BEGIN HERE IF YOU ARE A COURSE CREATOR

As a course creator, you are your business, you are sharing with people knowledge that only you have & can give in your unique way. Therefore, you already know about all the be you, be unique, be authentic rah rah rah. I know all too well the hours we as business owners pour into creating quality, engaging content (whether that be in the form of an online course or group coaching program). All that precious time in learning how to write great copy, researching on the topic of your content, and figuring out the best way to deliver the knowledge that you have to share. But in order for you to position your self in your niche and command the attention & prices you require, you gotta get people to buy. So you have an amazing new program that will change the freaking world as we know it, but it won’t be of use to anyone if no one buys it. So many hours gone into sales copy, the social media ads, the sales funnel & landing page but are are you putting just as much thought & care in naming your next course?

B E G I N H E R E

Congrats! You have recognized that you have something of value that you want to share with the world (and the world can’t wait to receive it!) You get excited thinking about how everyone is going to LOOOOVVVEE what you’ve got to give, or how well its going to support the life you envision for yourself that you just jump right in by giving your new endeavor a name.

Although your future business only just transitioned from an idea to a goal its already time to make the first major decision that can make or break your business. Naming it. What’s in a name? Just your business’ future.

What Can Go Wrong?

The wrong name can repel your ideal clientele, keep your business lost in the sea of businesses and limit the future growth of your business.

I know you’re saying, but I put alot of thought into my business’ name. Im sure you did, you know who else put lots of thought into names? Mothers. And yet for some reason 1 in 5 mothers regret the name they choose for their child. —It’s a real thing yall! A simple google search of “parent namers remorse” will make you question just how long you’re gonna love that name you chose.

Tip Number 0

So before you go naming your business or new course something that sounds great to you & only you my advice is: seek the approval of others (here & only here – for everything else in life: you do you boo!). At the end of the day YOU aren’t the one supporting your business (ideally, right?) therefore your name needs to appeal to others.

Now before you run off & ask your child or mail lady what they think your new business name allow me to specify that your business’ name need to appeal your target market. But how can I figure that out you’re wondering? Keep reading..

When You Should Consult A Branding Professional

Most business owners are already married to (or school girl crushing/borderline obsessing at the very least) to a name prior to seeking a branding professional. This is unfortunate because the name of your business is equally as important as your branding, its part of it, dare I say the keystone of your brand.

My biggest piece of advice is to consult a branding professional prior to marrying a business name, tag line, or e-course name. And its important to note here I’m saying branding professional not someone thats going to throw some pretty colors together, I mean someone skilled at digging deep into the soul of your business someone that will guide you in your journey of finding your mission + values, audience, value proposition, and finally someone that understands the fine art of receptivity. How the name you choose for your business will be received by all the humans.

Branding professionals have a keen sense of connotation & intention. We are trained to think in terms of how our work be perceived, constantly framing our work in terms of how everyone else will digest it. It’s an art & a gift.

Here’s 7 things to consider for choosing the best (read most attractive) name for your business. Remember the goal is to choose a name that will attract your ideal customer to you. So if you don’t like the vibe of chasing them then read on!

1. Spend some time deep diving into who your target audience is. The ideal person that will buy your product/service/e-course does what for living? what sex are they? Age? What do they like to do on the weekends? How do they spend their money? Time? How do they speak, what’s their lingo? What words or phrases do they vibe with? Now what words or names related to your business would attract this person?

   * T I P * Market research – Figure out where your ideal clientele hangs out online. Facebook is magical for this! Is it crafting groups? Recipe groups? Maybe Reddit, or Twitter? Based on the exercise above you should be able to figure out where they live online & then join them!

2. Try to figure out the why. Why are you doing this besides to make money, whats your intention (or the products intended results). This will align your authenticity. People buy based on emotions, the story behind the source, whether it’s a person providing a service or a company selling a product. We want what we buy to give us the all the feels. Literally. So re-aligning with why this business lights your soul on fire & naming your business with this in mind will set you on the right path for sustainable authenticity.

3. Unique & memorable are key to not getting lost in the shuffle of competitors. This doesn’t mean long, difficult to spell, or foreign words that have little or no meaning to your ideal customer.

4. Be mindful of using words or phrases that is too specific, or narrow. You want to keep in mind that once you up-level & have accomplished what you’re now setting out to do you’re not going to stop, ideally you’re going to continue to grow into bigger things. Choosing a name from the beginning that doesn’t limit what your business may potentially grow into is the best thing you can do to invest in the future of whatever your business may evolve to.

5. Spelling a word wrong doesn’t make it unique & is rarely memorable. Say you wish to own a Cattery (a fancy cat store, pets + supplies) and you want to name your business Crazy Cat. But to make it unique your going to spell “crazy” with a “k”. No. Just no. All this does is make it harder for customers to find you, weakens your word of mouth referral system & hurts your SEO. If you’re looking at the spelling to try to make the name unique that’s a sign that the name itself isn’t unique. Ya feel?

6. Less is more. Rule of 3.

   There’s an interesting rule of 3 in the design world and it translates well to text & wording. There’s something about a grouping of 3 that feels balanced. This is true for the interior design world, graphic design, and for the art of words, or rather wordsmithing. It’s also the smallest “chunkiest” number. Meaning when our brains take info from short term into the long term memory bank it chunks, 3-4 “chunks” or pieces of info. Notice how when your reading your credit card number to someone you most likely chuck the numbers into 3-4. This how our brains are naturally primed to group together info to aid in memorability. I personally have invested in courses with names 5 words long. Never could remember the name of the course, every-time I went to find the most recent email I never could remember what word came first. It was tedious, annoying & unnecessary. Which puts a bad taste in my mouth for future investment with that particular creator. Not to mention good luck to me ever recalling the name if I were to try & refer it to someone.

7. Check for web presence availability. Profile names, domain names, hashtags, facebook business page, pinterest, twitter handles, etc.

 

 

It took me about 4 months to decide on the name The Enlightened Studio. I kept a running list of words that resonated with what I was feeling called to do & that would be my calling card to my ideal clientele. I believed in an enlightened form of branding, in businesses taking a moral & socially responsible stance. Enlightened in the sense of branding a business’ soul. Business has been the fuel of politics for a long time, cheers to a time when business’ have a human side wherein expressing your true positioning be it politically, religiously, morally, etc leads to attracting your ideal customer, even if it means spending more money, or a loss in profits by repelling potential customers. Finally empowering the consumer to make a conscious choice to support you & do so in full knowledge of what their money is going to support. Being transparent can only hurt businesses that are hurting the world.

Did any of these points make you question a name you were considering for a program? Drop me a comment below letting me know which one of these tips resonated with you the most. Did this post help you figure out a name or at least get some ideas going?