the trademark in every other country. And now there's a big battle going on between the you know, the longest time creator of the boot and the one that has the most um trademarks around the world. So the Australian company has had to change it um so that they now don't use the word UGG um, but they were the first ones to to create it it and that is upsetting. So you have to think about it.

Donna Eade: 20:23

And the thing is with trademarks is if you get a trademark then you have to fiercely defend that trademark. So if you find somebody else is using it, you have to approach them and tell them they can't use it because you've trademarked it or else it makes a mockery of the whole system. So that can lead to you having to write letters that you don't really want to write to people to sort of tell them that they can't use your name. So there is a lot of issues there. I would say make sure that it's not trademarked by anybody else before you use it for your podcast and then you know you don't. You can trademark it or don't trademark it. The issue with not trademarking it is that somebody else could come along, make a podcast of the same name and trademark it and then ask you to change your name, or you trademark it and then somebody else comes along, uses it and you have to chase them down to get them to change it. So it's like half of one, six of the other. You know it's that kind of issue. So I haven't got mine trademarked. Please don't go and create another podcast with my name now, because I've said that, but I don't own the trademark to that because it can be expensive and, you know, making sure that people don't then go after that can also be expensive if you've got to tell them, send them a cease and desist letter and things like that. So it can get complicated, but make sure that it's not trademarked by anybody else before you use it.

Donna Eade: 21:52

So then, on some things that you should definitely do, you know, make it clear and relevant to your audience, those people that you want to listen. You know what is going to attract them. Do some research, do some marketing, test marketing around it. Like, talk to your audience. One of the things that I teach people in my launch ready strategy is to actually get your audience's input on the name. So maybe come up with, you know, five or six names that you like and think are okay. Run them through that Don't listen. You know, make sure that you're not infringing on anybody's trademarks, make sure that it's SEO appropriate, et cetera, et cetera, and then put it out to your audience, like I'm looking at starting a podcast. These are the names that I'm looking at. Vote for your favourite and get that input, and that can really help to open your eyes to what might be best for you in terms of your name and it also helps with the promotion of your podcast. And I go into that a lot more in my launch ready strategy, which is available on my website If you wanted to go and take a look. That will help you to really power through and get your audience building before your podcast is even launched.

Donna Eade: 23:07

So consider those keywords, as we were talking about. What is it that people are going to be searching for? Use that in intel that you get from people voting as to what makes more sense for them. You'll have to give them a short description of what the podcast is going to be about so they can make the appropriate choice. Keep it short, keep it memorable. You know two to four words mindset and action three words right there in the middle. You know. Make sure that it is short, sharp and easy to remember. Make sure that it is not already a podcast.

Donna Eade: 23:39

Like I say, it's not just the trademarks you need to look out for, but search the podcast platforms and see if the podcast of that name exists, because just because it hasn't got the trademark, then you're good to go, great. But if there's another podcast that is using that name, even if they've not trademarked it. You don't want to be competing and getting confused audiences, so you want to make sure that the podcast name isn't being used so that you can get your clean audience and you haven't got people that are coming over from theirs thinking you're their podcast or people that you want on your listening to yours, going to their podcast, especially if they're two different things, like I said, mindset and action. That could be two very different things, could be more than that, and you don't want people going on to that other podcast thinking that it's yours and then getting the information that you're not actually putting out there.

Donna Eade: 24:29

Say it out loud is it easy to say and pronounce because you are likely to be saying it a lot, so it needs to really roll off the tongue, nice and easy for you. One of the things that I have noticed is that when I put my podcast transcript out or when the AI does the transcript for me, it will often put mindset in action and I don't think I sound like I'm saying in, but when I say mindset and action an action, it's my accent they hear the N sound of the and and they think that I've said in. So make sure that you are sounding, pronouncing it correctly and that it is easy for you to say, because otherwise you're going to get people thinking that it's called something that it's not, because otherwise you're going to get people thinking that it's called something that it's not. And then, yeah, like I say, test it with your audience friends, get feedback on it and make sure that it is hitting right with the audience that you want to aim it at. So key points are really to avoid it being vague or long, hard to spell. Choose something that is clear, catchy and searchable. Don't forget you can grab my free brainstorm guided brainstorm worksheet so that you can go through that, tick all the boxes and get a name chosen. You can get that at donnaeedcom. Forward slash what name, go and grab that.

Donna Eade: 25:58

And yeah, if you are thinking of podcasting, you want to start a podcast, then I do have my eight week program, which you can join at any time. I do have a DIY version coming out towards the end of this month, so do keep your eyes open for that. I will have some links in the description if you want to get on the wait list or you want to join the eight week group program. And yeah, that is it for today. I just want to again just remind you to go and grab your ticket for the event. It is DonnaEcom forward slash birthday event. All of the links will be down below for you, so go ahead and click those links. Come and join me live. I would love to see you there, my guests would love to see you there, my guests would love to see you there, and I will see you next week with a guest. We're having a guest on the show next week, so I will see you then. Bye for now.