Your podcast episode titles matter.
They are the first thing potential podcast listeners look at when they land on your show page, and they get read by your existing listeners while deciding whether to hit play.
So you need to get them right.
I’m a big believer that big success comes from 100 small wins. Your episode titles are another piece of the podcast marketing puzzle that you can solve. They are one of the first things I look at when I’m doing a podcast audit for someone.
So allow me to explain how to write killer titles that will hook your listeners, new and old
Magnetic Podcast Episode Titles
This is a sneak peek of my Template Vault and ebook that helps you set up your podcast profile to convert browsers into podcast listeners.
Dozens of podcasters are now using my Magnetic Podcast Title Blueprint, and I’m sharing it with you for free today. It is simply:
Subject + Hook
Subject (Use Keywords in Your Titles)
Your subject is the subject of the episode—the person you’re interviewing or the topic you’re discussing. It says to the listener that If you listen to this, you’ll hear about “subject.” The upfront value of here’s what you get.
But this has a secondary benefit.
Clearly stating the subject then creates the chance for people to find your podcast if they’re looking for podcasts on that subject. This is also known as using keywords or key phrases.
All podcast players except Spotify only look at your podcast episode titles when they index your podcast episodes into their search function. So your episode title has to have the keyword in it to appear for that phrase.
My podcast has done this with Edinburgh Castle, and it’s become one of our most popular episodes.
Which in the last 30 days has helped us generate 18,000 impressions in Spotify search results across our 80 episodes:
This is an untapped pool of listeners searching for shows like yours. Let’s make it easy for them to find you whether it’s in podcast players or search engines.
Hook
The “hook” is a little trickier.
The hook is the value your episode provides. It’s the reason why someone should listen to the episode. The clearer you are on the value you’re providing, the more effective your hook will be. Here are some prompts to help you come up with your hook:
- What will the listener learn?
How will they be entertained?
What cool story are you sharing? - What’s your favorite part of the episode?
- What will the listener tell their friends about the episode?
The hook should make your target audience go, “Oh, I am dying to hear about that!” and then click play.
Read more on writing a great podcast episode description.
Great Podcast Episode Title Examples
This blueprint is great for interviews where listeners might not have heard of the guest. Tim Ferris Did this excellently:
“Rich Paul — The Power Broker and Superstar Agent Behind LeBron James, Draymond Green, and Others (#697)”
I’ve never heard of Rich Paul, but that’s a story I want to hear.
My podcast, Generally Spooky History, covers Scottish history. While some of its history is quite famous, we often cover more obscure places, like the House of Dun.
“House of Dun” just isn’t that intriguing. But the ghost stories people have reported from there are wild. So, the title became:
“The House of Dun and the Headless Horseman.”
The subject is the House of Dun, which will be the focus of the episode, but the hook is that you’ll hear about its mysterious headless horseman. Instant intrigue.
Check out the template vault to learn how to write Magnetic podcast intros, intriguing episode descriptions, and a bulletproof method of growing your podcast with CTAs.
Best Practises for Guests/Interviews Shows
To include the name of the guest or not, that is the question.
I’ve seen effective use of both. Some podcasts tell you the person they’re interviewing plus what you’re going to learn from that guest. Others just tell you why you should listen and then in the description mention why you should listen.
This means it’s a style choice. I’d say that if your guests are “famous” to your audience, then name-dropping them in your title will increase the number of plays.
One of my coaching clients, for instance, nailed down his dream guest for the first episode and knew his audience would be excited to hear from her, so of course, I recommended he put her name in the title.
I had no idea who she was, but he assured me her name means something to the magic book collectors he was talking to. Thankfully, his podcast isn’t about me; it’s about his audience, so her name went in the title.
This is to say one isn’t better than the other. Simply do what’s best for your audience.
Should You Include Episode Numbers (Layouts To Consider)
When I was researching other people’s opinions for this article, I came across a complete polarisation. Some people say always include the episode number. Other people say to never include it because it’s a waste of space.
I’m going to be a little less bold but a lot more helpful and say it depends on your show. My own podcast had the season and episode number at the start of each title.
S6E9 – The Disturbing Tale of The Wizard of Westbow
This works great for our show because we constantly refer to older podcast episodes so new listeners can easily find them. Plus, each season followed a rhythm, and listeners got to know that rhythm and recognize where they were in each season.
But what we purposefully didn’t do was write out:
Season 6 Episode 8 – The Disturbing Tale of The Wizard of Westbow
That would have taken up far too much space, and anyone reading on mobile wouldn’t have been able to see the full title.
You also write podcast episode titles like Amy Porterfield-style:
#699 – You Deserve More Than a Summer Friday
Or you could put it at the end of the title:
You Deserve More Than a Summer Friday – #699
This leaves me with two rules to follow for episode layouts:
- Pick one and be consistent across all your episodes so it looks good.
- Make the episode number a small part of the title. Just use # or S1E1 to differentiate episodes.
I’m a fan of using numbers. I think they give the listener a sense of order and progress if they decide to go back and listen to older episodes. But ultimately, it’s your call.
I went back and asked my audience about this and got a mixed response. Read all the responses here:
A couple of great points were brought up. One is that Apple podcasts takes care of numbers for you. And another was that it takes up valuable real estate when someone is looking at your podcast on Mobile.
How Long Should Your Podcast Episode Title Be
Your headline length is an important factor to consider. Too long, and it will be cut off on most screens. Too short, and you’ll be wasting valuable real estate.
According to Apple podcasts, they have a character limit of 150 words, which is about 21- 38 words.
So you can go long with your podcast episode titles like Tim Ferris does:
#736: A Strategic Deep Dive on TikTok, The Boiling Moat of Taiwan, and China’s Next-Gen Statecraft — Matt Pottinger, Former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor
To be honest, I really like this. I think it builds up a ton of intrigue, packs it full of relevant keywords that might be searched, and makes one hell of an episode title.
Although I checked, and this episode title is 161 characters… I can’t find any reason, but let’s stick to 150 characters as a max. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen a case of one rule for the 1% and a different rule for everyone else.
Avoid short titles. As a rule, I’m not a fan of short titles. I don’t think they give enough away and make it hard to find a way into episodes when you find a new show. Admittedly, Darknet Diaries proves this wrong, as it’s a wildly popular show that uses one—to two-word episode titles all the time.
I hate giving these vague answers where it’s one thing but only sometimes, and the next is something else. So what should you do? I recommend that my clients go longer with titles, but don’t be afraid to experiment. Try out a shorter episode title and see how downloads are impacted.
Copywriting Tips for Crafting Killer Podcast Episode Titles
Writing great podcast episode titles is a case of great copywriting. Punchy, evocative, catchy titles are difficult, but the upside is tremendous. Here are some good rules to think about for writing a compelling title:
Use numbers – People love numbers and listicles, “6 ways you’re holding yourself back” or “Kieran MacRae shares the 3 things he did to level up his business”.
Ask a question – Open-ended questions are a classic way to build intrigue into your episode.
Use power words – Copyblogger has a list of power words you can use to spice up your titles and make them more emotional. You want your listener to feel something so use language that will make that happen
Create an Open Loop in the podcast listener’s brain—This is what a good hook does. It offers an open-ended statement that leaves you wanting to know the answer. An example from Tim is “#725: Barbara Corcoran—How She Turned $1,000 into a $5B+ Empire.” Who doesn’t want to find out how she did that?
Copybloggers’ advice on writing good titles is a must-read for anyone wanting to learn about writing great podcast episode titles.
Mistakes To Avoid With Podcast Episode Titles
Don’t Do Clickbait or Spam
Clickbait is when you make a promise and don’t deliver. You can’t have an episode of “3 shocking ways you can improve your sleep!” and then tell people to get a routine, avoid screens before bed, and exercise more. There is nothing shocking about that, so your listener will be disappointed and leave.
But you can make your titles just clickbaity enough to build intrigue without under-delivering. “Three ways you can improve your sleep tonight” would be the same episode, but the clickbait is dialed down to one.
Avoid Confusing or Vague Titles
For potential listeners, you have to remember they know almost nothing about your show. So when they land on your podcast profile page, they need to know what’s happening quickly, or they won’t start to listen.
This means you have to make your titles clear as to what your podcast and episode discuss. It’s why I like the Subject + hook: the clearly stated subject makes it instantly clear what to expect from the episode.
How To Use AI for Your Podcast Episode Titles
Chat GPT can be a great way to help you come up with podcast titles. Simply put in the overview of your episode and ask it to come up with ten potential episode titles,
The answers it gives might not be suitable to just copy and paste as your episode title, but you can use them for inspiration or mash a few together to get your finalized podcast episode title.
Final Thoughts
Spend time on your podcast episode titles and keep your audience in mind. It’s one of the things I get most excited to look at when I’m doing a podcast audit for a client because there is so much potential for upside.
The goal is simple for your podcast titles. Entice listeners to press play. And you do that by using the title and the podcast description to tempt potential listeners into hitting play.
If you’re looking to grow your podcast, consider booking a coaching call or purchasing a podcast audit. I’ll be more than happy to help you out.
Cheers from Scotland,
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