how to name a blogComing up with creative blog names can be a challenge. Every time I start a new website, it takes me a few days to settle on a domain.

It’s getting harder and harder to have an “a-ha moment” that seems available for registration.

It used to bum me out so much! Whenever I had a brilliant idea for a website name, and I would look it up in the domain name registrar, it feels like all the good names are already taken 🙁

To make this process easier, I’ve developed my own guidelines that are designed to minimize this headache and maximize the fun.

Here’s how you can turn that agonizing process into a discovery process that will give you the perfect domain name, every single time.

When I brainstorm unique blog names, I feel like Indiana Jones digging for treasure.

If you’ve ever spent long hours staring at the screen as the domain name registrar page is loading, getting ready to tell you if a domain is available… You surely know the feeling.

I’ve helped dozens of people to name their own blogs. In this post, I want to give you everything you need to feel confident in your ability to come up with a blog name fast.

I’m Talking About A Winning Blog Name

If you want to WIN online, it’s very important to have a memorable name that sticks quickly in the minds of first-time visitors.

As you may already know, a well-chosen name can make it much easier to generate and sustain traffic.

Case in point… Hamburgers. 🍔

In the movie The Founders, two brothers are dealing with an investor who wants to use their name to build hundreds, even thousands of fast food restaurants.

The two brothers were Richard and Maurice, their restaurant was McDonald’s.

I might butcher this quote, but towards the end of the movie, the investor addresses one of the McDonald’s brothers, and says…

“You still don’t get it, do you? You still don’t know what is the best thing about your business!”

After a pause, the investor revealed, “it’s the name. McDonald’s. It’s iconic.” 🍟

(Don’t quote me on that – but that was the gist of it)

And it’s true!

A memorable name can be the best (or the worst) thing about your blog. So if you’re starting one… You might as well make it unforgettable.

Luckily, you don’t have to put your own name on your blog to make it a “juicy” space.

Even if you DO wish to use your name in the domain, but you think your last name is totally lame… don’t worry!

A powerful two-word combination with a dot-com ending is all it takes to stand out.

These Are The Winning Ingredients That Make Up A Good Blog

how to come up with a blog name

  • PURPOSE: What is the purpose of your blog? Are you generating leads, educating and selling, or just lamenting on topics with no call to action? What is your blog going to accomplish for you, and how will you measure it?
  • VOICE: Are you writing for yourself or for a company? What is the main message? What are some of the supporting messages? Do those messages have any overlapping themes or ideas?
  • PRESENCE: How often do you plan to post? Who will be the author of the content? Will it be strictly blog posts, or will you incorporate video, podcasting or social?

Having a thorough understanding of all of the answers to these questions will give you a crystal clear view of your audience.

Your audience is everything. If you know your audience, then you’ll know how to come up with a blog name that people will love.

It may take some time, but when it’s all said and done, you’ll realize it took just the right amount of time. So be patient.

It’ll be much cheaper for you to take these serious matters into consideration prior to shelling out $10 for a domain name.

I wasted a ton of money in the past, buying the first “shiny” domain name I could think of, only to realize later that there’s a better name available.

good blog namesAlso, consider your end goals. Are you planning on running the blog into perpetuity? Or do you want to sell it after holding onto it for a while? Is this blog going to be valuable if you abandon the purpose, or can you re-adapt it to fit any purpose you might like to pursue in the future?

Don’t be ashamed to give your blog a time limit. Not every blog is destined to be run forever. If you KNOW you want to build it for 8 months and then flip it… that’s fine!

Many people make a good living off flipping blogs. In fact, a pre-determined “expiration date,” i.e., the date when you plan to sell the blog, can help you push yourself to post more regularly.

Check out my tutorial How To Start a Blog: Step By Step Tutorial (WordPress) 2018

Before You Name Your Blog, Ask Yourself These Key Questions:

creative blog names

  • What does my audience care about the most?
  • If they could get 1 thing from my blog, what would it be?
  • How do I want people to feel when they read my blog?
  • Where will I be including my calls to action – in my posts? in the header? on the side bars?
  • Why are my people going to convert into subscribers/buyers?

These questions may feel daunting, but they’re very important. This is the stuff that you will have to figure out immediately after you pick your domain name.

So if you want to be smart about it, do this brainstorming BEFORE you decide on a name.

Earlier, I said that choosing a memorable name can be the best or worst thing for your blog. You might be wondering: how can a memorable name be a bad thing?

If your name doesn’t take your audience into consideration, you may accidentally exclude your audience.

For example, a food blog called MediumRare.com might sound awesome (if only it were available…) but it also singles out vegans and vegetarians who are unlikely to bookmark your site.

Here’s the formula for coming up with your perfect blog name

1. You Want a 2-Word Domain Name For Maximum Impact

The best combinations for how to name a blog are adjective-noun, verb-noun and noun-noun. If your business is local, tying your blog to a particular geographical area will add value to your visitors.

Our brains are hardwired to remember word pairs like ProductiveZone, RunningAthlete and WarriorForum.

These simple combos stick inside the mind of the visitor like glue, and by the way, this works for all sorts of sites and not just blogs.

Some tools that you might find useful as you brainstorm creative blog names are thesaurus.com (helps you find similar words), impossibility.org (helps you find tons of available .com names based on your inputs) and rhymezone.com (helps you find rhymes).

2. Don’t Settle For Anything Except a .com Domain

good blog names

It may be easy to fall prey to temptation, and settle for a juicy .net or a .org. Don’t do it!!! For more reasons than one, dot-com names are the best.

Imagine putting in so much work into your blog, that you eventually generate 100,000 visitors a month.

But because you made the mistake of choosing a .net, some of your repeat visitors will be unable to find your site, just because their brain will default to the standard dot-com memory.

As a result, some of your hard work may “leak” to the owner of the dot-com, and that’s no bueno.

If you become super successful, having a dot-com name will make it easier for you to maintain that success.

So do yourself a favor, and don’t even look at anything but dot-com names, because you deserve the best.

3. Remain Flexible & Adaptable

It’s tricky finding a “home run” name. Most times I do this exercise myself, it takes me a few hours before I’m happy with my choice.

Sometimes it can set me back a few days. But it’s important, so it’s fine.

how to name a blogDon’t be surprised if this process takes longer than you anticipated. As soon as you start looking up some ideas on domain registrars, you quickly realize that the simplest ones are all registered.

That should be your cue to flex your brain wrinkles a little harder!

You can play around with word order. For example, if KittyParadise.com is taken, try ParadiseKitty.com. If that doesn’t work, think laterally: you can try PawParadise.com or MeowParadise.com or PurrParadise.com (hey, that last one’s not bad!)

Struggling with this “wordsmith” phase? Don’t despair: check out Amazon best selling books for inspirational ideas about what people care about right now.

Don’t limit yourself to “simple” words that everyone can understand – instead, try to incorporate 1 noun or 1 adjective that people in your space use on a daily basis.

4. Consider Your Competitors’ Names

Creating a Blog Name

If you’re just starting out, you probably don’t have any competitors yet. So if you’re struggling with naming one, just think of some websites that are in your space.

What makes them worthy of your attention? How did you come around to discovering them? Why do you look forward to going back to that website time and time again?

If you’re an avid blog reader, surely you can think of a few blogs that you frequent.

If you’re not, this is a great opportunity for you to better understand the space in which your blog will soon be competing for attention.

5. Ask a Friend

I saved the best for last. Usually, when my brain is pre-occupied with an important decision such as a creative blog name, I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.

I’m guilty of this myself. When I have a project on my plate, I want to OWN IT. From start to finish. I’m a control freak. Sue me.

Having said that… letting go of being a control freak has been my biggest secret to unleashing creativity.

What if you tapped a friend for help?

Some of my best website ideas came to me after having lunch with a friend and talking to them about my idea. More times than not, my friends help me think of new angles that I wasn’t seeing before.

Feeling overwhelmed?

Blog Name Ideas

Don’t be!

This is all part of your journey as a blogger. As with most things in life that are worth doing, the most important thing for you to do is to NOT sit on your hands, and TAKE ACTION.

Get out a sheet of paper. Write down 10 words that come to mind when you imagine your blog.

Put those words inside thesaurus.com and write down 10 more words that it finds you. Then, put those words inside impossibility.org and you’ll soon know exactly how to name your blog.

Imagine your blog is successful and people are talking to you about it.

What sorts of questions do you want them to be asking you? How do you want your blog to make you feel as you contribute more content to it over time?

At first, it may feel like all the best blog names are already taken. If you feel that way, it means you’re halfway there! Keep digging!

Remember: good blog names are designed to HELP people. It’s got to be MEMORABLE.

So make your name short & simple, make sure it’s a dot-com, and make sure you stand out from the crowd by giving your blog a unique flair.

Be creative, stay empathic to the needs of your readers, and have fun!

Comment & Share

That’s it – hope you enjoyed the article!

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Also, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought – I love talking to the readers, so hopefully will talk to you in the comments below.

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