I want to be unforgettable

A rose by any other name would certainly smell just as sweet, but would anyone know about it? Names are significant. They are the opening sentence in your story. Inevitably you are going to want to set up a blog or a website and that means choosing an address, which will become a moniker. This is not just any address, but the address, the name that will embody your story and set expectations. There is certainly a lot riding on those few letters strung together.
So what happens when you’ve come up with the perfect name only to find that – gasp – it’s been taken! Maybe it’s another company. Maybe it’s just a speculator who snapped up bunches of names in hopes that they’d become valuable someday. Has that day come? Are you going to pay out dozens or hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars to own that coveted bit of Internet real estate?
Or maybe you haven’t come up with a name that feels just right just yet. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
• The quickest way to find what’s available is to type it into a site where you can buy it. You can try typing it in as a url, but the results can be confusing. Sometimes it looks like an address is open when it’s not.
• Hyphens are an option. It may be harder for people to remember, but you can integrate that how you tell them to remember the name.
• If you can’t get .com, try another ending. Some fun ones are .me and .we. You could also try .net. But again, remember that people may need a little extra bit of coaching to remember it.
• Get creative. Many of the most obvious word combinations are taken, but there’s a surprising number still available. Iwantobeunforgettable.com, for instance, is still open! Someone, go snap it up quick. Let your thinking wander in new ways. This is a fantastic opportunity to delve into your story and to look at it from another perspective. Suppose you want to sell cookies, for instance. You could buy cookie baker for the “bargain” price of $5,988. Goodcookies.com is taken, but greatbakedcookies.com, gobakemycookies.com and bakingyourcookies.com are all open. You could skip the cookies altogether and go with bakingaway.com (do keep in mind the potential for double entendres, however. You may want to ask a few friends before you buy.)
• Keep it simple. If it’s hard to say, it may be hard to remember. Type it a few times. Is it easy to misspell? Shorter is better, but easy and memorable are best. You can go longer if it will stick in people’s minds.
• Keep in mind that this isn’t a huge investment, you can buy a few have them all point to the same site. That gives you some marketing alternatives. You could have one that is short and boring and one that is longer but captures your image better.