PWH 15. HEADLINE Your Brilliance: Create Click-worthy Titles & Boost Downloads Pt. 2

If your episode titles aren’t getting clicks, it’s not your fault—but it is your opportunity to fix.

 Too vague? Too clever? Too boring? In this episode, we’re breaking down the habits that might be hiding your brilliance from the people who need it most.

🖤 In this episode you’ll learn:

• What makes a title actually clickable—and what to avoid at all costs
• How to choose the right headline type for your content
• Whether it’s okay to reuse headline formulas (spoiler: yes!)
• How to use guest names, curiosity, and specificity like a pro
• Tips on title testing, length, clarity, and emotional triggers
• Why your title matters even more than your content if you want downloads
• The tools, templates, and processes I use to write great podcast titles faster

We answer these questions:

1. What are some common bad podcast title habits to break ASAP?
2. What’s your personal process for writing titles—do you start with the title first, or after scripting the episode?
3. How do I know which headline type is best for my episode?
4. Should I ever repeat headline structures that performed well before, or do listeners get bored?
5. What are examples of great titles from other podcasters that I can learn from?
6. How long should my podcast titles be?
7. Do the 4 U’s apply to guest interview episodes too, or just solo episodes?
8. How do you adapt headline styles for different podcast formats—interview vs. solo vs. narrative?
9. How can I tell if my title is too clever or not clear enough?
10. How do I avoid sounding too “salesy” in my titles?
11. What tools or templates can help me generate strong podcast titles quickly?
12. How can I use my podcast episode description to support or enhance a strong title?’
13. What role do emotions play in headline success—and how can I trigger curiosity without clickbait?
14. What’s your take on “branding” segments or series within a podcast using headline styles?
15. If I change my episode title after publishing, does it affect anything like stats or SEO?

This is your no-fluff, tactical guide to making your titles work harder for you—and finally getting your brilliance heard.

🔴 Offers to Help You Go Deeper:

🎯 $25 Podcast Clarity Call – Book a 30-minute session with me to map out your title, structure, or next move
🎙️ VIP Podcast Design Package – Strategy + launch support to build a bold podcast from the ground up

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Transcript

0:00  
If your brilliant podcast episode is being ignored, it's probably not because of your message, but because of your title. If you've been playing it safe, vague or a little too clever, you might be accidentally burying your brilliance in the algorithm abyss. Today, I'm here to make sure your next episode doesn't get scrolled past. We're talking about how to write podcast titles that actually get clicked. I'm breaking down the bad habits to ditch headline types that actually work, and how to craft titles that reflect your voice without sounding salesy or robotic, let's showcase your brilliant content, because your podcast is a product, and your title, that's the pitch, that's the packaging, that is the wrapping paper, and we want to make sure that it's beautiful, it's esthetic, and it draws your audience in To the rest of everything you have to offer. Welcome to podcast with her, where we publish value driven podcast episodes every week together, and we have fun and learn so much while we do it. Hi, I'm Lexi, and my mission is to teach women how to create an impactful podcast and establish authority in their professional fields. That is what podcast with her is here to help you do, speak confidently, publish consistently, and create value with your voice. So consider this your accountability. Check. Where are you on this podcast journey? If you're right in the beginning, that's great. The first three episodes are here to help you get started already making episodes perfect. The rest is to keep you motivated to keep going.

1:59  
Welcome back to podcast with her, where we speak confidently, we publish consistently, and we create so much value with our voice. I'm your host, Lexi, and if you're an entrepreneur, a coach or a visionary who wants to make real impact through podcasting, then Heck yeah, you're in the right place. We're all about helping women entrepreneurs create podcasts that don't just sound good, they sell, they serve and they build authority in your industry. In this episode, I'm answering your biggest questions about writing podcast titles that do your message justice, and even sharing some swipe worthy inspo from other creators who are killing it with clickable copy and some not so good ones that I think could improve. Let's turn those math titles into magnets. Ready? Let's go. Question number one, what are some common bad podcast title habits to break ASAP. My list includes being too vague, being too clever, being too minimal and too proud. And I'm actually, I hate to do this, but I'm gonna pull up some examples of good and bad. I think not bad, but just things that could be improved. And to start off, we're gonna go over to mud water. Did you know that most of your favorite brands have a podcast now? So mud water, if you don't know what mud water is. It is a mushroom based coffee alternative. Basically, they do matcha. They do actual mud water that's like cacao and cinnamon and all of these adaptogenic plants. And the brand is really popular, and they have a podcast called Mud water trends with benefits and trends with benefits. The title it's it's been done before. I think they could make it a little bit more specific to their niche. They have some they have some good ones up here. The last one, they posted high cuisine and redefining cannabis culture with Nicole Damasio. That was their last episode. May 1 2024 unfortunately, it really sucks when people just drop off like that of a podcast that has a big brand following, they have a really big cult following. So I wonder why they actually stopped podcasting. 117 mental health is a mosaic, and your treatment should be too, with Dr Ragu apacini and Dorna poorang. Wow. Those names, I think that's an indirect title. It talks about mental health, but you're not really sure what else. Else. I'm sure there's some specific I mean, that's artful. It's on brand for them. 116 the joy of well being. Why you should focus on your joy span with authors Colleen and Jason. Watch. Hope those are nice. I would click on those. 114 healing and harmony through forest, bathing with Olga, Tara, Benny and wow, I really need to learn how to speak names, because that's rough. 112, queering psychedelics with Mia Sarno. It could have a little more. It's short, two words for a title like that. It could be and you know, queering psychedelics, is very specific, but the description goes into how this episode is for Pride Month. We dive into what queering means, why it's important. She's working with a clinic providing ketamine assisted psychotherapy. So it could include her Dr Mimi, you know her title 110, how to stop jumping to conclusions that one doesn't give me. I'm not interested. It's also nine minutes long, another micro episode, a simple a simple hack to shift your mood. That's nice. Is it a mindset hack? Is it a physiological hack, a somatic hack? You know, give me one more word, I think, one more word to make it a little bit more specific. I like this one three mindfulness tools that aren't meditation. That's very specific. It goes into the reasons why, category or like, you know you're expecting to hear three tips. So it makes it very specific. A reason why to click on this episode. Let's go over to another podcast that I've been kind of studying. It's called working hard. It used to be called working hard, hardly working. I'm bummed she changed the title, but that's okay. It's with grace. Beverly, I'm going to read this episode titled exactly how it is, episode 133 on April 6, why our 20s are so confusing, and guide on how to tackle them with with Gemma Sperg from the archives. Okay, so this is an episode that is a throwback, and why our 20s is our why our 20s are so confusing is very generic. As someone who is almost on the outside of my 20s, I would not click on this episode. Maybe, if I was 22 I would be more into learning about this episode. 131, the secret to consistent motivation and achieving the extraordinary with Professor John amici from the archives. So she's pulling a lot of throwback episodes right now. The secret to consistent motivation and achieving the extraordinary. It's interesting. I think it needs something more, achieving the extraordinary. In what life business with your goals, you know this extreme. Achieving the extraordinary is very it's like, live, laugh, love, you know, it's kind of on that vibe where anyone can say that, but what? What is more specific? Okay, so that was a little audit, but definitely break the habits that keep your episodes too vague if you're not being specific enough, I think it, it does you a disservice. If you're if you have something that can just take it up a notch on the specificity scale, use it. It makes it more interesting. Being too clever, like titles that your audience doesn't really understand. Maybe it's an inside joke being too minimal. There's a podcast on minimalism, and let's go over to that one, actually. Okay, so the minimalists, their whole thing is about being minimal. So it's on brand for them to do this. And they have a very successful podcast, 4.7 stars, 3.8 1000 reviews, which is amazing for a podcast to have. And they have a style. So I would say this is the. Perception to the rule. And once you know the rules, you can break them for your own brand, for your own purposes. And they do this very well. Episode, 486 hedonism. They usually do one to two words. 485, small things. 484, conflict frequencies, 483, the renunciation. You know, these are very minimal, but then they have the supporting sub header. All of their show notes are very specific when they go more into what the episode is about right off the bat. So it's almost an indirect headline where you're really curious about what's going on in here. 481 cabinet clutter, 480 bedroom clutter, 479 garage clutter. So then they have series like this, and this is great, so just think about what's on brand for you and stick with that. And it's okay to test and try things out. I'm doing the same thing right now, and as I bump up the specifics of my episodes, I'm getting more reactions on socials when I share things on medium, when I share things about the episodes. And yeah, so do what you got to do with your

11:23  
do what you got to do with your brand. Next question was your personal process for writing titles? Do you start with the title first or after scripting the episode? I do both. Here is my process right now, I have a notion page that has podcasts with her episodes, and I've listed one through we're on episode 15, and I've also listed out episodes through 25 so I have space for those, and I'm thinking about what topics are Coming up. So this month was all about copywriting. So I've put, like, the big topics as just placeholder titles for each episode. Like, I have some coming up on email marketing and cross promotion, or, like, how to get on guest podcasts, how to, you know, get guests on your podcast, so cross promotion, and those are big topics where I just have that as a placeholder, and then I'll get more specific once I actually script out the episodes. And what I usually do is I either go through and I think of my own six to eight titles, and that's from the copywriting book that I got that tip, which has been great, or I put the script that I've written out into chat GBT, and I'll ask for some like, like 10 title options. As long as I have a bucket of options to choose from. After I record the episode, I will be able to tell which one fits the episode best. But as long as you match your episode to what you're talking about, this cannot be clickbait. I think what clickbait specifically is, is a title that's too inflated for what you're actually delivering value wise in the episode. So making sure that your episode title lines up to what's actually in the episode, and from a copywriting perspective, you should be saying something about your episode title so that your listeners know they clicked on the right show from the start. So right away, that hook, that introduction, should mention the episode title so they know, okay, we're on the right track. And I'm gonna listen to the rest of this to get that juicy details that I clicked on the episode four. Question number three, how do I know which headline type is best for my episode? If you're curious about the headline types, we went over this in the last episode, but I will just repeat them here. But if you want a deep dive, then go and listen to last week's episode, because it goes into the headline strategies for click worthy titles, and it gives you examples. So we go in a little deeper, but the different types are direct. It states the purpose right away. Indirect for curiosity, news for new or improved Solutions How To titles question, titles for creating empathy, command titles to tell them what to do. Example, subscribe and. Reasons Why titles or also includes, like the five reasons blank, the seven steps to blank. So it gives you a list of reasons, testimonial headlines for winners and satisfied customers. So try out a few different options with your audience, and that's the big key with your audience, and see what they respond to. And this goes with the next question number four, should I ever repeat headline structures that performed well before, or do listeners get bored? That's for you to tell but what I would say, if something's working, don't switch it up. If something's working, you just hit a gold mine. If somebody's clicking, if your audience is consistently clicking on episodes and they have a specific headline type, then go into that. Don't reinvent the wheel every time you don't get bonus points for creativity, you don't get bonus points for being clever, you get bonus points for being super direct and stating clearly what your episode is actually about, and that getting clicks, you get bonus points for clarity, for clicks. So no, you don't have to switch it up, but do what is landing with your listeners, first and foremost, next question, what are examples of great titles from other podcasters that I can learn from I was gonna go indie podcasters. I don't really know what classifies that as, but we're gonna go straight to the source and find the call her daddy podcast. And I mean she just the guests that she has are the big names. It's Halsey power dynamics and toxic relationships. Ed Sheeran, you either love me or hate me. Jack Harlow, I'm not vanilla. Baby. Notice that these episodes don't have numbers. Lauren Graham Lorelei, love and life lessons gotta go to Ellen. Ellen Pompeo, pick me, choose me, pay me more. Like these are great. These are indirect headlines that get some curiosity from your listeners, and you definitely want to go more into that person's life and hear their stories because of the the guests that she has create curiosity, have the headline be on topic, but also create curiosity. Go and check out other podcasts that you listen to and see why you've clicked on certain titles. Go back through your history, and that is a game changer, to study your own clicks. Next question, how long should my podcast titles be? We talked about this in the last episode. The copywriter that I was talking about says about six to eight words. I would say, probably on track with that, because it gives you enough room to be specific enough, but not have like a train of an episode title going through as people are listening and just waiting to see, like what the full title is. My My personal opinion is whatever gives you enough information to get people to click on the title that is how long it should be. Do the four use apply to guest interview episodes too, or just solo episodes, both for sure, and if you're not sure what the four use are, that was from last episode, urgent, unique, ultra specific and useful, and you should definitely use those for guest interview episodes too, because they are the same. It also is ultra specific because it has a name in it. And get it ultra ultra specific by sharing what is your guests qualification. And this will make them so happy, because their interviews are going to get clicks too. Next question, How can I tell if my title is too clever or not clear enough? If you did not know what your podcast episode was about, would you have an interest in it just from the title? Would you be able to tell what topic is going to be talked about from the title? It's like, think about your courses. When you're in college or high school and you have something that's. Specific, but then like more specific, like math versus like calculus one your podcast titles should lean more towards the calculus one titles so that you have an understanding of what you're going into. I hope that helps. How do I avoid sounding too salesy in my titles, this is a practice. It's definitely authenticity. Don't put that clickbait up, but do make it factual. If you're following the four use that are urgent, unique, ultra specific and useful, then you're going to not be salesy. But if you're like following some of Mr. Beast's stuff, where it's super salesy, it's very click baity. You know, you can do a whole study on YouTube and just see what is click bait, and then watch the episode. And if it doesn't follow along, click bait, call it out. Do not follow those guys. Not saying that you shouldn't follow Mr. Beast or anything. It's controversial, but do your own research. What sounds too salesy to you, and then don't do that for your own episodes. Next question, what tools or templates can help me generate strong podcast titles quickly.

21:25  
I love, love, love using chat GPT, I also started a podcast swipe file that maybe I can get that up before this episode goes out, so stay tuned. Check out the show notes, and I will have resources for you ASAP around templates for podcast titles. Next question, how can I use my podcast episode description to support or enhance a strong title we are so going into show notes next week, so I'm gonna deep dive, but I do what I've seen that I think I would call a bad podcast habit that I've seen is people who put the same generic first sentence or two on all of their show notes. That's what shows up under every single episode. I would advise against that. It's usually like, click the link and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, No, you haven't given me any value yet. So make sure you're giving value. Make sure you're it's like, when you read a book, you read a book title, and then you usually flip it over and you read the back to get some information and your show notes, that introductory paragraph is like the back of the book. So think about it like that, but we're gonna deep dive into it next week. I'm so excited. What role do emotions play in headline success, and how can I trigger curiosity without click bait? We kind of touched on this. I like the emotional piece, and the last episode definitely goes more into emotion. I can add emotion to talk about for next week too, just along with the show notes. But think about your customers needs, think about your audience and what they actually want, what they're struggling with, what their pain points are, and then go into solving that, whatever resources, whatever tools that you can share with them to help them solve their problems. That is going to play in two emotions, if you can connect with their needs, that is playing in two emotions. So what I needed so badly when I was starting podcasting was help writing episode titles, but I didn't even know it, because I thought that I could just record the most banging podcast episode in the world. It was interviews, it was solo episodes, and then I would put together a title that I thought was good, but it didn't have any formula. So what I've done, and that was my own pain point, what I've done is gone out and researched on my own so that I could solve this pain point, and what I've found I'm coming here to share with you. So do that for your audience, and you will play into emotional success. What's your take on branding segments or series within a podcast using headline styles. I love it. I think if you can do a series, it's a great way to get your listeners to come back week after week. There was a podcast series that I recently listened to, and it was four weeks leading up to the New Year, and she. Was doing a new year glow up, and I was so ready for every single episode. I knew exactly when she was dropping episodes, and I was excited. So if you can do that for a series that your audience will really look forward to go after it, it's a great strategy, especially if it's something that relates to your brand. And for that particular individual, her series led to a mastermind that she was hosting, and I was so close, so close to dropping two grand to join the mastermind, just because of how well she did all the marketing and she spoke with such conviction on her podcast. It's someone that I've been following for years, and I really wanted in but that is the power of podcasting, and I might just look forward to it next year. So keep that in mind as you're thinking about your podcast episodes or segments or what you can do to create impact and profit. Last question, if I change my episode title after publishing, does it affect anything like stats or SEO? My answer is that I don't know the technicality of this. I'm guessing it does not but what it does affect, if it has any improvement in your title, what it does affect is the click rate, and that is the most important thing. If you see a significant increase in downloads, then fuck the SEO, because your number one goal should be serving your audience, and to do that, they have to click into your episodes. So if your episode is a good enough package to start like, you slap a title on, and then you realize that title could be better, absolutely go and update everything I just did this last week. I took every single one of my podcast episodes. I looked at it all. I looked at the show notes, I looked at the transcripts to see if they were actually all aligned. I probably updated half of them. You are in control of your episode library, so you do what you got to do to get those episodes listened to, and that is my encouragement for you. Before you go, I want to leave you with this. Your voice deserves to be heard and discovered a great title is just the beginning, but your vision, that is what really is going to set you apart. I love podcasters who are so mission driven that they are unstoppable. They could run through a freaking wall with their vision. So if today's episode a little little fire under you and you want some personalized support, first, I'm offering a 30 minute podcast consultation for just $25 this is an intro offer. It's perfect if you need clarity on your show idea, your episode structure, or even a few clickable title options, it's your time, your questions and your breakthrough, and if you're dreaming of launching your own podcast with confidence and clarity, I offer a VIP podcast design package to help you design and launch your show the right way, from your brand Voice and content pillars to your episode structure and flow. You don't have to figure all of this out alone. You can always find the details and book your spot at my link that I will absolutely put in the show notes. And as always, go and value your voice, because this world needs to hear it see you in the next episode. Cheers. Bye.