Learning Objectives
- What’s in a Name? Everything!
- Understanding Show Formats
- Writing Podcast Names and Descriptions
- Creating Podcast Artwork
The variety of podcasts available today are as different as the people who create them. It makes a big difference as to why you want to start a podcast.
At the technical level doing a podcast requires three steps:
A podcast format is how your show content is organized so the audience knows what to expect each week. Several different styles are described below and they often overlap.
At the creative level – once you have a great idea in mind then you need to decide the best show format, come up with a unique podcast name, write a short, catchy description, create eye-catching artwork and find appropriate music – all will be covered in this chapter.
Unless you’re already an established podcaster with a following, it’s best to create a podcast with a narrow focus.
For example, instead of just focusing on farming in general put the spotlight on organic farming. Finding a niche helps build a truly interested audience.
The creative folks over at google.prx.org advise making a focus statement like this:
Title _________________________________________________________
My show is about _______________________________________________
And on it you will hear ___________________________________________
And you should listen if you are ____________________________________
Just as we judge a book by its cover, a lot is riding on a podcast name for audience discovery so one of the first and most crucial decisions is what to name your podcast. A short, clear, and descriptive name that gives the audience an idea of what the podcast is about can attract listeners while a poorly named podcast may prevent discovery.
One study of podcast names found that half of all titles are between 14 and 29 characters, with the most popular title length at 16. Another review came up with the 100 most popular podcast names with a good amount of duplicate names.
Think about words you would type into a search engine to find a podcast as that can help you create a search-friendly name. Be specific.
While “Community Bulletin” is short it’s also vague. Instead, if your podcast is about neighborhood news, “Tenleytown Community News” may be a stronger alternative because it focuses on a specific neighborhood in the community. Get feedback from your neighbors and friends.
If you are feeling stuck in coming up with a podcast name there are online name generators:
To avoid name duplication be sure to check out your proposed name by looking at podcast directories – known as podcast listening apps – where the audience finds a podcast to listen to or download.
If a name is too similar to an existing podcast you might not be able to trademark it should you decide to do so. There is a search engine database at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, though not many podcasters go through the effort to register a trademark since it’s a cost of several hu