Day 2 – Your Brand and Your Voice

Day 1, we talked about why you wanted to be a blogger, and the types of topics you will be writing about. As we hone in on the niche that you’ll be settling on, let’s dive a little deeper, and explore the world of domains, and why choosing a good domain name is so simple, yet difficult. 

Now that you have sewn up your niche topic, you’re ready to move to the next step. Thinking of a domain. As of May 2018, there were roughly 1.8B (Yes, you read it right!) websites around the world, and domains have to be unique and memorable, so although today’s discussion is more or less centred around domains, you still have plenty to think about!

How do you choose a great domain name?

1. Be Intuitive. Don’t use made up words as far as possible, or a different spelling (you vs u, and expert vs xpert). If it’s easy to type, it’s easy to find.
2. Short and Sweet. Domains that are too long will not be memorable, and users may have a typo error in keying in your website.
3. Avoid numbers and hyphens. Numbers will be misleading, as users won’t know if it’s a numerical number or the spelled out number. Dashes are also often forgotten when a user types in a domain.
4. Be legal. Make sure the domain you’re going to use is not trademarked or copyrighted in any way. 
5. Keyword in the domain. If it’s possible to have a relevant keyword in your domain, it will greatly boost your SEO down the line. 
6. Act fast. Domain names are snapped up quickly. In the 2nd Quarter of 2018, 339.8 million domain names were registered. So head down to Bluehost and start exploring your favourite domain names now. 

Don’t forget the social media!

Before you actually register your domain, you know you’ll want to be active on social media to promote your brand, so remember to check and claim your social media presence as you register for your domain!

Some of the platforms you will want to consider are: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest. Even if you’re not going to set them all up at first, it will make sense to claim ownership of those pages and accounts.

Be you

Many people go “Hey Rich, there are millions of blogs out there. Why would people want to read about or listen to me?”

Well, you’re right. There are millions of blogs out there. But there is only one you. Be the authentic voice of you, and your story will reach out to people, and people will start to listen. Develop your unique identity and tone of voice and talk about your unique experiences, and you’ll be surprised at how much you have to say about your topic, and how interesting it will be to other people.

Now, I want you to take the following exercise seriously. Have a deep think about your domain and your social media handles. Because the next time we meet, we’ll be whipping out our wallets and claiming those domains and associated social media handles!

And don’t worry if you need more than a day. Day 3 will be patiently waiting for you when you’re ready.