As a young girl I loved picking names for things – our newest pet, our family home, my future children, and even the stories and poems I wrote. Today, I help clients all over the country find great names for their businesses, products and even their farms and ranches through my exclusive Discovery Naming Service.
Just about everything can benefit from having a great name, and your WAHM business or unique product is no exception. The name you choose affects almost everything you do – which domain you choose, what your logos and buttons will look like and even your marketing strategies.
It’s important to devote a lot of time to your name; the effort will pay off a thousand times over! I always tell people that your business or blog name is like a new dress; if you try it on and don’t love it, find another! Don’t stick with something mediocre just because it’s the only thing you could come up with.
Here are some helpful naming tips to get you started:
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Write a naming brief
This is simply a profile of you and what you (and your product, if applicable) are all about. It’s the very first step, and the one most often missed! Remember the old adage “Know thyself”? It definitely applies here. If you want the name to fit, you’ve got to nail down just exactly what it is you’re promoting or blogging about. It might also be helpful to write down what you are NOT about. This will help weed out names that you might like, but which don’t fit your personal profile.
Have fun brainstorming
This is really low-pressure. Just start jotting down words and phrases that come to mind. They can be action words, descriptive words or even sayings and cliches. You might even write down names that are already taken, but that you like a lot.
Go through your brainstorming list and cross out anything that doesn’t fit your naming brief
Highlight your favorites – the words and names that really stand out, sound nice when you say them, use strong imagery or elicit favorable reactions from friends and colleagues.
Now it’s time to write some real names
You might need to add a prefix or suffix, depending on what you’re naming. For example, bloggers might just add “blog” at the end; artists might tack on words like “Designs” or “Studio” and business professionals may use “Service” or “Inc.” Feel free to get creative and think outside the box.
Your last step is try a name on for size, just like you would a new pair of shoes
Pick one and go with it for a few days. Say it out loud. Write it. Design a sample logo or two. Check for website/domain availability. Pretend that you are blogging under this name. If it doesn’t make the cut after a few days, discard it and try another. You’ve got time and this is an important decision so don’t rush it!
Although I couldn’t include all my naming tips in this short post, I hope these pointers will at least help get your creative juices flowing. Have fun and please feel free to visit my naming website for more free advice and assistance!
I never really thought about involving a service for figuring out my blog and business names, but it likely would have been helpful! I might not have had to go through a recent name change for my business then. Thanks for the tips.
You’re welcome and thanks for commenting!
Great article Anne! I love how creative you are with this ; )
Nice article. Thanks for sharing it with us!! Love your creative ideas.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing. Choosing a right business name is very important, if anyone follow above guidelines will definitely find meaningful name that can attract people to his Business.
Very good article, I really liked the advice you have given here. This is now so
much important to have a unique yet simple name for users to remember……
Thanks for sharing your ideas with us. Have a nice day. 🙂
I recently found your site. I’ve been trying to come up with 2 new business names. One for a service and one for an overall “umbrella” company for all of my services. I’ve been at a stand still for weeks.
The names I love have all been taken and I don’t want to pick something I don’t love.
I need to dedicate some time to work on this again.
Thanks for the tips!
Glad it was helpful, Holly! Hope you come up with something great. BTW, I visited your blog and love that homemade tomato soup recipe! ~Anne