Demographic Interests

If you have a great idea for a show, but you don’t know where to start with the naming process. Think about your audience. Remember that you, your friends and family are not necessarily your target market, so that tongue in cheek witticism, or serious descriptive name you came up with originally is quite likely not right.

First of all you have to imagine you are approaching you Podcast from the outside. Imagine you have no idea what it’s about. Does the name grab your attention? Could you guess what the Podcast is about? If the answer to either of these is no, then it’s back to the drawing board.

Consider the interests, hobbies, age range, and gender of your target market. Will they be able to relate to it and understand the references? Whilst you don’t necessarily have to keep the name of your Podcast as short as you would for a business or brand, it should still be simple, easy to talk about and immediately understandable to your targeted demographics.

What to do if your name is taken

You’ve come up with a great name. But after a quick search on the internet it seems that someone had that idea first. What can you do? First of all figure out if their podcast is still active. If they haven’t posted anything for a long time contact them and see if they will let you have it. If they say no, or they are obviously still actively using their podcast name, don’t worry, this actually might be a good thing, you don’t necessarily have to go back to the drawing board.

What is the key message behind your name? Are there any words that you could swap out? Use a thesaurus and search up synonyms. Find interesting words and phrases that mean similar things. Rearrange the structure of the name too.

One thing to remember though, is you want your name to be original. If, whoever got to your name first, has a podcast covering a similar topic, you don’t want your name to be in anyway recognizable as theirs. If it is you will look like a cheap imitation, whether or not your show is better, they were there first.

Should you use your real name when Podcasting, or a Pseudonym?

The Disadvantages of a Pseudonym

1. You may not be taken seriously. Imagine trying to broach a serious current issue that’s recently been in the news, but you’re only known as ‘That Cat Lady’. Having a ‘cute’ name could damage your credibility and limit your possible subject matter.
2. You may regret your decision down the line. When it comes to building a personal brand, you need to use your real name. Your real name has credibility and authenticity and you can detract from that with a pseudonym.
3. You may have complications with multiple identities. If you use a pseudonym online, what do you call yourself when you go to in-person events like conferences and meetups? What if you launch a business related to your podcast? You have to essentially live a constant “lie” if you use anything other than your real name.

Disadvantages of your real name

1. Everything you do online will be connected to you—forever. This can potentially hurt when applying for a job, but if it’s done right it should actually be a big help. Make sure you’re careful with what you associate with your real identity.
2. Your real name may be too long, difficult to spell. It  might be already taken online, or very similar to someone else. This is frustrating for a lot of people. But there are ways around it. Be creative and make sure you don’t limit your potential podcast topics. Someday you may want to change topics, or expand.
3. Your real name might compromise your privacy or your security in some way. One of the biggest concerns online is about safety. This is a very real concern. You can take a few precautions though to help keep yourself safe online, for example like getting a PO Box and never sharing any information that might reveal your location.

Should you name your Blog and Podcast the same?

Podcasting and blogging go hand in hand. Your Podcast will benefit massively if you blog alongside it effectively. We’ve written a guide to naming your blog and created a blog name generator you can check out for more help.

Keeping your branding the same across your blog and podcast will absolutely help you in the long run. And having the same name for both will help your listeners find your blog online.

On your blog you can publish show notes, outline what the podcast is about, and share any resources you referenced in the show for interested listeners.

On top off this blogging is another great way to get your show seen. Because Podcasts are audio only, optimising their visibility on search engines like Google is pretty tough. You have the Podcast name, episode name, and maybe, if it’s published in iTunes for example, a short description. Writing up a blog around eah episode will not only add valuable additional information, but make your podcast much more searchable online.