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Episode 18: What\u2019s In The Name

I\u2019m extremely guilty of trying to come up with catchy names or titles for my podcasts and episodes. Unplugged and Totally Uncut, The Choice, View from the Writing Instrument and Pod-crashing to name a few. Weird way out there labels but nothing as cool as Marc Maron\u2019s WTF, Discraceland, The Joe Rogan Experience or Crime Junkie.
While thumbing through iHeart Radio\u2019s podcast directory I had an extremely difficult time locating Ellen DeGeneres\u2019 On The Go. I wasn\u2019t aware of the title. It wasn\u2019t as easy as Elvis Duran On Demand or the Ben Shapiro Show.
When I danced for the first time seven years ago with podcasting my DJ radio ego wanted to be cool like 48 Hours, Good Morning America and The Late Show. I wanted something that could be branded by me and not a major Broadcast Corporation. Podcasting was like taking my first baby step. No more scooching across the floor. I was up and ready to run. That\u2019s when I realized babies don\u2019t learn how to walk they learn how to fall.
Podcasting\u2019s the same. Everybody has the freedom to write, produce, act out and say whatever they want. What happens if the name of the show or episodes become that collection of letters people aren\u2019t typing into search engines? No matter how many times you social network the presentation the image doesn\u2019t come to mind when new and old listeners need something pretty awesome to stuff into their ears.
I chose Unplugged and Totally Uncut because in the opening scenes of the digital race I thought I\u2019d be original and let listeners in on the entire process of the interview. From the comedians walking into the studio and never knowing the show started before they arrived to leaving in my vocal mess ups cuz I want to be just as human as those who\u2019ve chosen to take a shot and listen. More importantly I was the production director of six radio stations and editing was too time consuming so I had to come up with a name that basically said this is why it isn\u2019t perfect. Unplugged and Totally Uncut.
7 years later, as a personality I\u2019m still unplugged. I\u2019ve always been on the strange side. I\u2019m ok with a head dented in by the school of hard knocks. The totally uncut part has change tremendously. I\u2019m an editing whore. It took me the longest time to learn how to edit for podcasting versus editing for a terrestrial radio show. Podcast listeners accept mess ups and but make them sound natural without having to edit the show to absolutely no mistakes. During those days my numbers were horrid. I remember a listener writing to me, \u201cI love your effort but if I wanted to hear a show I\u2019d turn on the radio. I\u2019m more into conversations.\u201d
View from the Writing Instrument is the writer in me being awkwardly overbearingly too determined to never say, \u201cI talk with published authors.\u201d I wanted a podcast that was all about who what where why and when is your next book due? I live the life of writers because in all things I do it all starts with letters, sentences and paragraphs. My biggest battle wasn\u2019t getting the authors but rather who and what is a writer? What about songwriting? What about script writers? Those that put together recipe books? It truly opened the door for me to broaden my niche.
I also have a podcast called The Lyrics From Billy\u2019s Forest. I don\u2019t want to call this a dork moment because the story behind the name runs extremely deep into the soul of why broadcasting is the addiction. What do you think happens on The Lyrics From Billy\u2019s Forest? A farm boy country songwriter gone big city? Nope. Mark Twain inspired tree hugging poetry? Nah. I spent two years writing in the forest that surrounds the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC. I started doing it the day my father passed away. I wrote things down no other place on the planet shot through my thinking system. I\u2019d always tell myself \u201cThese aren\u2019t my words. These are the lyrics from Billy\u2019s forest.\u201d
A podcast I totally get into is NBC\u2019s Songland podcast. The name says it all. But only if you\u2019ve seen the weekly music show on television. The Best Of Steve Harvey is a great name. It tells thumbing around podcast listeners exactly what it is. The Best Of. Not to be confused with The Steve Harvey Show podcast.
Armchair Expert from Dax Sheppard totally rocks my listening world. If my wife wouldn\u2019t of told me about it the name Armchair Expert would\u2019ve convinced me that it\u2019s a sports show. Right? I\u2019ve had a conversation with the creator of the LORE podcast. The Dude\u2019s totally focused and turns word play into a candy store. Chelsea Handler\u2019s Life Will Be The Death Of Me sounds like a totally awesome comedian driven laugh your ass off funny show. But it\u2019s not. She\u2019s incredibly brave to push mental illness forward and deals with it by taking the subject to multiple stages and through many different levels. When you listen to the podcast you\u2019ll instantly get the name but without an explanation it kinda sat there for a while. I didn\u2019t grow up listening to albums and cd\u2019s that featured comedians. I\u2019m that guy that\u2019s an out of control visual.
Stuff You Missed In History Class is a brilliant title. Food 360 with Marc Murphy puts being an all-out fan of food on the most important part of the day list. Purple Panties though kinda scares me. What if while listening my wife looks over my shoulder at the smart phone and sees only Purple Panties. That\u2019s why I can\u2019t figure out why E.D. commercials put so much focus on men having more sex. Guys are shouting \u201cHell yes!\u201d Women on the other hand are thinking, \u201cHe\u2019s gonna screw around on me.\u201d
Conan O\u2019Brien Needs A Friend makes me laugh without listening. I wish he would\u2019ve gotten into radio decades before podcasting. The Last Podcast On The Left makes me wonder about what\u2019s across the hall on the right. What do you think this podcast is about? Judge the show by its title! The Last Podcast On the Left. It covers all the horrors our world has to offer but imagined and real. Demons and slashers to cults and serial killers.
So what\u2019s the moral of the story? There are millions of podcasts currently playing, many of which bare unique names that don\u2019t always come up while using the search engine. I totally grasp the energy put into being original and how fun it can be to stick our way of thinking way out there globally. Thinking like a listener I\u2019m reminded of my talk with program director of a Charlotte station in 1985. He wanted me to drop the name Arroe Collins. Listeners would write on the Arbitron Earl, Harrold, Errol and believe it or not Aerosmith. I disagreed and did everything I could to protect the name. 35 years in the same market and I still bump into people that greet me with, \u201cHey Arlo.\u201d As in Guthrie.
As big corporate business radio gets its arms wrapped around podcasting will those being hired need to create content need to shape up their names? The way I moved around the oddness of my titles was to put Arroe Collins on it first then the addition of the other title. A smarter me would of spelled my name A R R O W totally taking out the letter E.