The History of Episode Numbers In Your Episode Titles

The iPod shuffle came out in 2005. Unlike other ipods, this one didn't have a screen. Consequently, podcasters started off their episodes announcing their episode number. This way someone on their jog listening to podcasts would know if they have heard this episode or not. That makes sense.

I'm not saying to stop using them altogether. You should still put them in the episode number field in your media host. That field is used by most Podcast apps so you can say "Hey Siri/Alexa play episode XX of the (name of your show)." IMHO You don't need them in your episode title.

Your episode title is one of the things that entices people to click. Your audience doesn't care what episode number it is. Your ego does, but the audience doesn't. Keep your keywords in there, and explain the benefit of listening to the episode.

It's simple does adding EP16 to your title make you want to click on it more? Then remove it. They can't hear it if they don't click it.

I hear people say, "But it's easier to find for the audience if I mention it in an episode ("We talk about this back in episode 12")." If you are mentioning a previous episode instead of making your audience find it. Put a link to it in the show notes. This seems like a "Duh" statement to me. You?

Seriously? We also use to listen to 8-track tapes. The iPod Shuffle was discontinued in 2017. Give your ego a good talking to, and embrace and cherish the space that is your promise to your audience: the episode title.