William Shakespeare once said “a blog by any other name would smell as sweet.” He was totally wrong. The name of your blog does matter. It matters a lot. We aren’t going to lie to you, picking a name can be a real pain in the behind. Especially if you are an Indecisive Ingrid by nature. Never fear, we are here to lend a helping hand. Here are a couple tips to get you started on the road to choosing a wicked blog name (or at least a brainstorm of a couple worthy contenders).
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Tip 1: Remember your audience. Blogging is essentially a place where amateur writers can share their opinions on the niche subject of their choice. Keep this in mind when figuring out your name. No worries about being an Offensive Oren, you are not a big time company, which means you do not need to filter.
Tip 2: Is your blog name cohesive to what you are writing about? It wouldn’t make very much sense for you to call yourself “The Spoon and Fork” when you are a fashion blogger, would it? Make sure your name is in line with whatever niche that you are playing in.
Photo by StreetScout.me
Tip 3: Don’t feel confined to using words that already exist in our world. Look at some of the most successful blogs out there, like Mashable and TechCrunch. They are still relevant to their niche topic, however they aren’t real words. Play around, by mashing two words together or adding suffixes to make up words that do not exist in your average Old English Dictionary. It is your world, anything is possible!
Tip 4: Try not to name your blog with something that is similar to a competing name in your space. You wouldn’t want to step on anyone’s toes and it is always better to be a true original, isn’t it?!
Tip 5: Keep it short and sweet. The shorter the name, the more catchy it probably is.
Tip 6: Remember to practice the memorable test. Consult with your friends, mom, dad, sister’s boyfriend, the mailman, anyone you can get your paws on to run through the names you are considering for your blog. If your test group needs further explanation to understand your blog name, you may want to rethink and revamp.
Tip 7: Misspellings are all the rage these days, from blogs like Flikr.com or Digg.com to companies like Lyft. The key is to be careful. You don’t want to make the misspelling too confusing because then you will be easily forgotten.
Photo by StreetScout.me
Tip 8: What if you can’t get a domain name that is literally thebomb.COM?! Not to worry, this does not necessarily mean you have to start brainstorming again. Try to get creative with it, take About.me, this is a great example of using a different extention to essentially make your domain name extra clever!
Tip 9: Ixnay on the “the” before your blog name. Why you may ask? Because most surfers do not add “the” while searching. Don’t lose that much needed traffic! You will have a stronger brand name without the “the.”
Once you are done picking your perfect domain name register it at a reputable domain registrar. Whew, the easiest part is over… now onto the real work!
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