Name your podcast
Legal LawOne of the first things a potential new listener will see about your podcast is the name. Because this is really the “first contact” someone will have with your podcast (before they even hear your voice), the name becomes very important.
Naming your podcast is probably 75% of the battle in launching your podcast. You can learn to do the things necessary to plan, record, edit, and publish your episodes. But if you get the name wrong, you won’t attract any listeners! If you take your time and choose a big name, you will attract listeners and grow your podcast much faster than without a big name.
For starters, don’t rush! Give yourself a week or so to write down each and every possible name you can think of. Brainstorm by writing 10-15 headlines on your podcast topic daily. Create short three- or four-word descriptive phrases that describe your podcast or what the content and topic will be about.
Once you have 50-75 candidates for your new podcast name, take a couple of days off and then go back to your list.
Now, you go into elimination mode! As you go through your list, cross off the names that just don’t “sing” to your spirit. These names may have sounded great three or four days ago, but not so much now. If you have 75 possible names, you should be able to narrow down your list to say the top 20 that stand out for you.
Take another couple of days off before you go back to your list.
You will now rank the twenty on your list in order of “likeability.” This means that the names that you like the most, put them at the top. Also, as you go through this list, weed out any names that just don’t appeal to you at all. If done correctly, you should narrow your list down to 12-15 possible names at this stage.
You can then take this list and share it with 5-7 trusted advisors and family members. Ask them to rank their potential podcast name, choosing the top 5 from the list, and ask them to write a comment on “why” they like each name.
Once you receive the results from each of the people you shared the list with, collect the results. Rank your top five.
Now it’s time to check the possible availability of domains in the top two or three. This is where you need to take your time and do the process correctly.
You must choose a podcast name/URL that allows it to have the dot COM extension. If you find that the COM dot is not available, that means someone else is using that name.
Beware! Most domain hosting platforms will offer you several alternative extensions since you can’t have the COM dot. Don’t go that route unless it’s part of the branding of your company, group, etc.
The lack of a dot COM extension means that someone, somewhere, is already using that name. If your podcast really starts to get a lot of traction, you might get a “Cease and Desist Order” due to copyright or trademark violations involving the other company that owns the dot COM extension.
Imagine working for two, three or four years and suddenly your podcast is one of the most popular in your niche. Then you get a “Cease and Desist Order” or worse, you face a legal challenge where you face millions of dollars in fines and legal fees!
Rebranding your podcast once you become popular is very hard to do! Even if you agree to change your name and brand in exchange for the legal challenge to go away, you still face huge costs in the rebranding process.
Also, you will lose a lot of your listeners in the process. Many people will not try to find their new name. You really will be “starting over” with your new podcast. All the work and expenses you will have spent were in vain.
But it can all be avoided if you take the time at this stage and make sure you can purchase the dot COM domain extension. Even then, that’s not a 100% guarantee that your podcast name isn’t being used by another company, person, or even another podcast somewhere with a different extension. But the odds are very much in your favor if you have a dot COM extension.
To avoid those kinds of headaches, start your podcast with a name that allows you to own the dot COM extension yourself. Do Google searches and simply check if there is a business somewhere that is already using your desired name.
If the first one is not available, go to the next one in the list. You may have to go through the entire process two or three times before finally arriving at a suitable name that meets all the criteria you’ve set. Once you find one that does, go for it!
You can then start your podcast knowing that the name is unique only to you.