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Brand Your Blog Or Name?

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Read this headline from a recent Ad Age — The Big Winners at Cannes: Emerging Markets and Not Just for Bagging Lions.

Two words in that headline, Cannes and Lions, conjured two brands for me, John Falchetto and Marcus Sheridan. John writes Expat Life Coach and lives in France ( thus the Cannes assimilation), and Marcus writes The Sales Lion. Obviously, you can understand how I thought  of Marcus.

Neither of them know me well, but each of us appears in one another’s houses on occasion to contribute to comments. The fact is I lurk on their blogs more than I comment; their brands are significant in my opinion, and I glean from content other perspectives than mine.

Which leads me to my point. Are you a brand or is your blog?

In the case of the two gents I referenced above, both have branded the name of their blogs well. When Reading Cannes in the Ad Age headline, I thought of John first who lives in France and then segued to the name of his blog and his recent video interview with a PR professional in Costa Rica. All of this happened within seconds of course, but the thought patterns were definitely real and in sequence.

As for The Sales Lion, this blog shares content about family, a small business, customer stories, social media, and marketing. Powerful stuff with a community to boot. Marcus does a fab job with it. The fact that a word, lions, prompted my recollection of the name of Marcus’s blog is exactly what he wants that word to connote. As for Marcus’s business, he’s in the swimming pool business. I don’t get the correlation between lions and swimming pools, but it obviously works for him and his customers.

Here’s a great example to build on what I’m talking about…John tweets using his name and Marcus tweets using TheSalesLion (both Twitter links are above). My brand recall for John and Marcus is John’s name (not his blog title) and the title of Marcus’s blog rather than his name.

How have you branded your blog? Is it your name or a key-word rich title that draws people in to learn more?

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Hi Jayme,

    True we need speak more, it’s a crying shame. 
    Many times I wanted to drop the ELC name and go with johnfalchetto.com. There are valid arguments pro and against. My 5 year plan led me to keep expatlifecoach.com in the end. I also own johnfalchetto.com but I don’t know what to put on there, so it points to ELC.

    Is expat the brand for my blog? I guess 

    Now someone who does a beautiful job at both online and offline branding is Marcus. As you point out we can’t think of anyone else when the word ‘lion’ is uttered. 

  2. I guess I may always be “Nancy A. Davis” because I had no idea what else to name my blog. The problem is that my name is too common. I actually am thinking about branding the whole “NancyD” concept because that might be more recognizable than my last name. I need to do something fast, since my blog is gaining some traction and I do not want to confuse readers.

    This was a good post to get me thinking. Thanks Jayme.

    • Glad to be of service, Nancy! Here’s some more food for thought — is your blog going to drive business for you? Should the name include one key word that shares that? Or can it be a tagline with the key words? When you migrate to a hosted platform, that’s a great opportunity. Your blog title is like an anchor; it identifies, offers a bit of a persona, etc.

      When naming my blog, I really wanted it to be branded with my name (as that’s how I brand my business) but with something else … the attitude which suggests you’re going to get some spunk. As for you, look at your business goals and see if you can capture some of that in your blogging goals.

      Naming a blog is just as challenging as writing your own website, IMHO. Thanks for stopping in, Nancy!

    • I don’t think your name is too common. Your voice is unique and no other Nancy Davis writes like you do.  I would keep it and keep the momentum you already built. It took some seriously hard work to get there, we read you because you are Nancy Davis. Who is Nancy D?
      Rebranding exercises can be a dangerous exercise.

    • I don’t think your name is too common. Your voice is unique and no other Nancy Davis writes like you do.  I would keep it and keep the momentum you already built. It took some seriously hard work to get there, we read you because you are Nancy Davis. Who is Nancy D?
      Rebranding exercises can be a dangerous exercise.

    • I concur with John as you have already branded yourself to a certain degree. Nancy Davis is a great name and people certainly know who you are; has a nice ring too, like a Nancy Drew novel……….I say run with it.

    • In the scheme of things, there are so many funky PR firm names that delivering services from a branded name makes sense. If you’re selling product, that’s different, I think. Did you enjoy family time, The Jack?

  4. Excellent examples Jayme. I’ve thought about this before, I think over at Ari Herzog’s about following a blog (title) or a blogger (person); Spin Sucks by Gini Dietrich was an example of a branded blog that I still identify with the person rather than the name; also Shonali’s Waxing Unlyrical. I do think of John when I hear mention of the South of France or expat; Marcus is the Sales Lion, I’ve read him enough that my brand recall (nice one BTW, may have to steal that) thinks sales, inbound and Hubspot as well as community. Was only kidding a little at @TheJackB:disqus about the what to name the blog. I couldn’t come up with something witty as a blog title, so it’s part of my business name with a little warning touch of my attitude, kinda like you :-). Hmm.. I do tweet via the biz name but don’t use it for commenting. Just thinking of the ‘keyword rich’ names, sometimes I know I’ll can those as spam. How have I branded my blog? I write my way; use lots of links to show I’m paying attention and give points of reference; I try to be funny and clever when I drone on about PR and marketing; I pick silly graphics for humor and kicks; I spend time read commenting elsewhere. Think that’s what I’ve noticed about a lot of folks we both read: everyone has their own styles and formats that make their blogs theirs, ya know? FWIW.

    • Links to show you’re paying attention, Davina. As if there was ever any doubt! But I need to do that more often myself. You do wear all three hats well, so it’s kind of hard for me to forget your website’s name.

      • It’s me.. I gotta remind myself that wearing all those hats IS part of what makes me different, that I help SMBs by doing a variety of things, making them work together. I wanted the name to reflect that, so glad to see my evil plan is working. 😉

  5. Yeah, but have you ever seen a lion’s hair after he has been swimming in a pool; not a pretty sight, but just thought I’d bring that up in case anyone was curious.

    Good question, I don’t know what would work best for me; I’m leaning toward my name as I’m not sure I will keep the ‘invisible’ moniker if I get a hosted site. The next thing I probably should start doing is being a little more focused with my writing so if you plan on coming by my place you won’t slap your head and go ‘oh geez, is he talking about himself again’? 

    I’m still clunking along and trying to figure it out, I answer to so many names maybe I can find one that will stick.

    Good questions and good replies; and good day ma’am.

    • I said before and I’ll say again, Bill, your name will almost definitely do the job, although I do think of the “invisible” part, too, because that was kind of my indirect introduction to you in an interview a couple of months ago. But since your name is so well known, when you’re ready to really brand yourself, I think you’ll find it much easier to just roll with that. Just MHO, though.

    • Never had a clue lions would go into the pool. 

      Note to self: buy a lion and throw him in the pool.
      Note to self: you already did it to the puppy and it didn’t work. 
      last note to self: don’t fall under the influence of brand Bill Dorman

    • Hello, Friend…have never understood the “invisible” thing — maybe you thought you were gonna fly under radar awhile and get your bearings? Well, that never happened; you took off like a rocket and look what’s happening! If you need to crowdsource a title; uhm, I think you have the audience!

  6. I’ve branded myself in both ways (I think). My brand as myself (Kirsten Wright) is well known, and my cowboy hat is recognized almost everywhere I go. However, more and more people have been reading my blog (Wright Creativity) over the last year (compared to the 2 years prior) so the business is growing in recognition. I think my goal is for people to know me for both…

    • That’s what’s happening here. I have two twitter accounts, too, one under @deliberateink, but I’m still working on making the two ring one bell, so to speak.

    • Hi, Kirsten! Much obliged…trying to be a little cowboy there and failing pretty well…heh. I am going to head on over to your house and learn more about your Wright Creativity — however, your name as a brand lends itself well to various insightful meanings. When you can be creative like that, it works. Thanks for stopping in!

  7. I’ve thought about this several times in the case of others, but it never occurred to me to name my own business after myself because my name isn’t easy to remember, and once you remember it, you gotta spell it. I know better than to ask that much of the unassuming gentlefolk seeking to pay me a visit :). I think on the blog side of things I tend to think of the person before I think of their business, but if they “do it right,” I remember their business name, too (thinking of @ginidietrich:twitter here). I’m not sure how great a job I’m doing branding myself as Deliberate Ink so far, but I’m working on upping the ante. 

    • I was having this debate with someone else last week. Do you read authors or do you read books? You read books. You may read a book because it’s by an author you like, but you read the book. That said, I think there are plenty of people who use their names well. @dannybrown:twitter is one. It’s easy to remember because it’s his name and his blog. But I learned my lesson from naming my PR firm Arment Dietrich. I’ll never be able to sell because the agency is synonymous with me. And it’s not as scaleable because business leaders want to talk to the person whose name is on the door. Take your name out of it and you have something that you can scale and, maybe someday, sell.

      • It’s a funny thing, branding. @troyclaus:twitter and I were talking about this too recently, and Troy wrote a post about it. Troy’s example was a very well-known blogger, who also runs several small offshoots to his main business.

        Now, if he ever wanted to sell, what would he sell? No-one would want to buy the name, since that’s tied exclusively to the blogger. And no-one really knows what he does, since it seems to change every day and with every post. So while he might be a hugely popular blogger, from an equity point he’s screwed. 

        Important thing, branding. 🙂

        • I agree with you @ginidietrich:disqus  Fortunately, my blog is not my first website and I knew there might be always a possibility I would sell it, so I never tried to brand it by my name. 

          Some blogs you could never get rid of in that way. @dannybrown:disqus is awesome and I love reading it and if he ever decided to sell it, I would not read it because it would not be Danny anymore. On the other hand, I know of blogs that were sold, where it was an easy ride, because they were not branded by the blogger. 

        • So this is a fascinating discussion, Danny. You’ve branded yourself extremely well…Nancy Davis meet Danny Brown…yet your new company launch is nowhere near your names. The blog is branded you; the company is branded with an action/service orientation. In the case of blogs vs. company brands…shouldn’t a blog be more personally branded? I think I can argue both sides.

          • I think it depends on your goals, Jayme. I’m tied inherently with Bonsai Interactive – so when people come to my blog, they see that I’m CEO of a marketing agency. Everything I do online is tied to Bonsai (or @12for12k:twitter ) – so hopefully that doesn’t get distilled by my blogging. 

            But if you’re a sole proprietor, then for sure, make the blog YOU and you alone. 🙂

          • The interesting thing with having dannybrown.me is that it doesn’t limit you to Bonsai or 12for12k. If you want to start a microbrewery tomorrow, you can still do it under your brand. From the way I look at it, your brand is much more than Bonsai or 12for12k

      • It was your question “do you read authors or do you read books?” on Twitter that got me to comment on Jayme’s post here.

        My first response is “I read authors.” I tend to read a book or a poem I like and then dive in for more. If I don’t see more I like by that particular writer, then it ends at that book or poem. I mean, technically you’re right Gini – you can’t read an author. By “read an author” I figured you meant their “body of work.”

        That said – it’s funny, a friend of mine always pushes women business owners to make their name into their brand. I think you offer a compelling counterpoint to her suggestion.

        • I’ve done both, Jenn. Named two companies with my name plus a key word — first company was Soulati Media Relations which I launched in Chicago in 1992, then Marketing Media & More for awhile when I was hiding out, and now Soulati Media, Inc. Easier to not be front and center, I think, when the company doesn’t have your name — anyone can be the leader or a team of folks can be. There is merit to that. When your name is on the door (like law firms) there’s more accountability.

          In the case of blogging, I’ve never seen Soulati, Crepeau, Whinnem, Buscall, Quillin et al on a blog (The SMB Collective), have you?

      • Ah, since my name isn’t really TheJackB I might be able to sell it. The floor is open, minimum bid is what @davinabrewer:disqus would define as F you money.

      • Heh. I was over at Ari Herzog’s arguing with him about this topic. He had something going about whether he reads Gini or Spin Sucks; so I posted a comment to the contrary about authors and books. What you’ve done fabulously, Gini, is brand yourself with Spin Sucks. I’d say the Arment Dietrich brand is secondary to most folks who come straight to the blog and bypass AD — unless, of course, they’re interested in a client relationship.

          • Speaking of the Arment Dietrich brand Gini, why couldn’t you sell it. I mean, if we look at the most famous example, things worked out pretty well for Ray Croc when he bought McDonalds. Also the name ‘Arment Dietrich’ sounds super professional, and doesn’t scream ‘Hey, I’m a couple of last names!’, if that makes any sense.

          • I could. But I’d have to stay involved in the business (i.e. Al Golin, Dan Edelman, etc.) and that’s an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare…having to go work for someone in a place that used to be your own. 

      • Great point Gini. I’ve thought about this quite a bit. I told someone the other day that I was thinking about selling my swimming pool company, as other paths were now calling my name. They said it wouldn’t work too well, because my name was too synonymous with the success of the company….That statement made me think quite a bit, as I don’t think we go into owning and branding our business with thoughts on how that brand will be impacted when we go to sell it. But hey, at least it’s not “Marcus Pools and Spas” 😉

        • I would buy Marcus Pools and Spas. I don’t agree that having it tied to your name means it wouldn’t make it a good business to sell. Look at franchises, Wendys, KFC, most privately held companies have a family name on it.  Although started by an individual it didn’t stop them from going public, or selling to another owner.

          I guess the question is, what is the product? Are you just selling pools or also selling the Marcus Sheridan experience of buying a pool? Even then, you could train people to offer the same experience. Look at Walt Disney and Disneyland.

    • No kidding? That’s wayyyy cool. I struggled with how to name my blog, for real. Thought long and hard and when you’re naming, there’s no real way to know where your voice is headed. I just knew whatever I was going to say was going to have some attitude.

      As for your name…so glad you dropped the Taqqiya (or however you spelled that). I always think of you as Shakirah; the Deliberate Ink isn’t there yet although the more we interact, the more I know that’s the name of the blog. Earlier when I was trying to link to your blog, I did not recall its name. Again, frequent association begets instant recall.

  8. Very engaging stuff this!
    I have set out to brand the blog using the theme of socially engaging with people through the idea of the tango dance. You can’t dance alone, nor can you have a conversation online alone. So Lets dance/start a conversation and we will discover something along the way. Today I saw an infographic that on facebook posted by John Falchetto about branding yourself online, this article tied into it just perfectly. I am working my way through the list and ifo on the graph.
    I have seen you and your comments on some sites: John Falchetto, Sales Lion, Danny Brown and that’s pretty neat. You have a presence that is your own. I like your picture too and it stands out. got me to come and read this post, found it on a tweet.
    Thanks for a very thought filled post.
    Billy

    • OK, uhm, hi, Billy! B.l.u.s.h.i.n.g. Thank you. Such a pleasure to see you here; am thrilled with your kindness. Looking forward to becoming further acquainted!

  9. Great discussion starter, Jayme, and some awesome comments already with some great points.

    It’s funny – I know exactly what you mean and I can think of some blogs that spring to mind immediately. Olivier Blanchard, The Brand Builder. John Haydon, Social Media for Non-Profits. John Falchetto (as you mention), advice for expats.

    Blogging’s such a huge part of our online experience, making sure we get remembered for the right reasons is key. Here’s hoping we do. 🙂

    • Thanks, Danny. So awesome to see you here; thank you so much. John Haydon’s brand is perfect; says exactly what he does and the services he offers. Doesn’t get much better than that.

  10. As far as my main blog goes, I believe I branded the blog rather than myself. If I would ever decide to get rid of it, it would be possible. I do own the domain with my name and I actually do plan to brand myself some soon. 

    I have the same associations when it comes to John and this other guy…what was his name…ah yeah Mufasa @TheSalesLion:twitter 

    • I think people with unique names can have some fun with their blogs. I did try to encourage someone who had a name oriented to PPC to brand her blog with her name, but she insisted she didn’t want to. Obviously, all hers to name! Great you’re here; thanks, Bran!

  11. Oh my gosh @Soulati ~ I DON’T KNOW!
    (Do I have to know? …Yet?) Pioneer Outfitters, I think…and following that, the blog (and I) are Alaska Chick…we belong to Pioneer Outfitters… So does that make Pioneer Outfitters the brand? Huh. This is the one wall (Branding) I haven’t been able to figure out a way over, under or through!..
    As for planning on equity or selling.. well, Pioneer Outfitters is Terry and Terry is Pioneer Outfitters, since 1924..I can’t even imagine the thought that it wouldn’t always be family, always Pioneer Outfitters. ~Amber-Lee

    • Hi, Amber-Lee…and also @girlygrizzly and also Alaska Chick and also Pioneer Outfitters. OK, get my drift? Where shall I focus? Should I buy product from Terry so we can camp out in Alaska with girls and grizzlies? Just sayin’. If you’re slightly confused, well, ahem, I might be, too!
      But, this is a safe zone @girlygrizzly:disqus to hash it out, believe you me. Feel comfortable here, please! Thanks for popping in; love that.

  12. Sometimes you make these initial choices out of necessity: The .com of my name was available, but the .com of my blog name (Marketing Matters) was not. I would definitely prefer to use my blog name, since it’s easy to spell (unlike my name), and remember. I couldn’t go the Cher or Madonna way because Marianne Williamson captured the “Marianne brand” ages ago… I also have a separate name and URL for my freelance biz, but I haven’t done anything with that other than get a logo made. I’m a branding mess!

    • Hey, Marianne! I think the first step is to be in the know if you’re “a branding mess” or not. At the end of the day, it can all work; however, if you’re going to brand three things? Hmm, well, that may be slightly more challenging as Girly Grizzly/Amber-Lee can attest! Thanks for popping in!

  13. Well Jayme, you’ve successfully zapped my last 25 minutes…Dang you lady!! 😉

    Loved reading all the comments here, and really appreciate your mention as well.

    Branding is a funny thing. In the fiberglass pool industry, the name Marcus Sheridan is very well known– mainly because of my blog and the speaking I do in the industry. But as for the Lion, no pool shoppers know who that animal is 😉

    ‘The Sales Lion’ in many ways has been a blessing and a curse. A curse because ‘sales’ doesn’t accurately reflect what my blog is all about. A blessing because once the Lion was branded, it made me look pretty manly 😉 If I had to do it all over again, I honestly don’t know if I’d be a Lion or good ‘ol Marcus. But at this point I feel that most people know both—Marcus the guy and TSL the blog— and it has been great.

    Again, thanks for the awesome discussion Jayme.

    Marcus

    • What I said. Just above this comment…THANK YOU for participating and shedding some light on your brand, blogs and pools. Kewl. Great seeing you and privileged to take the mighty lion’s time last evening!

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