In today’s post let’s talk about naming your blog and the pros and cons of creating a personal brand with your name versus a brand name which people could identify themselves with.
So, before you buy your domain, hosting or publish your first blog posts, you should think about how to name your Blog.
There are two things which are key to starting this correctly and I would like you to consider 1) your URL/Domain and 2) your brand.
Your URL
Your URL meaning the address of your website should be the same as the name of your blog. So for me, that would be whatskatieupto.com. Once you have your Blog URL and you start building and growing your Blog, maybe creating dedicated social media accounts, you are kind of stuck with that name.
Even though there are ways to transfer your traffic from one blog to another or change your URL structure, you are going to confuse and maybe lose some of your readers and clients and we really don’t want that right?
Second, you will also want to pay for your URL, so basically, we want to have the URL: Katiegrazer.com rather katiegrazer.wordpress.com or katiegrazer.wix.com. This shows a lot of people that you are taking your blog or business seriously!
Domain/URL Only
Nowadays, you can get your own URL at $3/month. My favorite provider is GoDaddy. Get your new Domain it out HERE!
Hosting & Domain/URL
If you have never set up a blog before and you need a Domain as well as Hosting, don’t worry I go through this step by step and it’s really not that hard. Check out this tutorial on how to set up your hosting and domain name. When I am starting a new blog I am always getting Hosting and Domain at the same place at Siteground for $3.95/month.
Blog Name Length
I would suggest not to make your Blog Name longer than 4-5 words, preferably 1-3 words. Now, this is a tip that I am giving you from my own personal experience. It is just easier for people to remember the name and we want to have clear and clean branding. Your URL will be shorter and cleaner.
Now, look at my Blog name for instance “What’s Katie Up To”.
First of all, it is difficult for other people to find it and it’s long. Second of all, it is confusing as it could be about everything! Now I have had my blog for a long time so like I mentioned before people know my blog now and I have branded my blog and social media respectively. It would be very hard and costly to change my blog name at this stage in time even though it might not be perfect for the focus of my blog right now.
Personal vs Generic Name
Now as a final idea, it could make sense to use your name as your blog name & branding.
This is just another idea that could work if you have your own business, lifestyle blog or any other type of website. Lately, this has been getting very popular as people really want to get to know the person behind a brand. You are basically becoming the face and influencer of your own brand! So, yea this could definitely be an alternative if you are running out other ideas!
On the other hand, it can be difficult for a broad range of individuals to identify with you specifically. Maybe like me, you are a female millennial. Do you think a middle-aged man from Asia is identifying with me – no.
This can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. I repel people who are not identifying with me which makes my audience much more targeted. On the other hand, I am also repelling people, for example, men, which my content could for sure be relevant to.
So it could make sense to go with a more generic brand name such as these blogs have done:
- TIU girls,
- Goal Diggers,
- Funnel Hackers …
I suggest you start by brainstorming and writing down everything that comes to your mind. Try out different things, read your ideas out loud and listen to how they sound and you may want to discuss your ideas with friends and family!
Domain
Hopefully, this post gave you some insight into the things you should consider and once you have set your mind on a blog name let’s set up your Blog together HERE (just watch my easy 7 min Video Tutorial!)
You will have to buy a Domain (your Name and URL) plus Hosting. Sounds complicated but it’s really not. In my easy tutorial we will set up these two things in one simple process, but you could also buy your hosting and your blog name (domain) separately.
I am using Siteground for my domains and hosting and you can start the process RIGHT HERE if you already purchased your domain or not.
Ps. This hosting and domain thing can start at $3.95 / month so there is really NO EXCUSE!
Let me know if you have any questions and share your new names below in the comments!
Xoxo Katie
