Personal branding - using name as domain, especially when it's difficult to spell?

If you want specific recommendations, you really ought to set up a quick call with me. Once I know the particular name, I can advise you better. I can also explain how I've handled this dilemma myself as a domain industry professional.

But in general ...

Minimize the chance for people to misremember you.

The more items in a list you ask someone to remember – which (in this case) means every term in the domain, including the TLD suffix – the more likely that person is to end up navigating to the wrong page.

Have you ever forgotten or misremembered someone's name? I do daily.

The main reason the internet uses domain names is to enable direct navigation – straight from thought to site. If you make the excuse, "Well, they can just Google me", then your domain fails to do its job. In that case, it may as well be a random string of letters & numbers.

Make sure the domain is clear, memorable, intuitive, free from ambiguities (or protected from them with redirects).

Some personal names work much better than others.

Branding is extremely important.

There is a number of different aspects to branding that need to be considered.

People have to be able to spell your domain, so the simplier the better. However you also want keywords, but in a short name.

You want your brand to stick out. So its fine you want to focus on personal branding. You could buy all the domains.

so www.johnsmith.com
www.jsmith,
wwwj.johns.com

and so on, and have them all run to your main account - if its your personal brand your main website should be your full name (have you considered changing your name?

As it needs to be uniform across all social and links, so if i google johnsmith you would want to be found (yes i understand the irony in using "john smith" as my example.

So really since its branding the Full Name is the only real option.

I can teach you everything you need to know about creating your own personal brand and can lead in you in the right direction on how you can achieve your branding and marketing goals.

Naming a business, either for personal branding or as an organization, could get intriguing at times. While, it's obvious to have obsession with ones own name, the same could leave you in no man's land down the line. There isn't correct or incorrect names, but appropriate name per your vision and objective.

Differentiation and uniqueness shouldn't be compromised in your endeavor to create a personal brand. It isn't just about how you're seen by others, but much more. At the end of a day not everyone with actual name or pseudonym "Einstein" can look as genius as image attached to it.

Do feel free to reach out to me for any specific info that you might be looking at. All the best!!

Such great advice already given. As the host of a radio talk show, it is critically important that your website name (URL) is easy to say, easy to understand, on the air.

Here's the test: Say it 10x fast. If you can and others can understand you, go for it! If not, keep tweaking.

I believe there are are two types of domains. You have a brandable domain and a searchable domain. A brandable domain would be something like Ebay, Geico or Craigslist. Think about it though. You have to already know what they are doing or the type of business or it's useless to have that name in the beginning. When deciding on what the name is ultimately going to be it's really a gamble. I've seen some really cool names for business ventures that didn't make it. I currently see some really bad ones that are doing very good too. The product or service you provide will propel the name faster than the actual name. You get bonus points if it's catchy, easy to remember and has a cool logo. When I started my first business it was something simple. It was Allstar Leasing & Management. Back when I started we didn't have the internet as the main platform for a business so I picked something that would show first in the phone book. I then got slick and said let's create a second name that will start with a "B". The idea was if they passed the first listing they would catch me in the next listing. It worked. I then created one in the "C" category. Of course we are not in that realm of advertising now, so I started doing a couple of things that may help you. 1) I always pick five domain names minimum that are fun, easy and different. I pick two minimum that are searchable domains. Here's the example. Let's say your name is John Doe and you paint houses. I'd attempt to get JohnDoe.com but that's probably not an option if you know what I mean. It's taken. Then I would try eJohnDoe.com, JohnDoe247.com, Here goes the searchable domains. BestPainterInDallas.com, JohnPaintsDallas.com, JohnDoePaints.com etc, etc. 2) Buy your domains and create some professional logos either yourself (laughingbird software) or pay someone. Once you have them completed get a customer list, client list, family list and email them all your names and logos and let them pick it for you. When I picked my current Bemis Realty logo back in 1990 I created my logos and went to some clients over lunch and asked them what they thought. My biggest client hated it lol. He was an elderly gentleman and he thought it looked stupid. That logo is my trademark in a very large area of Dallas. I took off for many years and went back with that logo and it still is recognized. 3) Searchable domains in my opinion generate more web traffic. I own close to 1000 domains and test this theory on a regular basis. I can build a website with a searchable domain and usually that week I am on the first page of searches because what they are looking for is in the domain name. If you are selling widgets why not buy (your town) DallasBestWidgets.com. I know when I do a search I tend to always put "best" in the search. Best hotels, best restaurants, best schools etc. Why not use best in your domain? Clearly my searchable domains have produced 10 times more traffic than my brandable domain. Go with your gut feeling and pull the trigger. You send me your information and I will give you some domain ideas FOR FREE. If you pick them good for you. Good Luck. B

Personal branding is definitely a wise idea.
Now when it comes to weird or unusual names or spellings there are several tactics you could try.

The first one is quite simple: CHANGE YOUR ACTUAL NAME.

It may seem a bit drastic, but it is always an option and it is important not to limit your thinking processes be imposing limitations.

The second thing that you could do is create a simple and catchy nickname that is easy and fun to remember. If your name is Boris Peetrowichski and you know how to keep website visitor engaged and interacting with the page rather than just immediately click the back button causing a high bounce rate with no website wants than you might brand yourself as "Bounce Rate Boris - king of visitor engagement"

P.S. I know that "Bounce Rate Boris" is a lame nickname but hopefully you get the general concept.

Alternatively, you could associate your name with a particular keyword and make should they always occur together in the sentence. My good friend Steve Wiideman did this with the search term SEO Expert. Now his last name is a little unusual (it's pronounced Weed - Man}.....Sorry, Steve, but it is a weird spelling. Now if you go to google and do a search for "SEO Expert" you will see him at the top of the organic results where he has kept it there for almost a decade now. Now with a seo phrase like that, trust people learned how to correctly spell and pronounce him name quickly .

Feel Free To Call me with any additional questions at anytime.

Warmest Personal Regards,

Joel Glenn Wright

The first key to the personality of a brand is recognition, which is the sum of both spontaneous and suggested awareness. Without recognition, there is no brand, but it is not enough by itself to create it. The second important key is the perceived quality, which is quite different from the actual quality, since it is an emotional criterion whose value can be described as the extent to which the consumer perceives the quality of the brand, regardless of its basis. Finally, there is fidelity, which is the true scale to measure customer satisfaction.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath