There is no such thing as a podcast name or radio show name generator – pop your topic in – get a cool name out. That would be an absolute dream! In reality it requires thought, creativity and the knowledge of knowing where you’re going.
Podcast Name Ideas
The first key is to make sure that the podcast name means something – gives your potential listener a glimpse into what your show is about.
Good vs. Bad Podcast Show Names
The World of Table Hockey is a good name for a podcast that talks about table hockey. It tells you exactly what is going to be spoken about in the podcast. The initial ideas for this podcast name included The World Table Hockey Association and even though it is a podcast by the association it is not about the association. Another idea was to initial the podcast TWTHA which, from a listener point of view, would be terrible to understand.
Juicing Radio is an example of a great podcast name as it’s easy to understand that you’ll hear about juicing and health in this podcast vs an initial suggestions like the Running on Juice Podcast which could apply to topics like running or even cars!
The Clean Comedy Podcast says exactly what you’ll get in the podcast in the show name. It is a clean comedy podcast by our friend Daniel J. Lewis which was previously known as The Ramen Noodle (which is an example of a name that leaves the podcast topic to your imagination).
If you name your podcast obviously you may also benefit from ranking well in search engines for those keywords. This will help your podcast to be discovered by people searching for your niche topic.
Changing the name of your podcast in the future is a no go zone for your branding according to Izabela. If you realise now the name is not a good one you can make it slightly better by selecting a great tag line.
Radio Station Names
A good example is our local radio station Isle of Wight Radio. It is completely obvious that this is a local radio station for our island. Radio station naming allows for more abstract names. Think of brands such as Heart, Kiss, Mercury FM, Sea FM, The Edge and more. It’s tough to know what music a radio station plays from the name alone. Izabela suggests perhaps a more obvious name like Electro Jungle for fans of electronic music.
Radio Station Call Letters
I mention to Izabela that radio station call letters such as KABC and WNBC are a legal requirement in the US. Izabela says that they mean nothing to the listener – why on earth would radio stations use call letters?! Maybe you have an opinion on that? Let us know in the comments.
Radio Station Imaging
Make sure the name is then reflected in your sound. If for example you are called Electro Jungle – your imaging could be a mixture of electronic music and jungle sounds. The logo could have a jungle theme with fancy, exotic writing. Which just points out the importance of thinking about the big picture when it comes to radio station or radio show names!
Things To Think About When Naming
Here’s Izabela’s radio and podcast name suggestion cheat sheet.
- Who are your listeners and why would you like them to tune in?
- Try to find a unique name that will reflect the your ethos, culture and values. Something that I will immediately know what I am to expect. Be focused on your niche/area of expertiese. You will never please all.
- When you select the name run it past some family and friends. Ask them to tell you what is the first thing they think of when hearing it.
- Make the name easy to remember.
- Check if anyone else is using the same name.
- See if the dot com is available along with at least the Facebook and Twitter names too – you must be consistent on all accounts here.
- Think of overall branding strategy – what do you want to be known for?
How To Check If Your Name Idea Is Taken
Go to Google and type in the name idea you have but make sure you enclose it in quotation marks. Like this, “Music Radio Creative”. If you get some matching results you’ll need to have a rethink as you surely don’t want the same name as another person or organization is already using.
You should also check if the domain name is available. Go to a domain registrar like GoDaddy and type your idea in to the search and find out if the dot com domain is available.
Keep Your Name Consistent Online
Get the domain name for your podcast, radio show or station and make sure to keep your social media vanity URLs the same too. This helps to keep your online and offline brand consistent.
What If My Name Is In Use?
What would you do if you discovered your podcast or radio show name or slogan is already in use or that someone else has started using it? Let us know in the comments to this episode!
