Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick (BK Business) by Alexandra Watkins

Author:Alexandra Watkins [Watkins, Alexandra]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 2014-09-14T14:00:00+00:00

Aacax

Jouee

Teliq

Akke

Joxly

Tuova

Azrio

Kryse

Umiro

Bhib

Oivo

Vius

Calq

Ooay

Xaca

Duqa

Paxxt

Ziavo

Exoot

Takaj

Mozid

All of the above empty-vessel names are listed for sale for thousands of dollars. Whoever buys them will have to spend even more money making them actually mean something.

5 Silly Ideas to Steer Clear Of

Here are some amateur mistakes to watch out for.

Silly Idea #1: Spell It Creatively

While I covered this in SCRATCH, I must drill this into your head because it’s by far the biggest mistake people make when naming their company. The problem with having a brand name like Naymz, Takkle, Flickr, or Speesees is that you will forever have to spell it when you say it because it isn’t spelled how people hear it. And voice recognition software won’t understand it either.

If you and your employees have to spell your name out loud for people, you are wasting everyone’s time and apologizing for it over and over and over again. Resist the temptation of getting one of these domains just because it’s available for $9.95.

Sil.ly Idea #2: Use an Obscure Domain Extension to Spell Your Name

While it’s tempting to create a domain name using a country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) extension such as .me for Montenegro, .it for Italy, .us for United States, and .io for Indian Ocean Territory, those names are tru.ly troubleso.me. In addition to being difficult to spell, ccTLD domain names can be hard to pronounce, especially when unaided by a visual identity. How do you pronounce Copio.us? Is it “Copio dot U S” or “Copious”? Equally troublesome is that the human eye is trained to stop when it reads a period. So a name like Copio.us causes people to stop reading. For all the wrong reasons.

A few years ago, rather quietly, the social bookmarking web service del.icio.us renamed itself Delicious because the domain name was so problematic to spell. The company explained the name change this way: “We’ve seen a zillion different confusions and misspellings of ‘del.icio.us’ over the years (for example, ‘de.licio.us’, ‘del.icio.us.com’, and ‘del.licio.us’), so moving to delicious.com will make it easier for people to find the site and share it with their friends.”

One final word of caution about getting cute with a ccTLD: You run the risk of your website getting shut down if the government finds your content offensive. In 2010, vb.ly was seized by NIC.ly (the domain registry and controlling body for the Libyan domain space) because the content of the website was in violation of Libyan Islamic/Sharia Law. Now if they would only shut down Grammar.ly.

Silly Idea #3: Use .org For a For-Profit Business

I personally find it unethical for companies to use the .org domain extension, as I believe those should be available only for nonprofit organizations and NGOs. Using or squatting on a .org name is the bad-etiquette equivalent of illegally parking in a disabled parking space. Unfortunately, there are no restrictions on who can buy a .org domain.

Silly Idea #4: Domain Name = Trademark

Just because you own a domain name does not mean you own the trademark. The two are unrelated. I recently consulted

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