I've talked about episode numbers in multiple past episodes: when to use episode numbers, when to avoid episode numbers, and how to include episode numbers in your titles. And those all built on my original thoughts I shared about episode numbers 12 years ago.
But one scenario has been frustrating me: when you legitimately need episode numbers, but you also want a great episode title that starts with a number. For example, “5 Steps to Success” or “20 Tips to Improve Your Technique.”
That gets confusing fast.
It also weakens one of the biggest benefits of using numbers in titles, which is glanceability. Instead of communicating clearly, the title starts to look cluttered. So here are three ways to handle it.
1. Add a leading word
One simple solution is to add a word before the number in the title.
So instead of “5 Steps to Success,” you could say “The 5 Steps to Success.” Instead of “20 Tips to Improve Your Technique,” you could say “Best 20 Tips to Improve Your Technique,” or maybe “Fastest 20 Tips” or “Easiest 20 Tips,” depending on the angle.
This solves the immediate formatting problem because your episode number is no longer sitting right next to the number in the title.
Sometimes this can even help you sharpen the episode’s angle. If “20 tips” feels too broad, adding a word like “fastest,” “simplest,” or “cheapest” can make the content more focused and more compelling.
That said, I still think titles often sound stronger when the numeral comes first. So this works, but it may not always feel like the best final version.
2. Spell the number in the title
Another option is to spell out the number in the title instead of using the numeral.
So instead of “5 Steps to Success,” you’d write “Five Steps to Success.”
That usually looks cleaner when you’re also displaying an episode number, because it removes the visual conflict between two numerals right next to each other.
The downside is that spelled-out numbers are usually less punchy. Numerals stand out faster, and that’s one of the reasons they work so well in titles in the first place.
I think this approach works best with smaller numbers, especially twenty and below. Once you get into larger numbers, spelled-out versions become longer and clunkier. “Twenty-two” or “One hundred twenty-two” is a lot less efficient than just using numerals.
So this can work, but it’s more of a compromise than an ideal solution.
3. Title your episode differently in your RSS feed
This is the approach I recommend most.
Depending on the tool you use, you may have more control over episode titles than you realize. You might be able to set one title for your website, another for your RSS feed, another for Apple Podcasts (<itunes:title>), and maybe even separate titles for SEO or social sharing.
That matters because episode numbers usually are not important on your website, in search results, or on social media. In those places, the title itself is doing the real work. That means you can let your website and social title be something clean like “5 Steps to Success” without forcing the episode number into the most valuable part of that title.
Then, inside your RSS feed or podcast app title fields, you can handle things differently.
If your publishing tool gives you a separate episode-number field, use that. Some podcast apps, like Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Pocket Casts, can display episode numbers separately from the title. That gives you the best of both worlds. Your title can still begin with the numeral, and the episode number can appear in its own proper place.
If your tool does not give you that much control, then this is where the first two techniques can help. Use a leading word or spell out the number in the version that appears in the RSS feed, while keeping the stronger title elsewhere.
That way, you optimize the title for each context instead of forcing one version to do everything.
If you only publish episodes that start with numbers once in a while, this is probably not something you need to solve every week. But when it does come up, it’s worth handling well.
I think the best solution is usually to customize your titles by context whenever your publishing workflow allows it. That lets your website, social shares, and podcast apps each show the version that makes the most sense.
And if your tool does not support that kind of control yet, it’s worth asking for it.
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