I remember sitting on the edge of my bed, flip phone in hand and talking to my sister for hours on what I should name my photography business. I always called my sister for creative advice, so on a topic that was this important, I needed all the help that I could get.
After hours of consideration, we came up with Jasper and Josephine photography. Who are Jasper and Josephine, well they are the nick names of my brother and sister. It is cute, I know, but it is also a little confusing. When I told people, they didn’t have a point of reference to remember the names so they often didn’t and that, my friend, is bad for business. It would have been better for me to just simplify, use my name and quit with all of the creative jargon. Well, that is what I did when I moved to California. I changed my photography name to Michelle Gifford Photography. Less confusing = winning.
Well, now you’ve decided to start a business, but how do you know what exactly to call it? Should you just use your name or get creative? Well, let’s chatHow to Choose the Right Name for Your Business or Blog:
Step #1:
Are you building a brand around you or your product/service?
If you are building a brand around who you are, then it is most simple to use your name or a variation of your name (if the domain is available). I tend to lean toward this option because it allows you to grow with your business and not be stuck with a name that you might not like two years down the line.
If your brand is going to be about your product, service or audience, then you need to ask the following questions:
What does your brand stand for?
Which three words do you want people to associate with your brand?
What is your blog going to be about?
What will you be posting on your blog?
Who will be reading your blog? What are they interested in?
What is the overall feel or tone of your blog?
Step #2:
Make a list of words that describe your brand.
Use these words to create a picture of the experience that you want your readers to have. For example are you an energetic makeup blogger who loves to try new things? Your words could be energetic, exciting, makeup, beautiful.
Make a list and then check out
thesaurus.com to see if there are any other descriptive words to use.
Step #3:
Now you get to mash it all up. Start putting words together to see what great combinations you can come up with. Make a list of good ones.
Step #4:
Search
Godaddy.com to see which domain names are already taken. This will help you narrow down your list. Try to stick with a .com if you can.
Step #5:
Test it out. Go to your closest friends (you know the ones that will tell you that you have spinach in your teeth, the ones you can trust). Have them give you their honest opinion. Ask them what they think of when they hear your names.
And that is it! You can do this and just remember that it isn’t all about the name, but it is all about you and what you do with the name. Don’t stress too much, you got this friend!
I’d love to here the names that you are considering. Post them in the comments and I’ll let you know what I think :).
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