How To Be Interesting« an older post
a newer one »How To Think

Hello, My Name is Awesome

Book Notes

Okay, wow, I STRONGLY recommend this book for anyone who is naming a business or product. Like, don't expect to have a name in two days, do the work to figure out a good name, and yes, this book will help. I wish I had a product or company to name at this point, because this book is the way I'd find the name.

Watkins comments early in the book that her colleagues were concerned about her giving away her naming secrets by writing and publishing this book. Her response was something to the tune of, "Nah, I'll be fine, people don't want to do the work of finding the best name, I'm good," Which is totally believe.

Watkins gives step-by-step instructions on finding options and choosing them. For the record: I have fully sucked in naming my projects, by a lot. I now know it.

I originally borrowed this book from the library, but appreciated the content enough to go buy a copy from the book. I strongly recommend you do the same if you're naming a product. If you're not naming a product (or company), keep this on the back burner for when you do. You won't regret it.

clever ad headlines get noticed , get buzz , and get sales because they make strong emotional connections with consumers .
Page 2

SMILE : The 5 Qualities of a Super - Sticky Name Suggestive — evokes something about your brand Meaningful — resonates with your audience Imagery — is visually evocative to aid in memory Legs — lends itself to a theme for extended mileage Emotional — moves people SCRATCH : The 7 Deadly Sins Spelling challenged — looks like a typo Copycat — is similar to competitors ’ names Restrictive — limits future growth Annoying — is forced or frustrates customers Tame — is flat , descriptive , uninspired Curse of Knowledge — makes sense only to insiders
Page 2

Suggestive — Evokes Something about Your Brand A name can’t be expected to say everything , but it should suggest something about your brand .
Page 6

These names , also known as portmanteaus , work well because they cleverly marry two words together , are intuitive to spell , and easy to pronounce .
Page 7

Meaningful —
Page 8

Resonates with Your Audience It’s important to make sure your name is meaningful to potential customers , not just to you . Most of the time when people encounter your name , you won’t be there to explain it to them .
Page 8

Do Not Name Your Company after yourself While it may evoke warm thoughts to your friends and family , your personal name is meaningless to your future customers .
Page 9

Imagery — Visually Evocative to Aid in Memory
Page 11

Legs — Lends Itself to a Theme for Extended Mileage To get the most out of your name , give it one that has legs . Strive for a theme with mileage you can build your brand around . Names with legs provide endless wordplay and verbal branding opportunities .
Page 13

If you have a catchy name that makes people smile , you can slap it on merchandise that people will pay for because they love your name and want to show it off .
Page 16

Emotional — Moves People A recent Fast Company article revealed that 50 percent of every buying decision is driven by emotion .
Page 17

“ A name should make you smile instead of scratch your head . ”
Page 21

SCRATCH is an acronym for the seven deal breakers . A good way to remember this : if it makes you scratch your head , scratch it off the list .
Page 21

Spelling Challenged — Not Spelled like It Sounds If you have to spell your name out loud for people , Siri butchers it , or it looks like a typo , it’s a mistake .
Page 21

Don’t Get Cute with Numbers While it may work for texting and clever license plates , embedding numbers in a brand name looks cutesy and unprofessional .
Page 23

Test the Siri Theory The true test to see if a name is spelling challenged is to see and hear how voice recognition software spells it .
Page 23

Copycat — Similar to a Competitor Hijacking another company’s original idea isn’t good for your business reputation or for building trust with your customers .
Page 24

Restrictive — Locks You In , Limits Growth
Page 26

Do Not Use the Same Name for Your Product and Company
Page 27

Annoying — Forced , Frustrates Customers Annoying of course is subjective , but if you think about your
Page 28

name from a customer’s point of view , you can avoid causing frustration if your name does not appear forced , random , or grammatically incorrect .
Page 28

Clunky Coined Names If you invent a new word for your name , be careful that it doesn’t sound unnatural . Mashing two words together or mixing up a bunch of letters to form a new word rarely appears or sounds smooth .
Page 29

Resist the Temptation to Be Mysterious
Page 29

Tame — Flat , Descriptive , Uninspired If you want your name to stand out in a sea of sameness and get noticed — without a massive advertising budget — you can’t afford to be shy .
Page 30

Curse of Knowledge — Only Insiders Get It No one is more of an expert on the company or product you are naming than you . But when communicating with potential customers who are unfamiliar with your world , insider knowledge can become a curse . We can’t unlearn what we know , so we find it extremely difficult to think like a newbie . We talk in acronyms , internal shorthand , code words , and
Page 32

industry jargon — all of which sounds like a foreign language to outsiders . Don’t alienate potential customers .
Page 32

Avoid Alphanumeric Brain - benders
Page 33

Is Your Name in Urban Dictionary ? If your brand is targeted at teens or young adults , be sure to look up your name in Urban Dictionary ( urbandictionary.com ) before you give it the green light .
Page 34

Hard to Pronounce — Not Obvious , Unapproachable
Page 35

Avoid Acronyms Speaking of capital letters , FYI , people have ADD . You can expect them to remember only one name , not two .
Page 37

Two Pronunciations Is Double Trouble Words that can be pronounced two different ways are also pronunciation pitfalls .
Page 37

3 Strategies to Get a Good Domain Name for $ 9.95 Here are three simple strategies that will help you nab a domain name that people can spell , pronounce , and understand . Strategy # 1 : Add Another Word or Two
Page 41

5 Silly Ideas to Steer Clear Of Here are some amateur mistakes to watch out for . Silly Idea # 1 : Spell It Creatively
Page 46

Sil.ly Idea # 2 : Use an Obscure Domain Extension to Spell Your Name
Page 47

Silly Idea # 3 : Use . org For a For - Profit Business
Page 48

Silly Idea # 4 : Domain Name = Trademark Just because you own a domain name does not mean you own the trademark .
Page 48

Silly Idea # 5 : Don’t Look before You Leap Before you pounce on a domain name , make sure the words mashed together don’t spell something unintentional , which is called a SLURL — a clever portmanteau of Slur + URL .
Page 49

GOAL OF ASSIGNMENT What do you want to accomplish ?
Page 51

IN A NUTSHELL Sum it up it in 140 characters or less .
Page 51

BRAND POSITIONING How do you want your brand to be positioned in the marketplace ?
Page 52

CONSUMER INSIGHTS Consumer insights reveal people’s behaviors , as opposed to preferences . For instance , when naming an herbal tea brand , it helps to think beyond what tea drinkers like about herbal tea ( e.g . , flavor , fragrance , health benefits ) and consider what circumstances lead them to enjoy their tea . It could be getting home after a long commute , relaxing with a book in their favorite chair , or sipping a cup before bedtime to help them get a restful sleep .
Page 52

TARGET AUDIENCE Who are the customers you want to reach ?
Page 52

COMPETITION List your competitors so you know what you are up against and to help you steer clear of similar names , which could pose trademark conflicts .
Page 52

DESIRED BRAND EXPERIENCES The best names evoke a positive brand experience that makes a strong emotional connection , such as “ This tastes great , ” “ I will feel better , ” or “ This is fun ! ”
Page 53

BRAND PERSONALITY The 5 – 12 adjectives that best describe the tone and personality of your brand . ( This exercise is much easier to do if you think of your brand as a person . )
Page 53

WORDS TO EXPLORE List some words you may like to have in your new name .
Page 53

THEMES / IDEAS TO AVOID Don’t even think of going here :
Page 54

WORDS TO AVOID
Page 54

List any words you would not like to have in your new name .
Page 54

DOMAIN NAME MODIFIERS List modifier words that will help you secure a domain name , which may not be available as an exact match to your new name or may be out of your price range :
Page 54

NAME STYLE LIKES & DISLIKES List 5 brand names that you collectively like the style of ( and why ) .
Page 54

List 5 brand names that you collectively dislike the style of ( and why )
Page 54

ACID TEST FOR USING THE NEW NAME Write how the new name would be used in a sentence .
Page 55

ALSO GOOD TO KNOW List anything else you think would be important to the name development .
Page 55

THE WARM - UP — LIST 12 WORD SPARKS
Page 59

Mine the Online Goldmine
Page 59

Open the Thesaurus Treasure Chest Begin your online brainstorming on a thesaurus website , where you can find a jackpot of synonyms and related words .
Page 60

Supercharge Your Imagination with Images A picture says a thousand words . And many of those words can inspire awesome names , which is why I always do image searches to fuel my creativity .
Page 61

Comb through Glossaries of Terms Every sport has its own lingo of fun words and phrases . You can find pages and pages of them online by searching for “ glossaries , ” “ lingo , ” “ vernacular , ” “ jargon , ” “ dictionaries , ” “ thesaurus , ” “ terms , ” “ words , ” or “ slang , ” which are essentially the same thing but will turn up different results in searches .
Page 61

Dictionaries Have More Than Just Definitions
Page 63

Sometimes Clichés Are Good
Page 64

Go Googlestorming !
Page 64

Movie Title Madness
Page 65

Breeze through Some Book Titles
Page 66

Tune into iTunes
Page 66

12 Rules for Reviewing Your Names Rule 1 Have people initially review the list of names independently , as opposed to in a group .
Page 70

Rule 2
Page 70

Is it right ? which is much more objective and effective .
Page 70

Rule 3 Refrain from negative comments .
Page 70

Rule 4 Keep in mind that a name can’t say everything —
Page 70

Rule 5
Page 70

print out the list to review on paper instead of viewing it online . Read it multiple times , top to bottom and bottom to top . Give yourself a few days to let all the names sink in .
Page 70

Rule 6 As tempting as it is , do not share your list with outsiders and ask for their opinions on SurveyMonkey .
Page 70

Rule 7
Page 71

A good way to review company names is to imagine each one on your caller ID , name badge , store sign , website , or business card . Imagine product names on the product , a sales sheet , or on the shelf .
Page 71

Rule 8 Don’t be afraid to be different .
Page 71

Rule 9 Refrain from looking up domain names this early in the process .
Page 71

Rule 10 Each reviewer should select at least ten names from the list .
Page 71

Rule 11 Don’t fall in love with any one name until after you have conducted trademark screens .
Page 71

Rule 12 Have fun !
Page 72

Add new comment