I remember writing a list of (obviously) witty domain names when I started blogging in 2011. They were mostly to do with cold coffee and mom jeans. Now, just as we moved away from online handles like butterflygurl1999@yahoo.ca so are we moving away from the quippy domain names. Now we are seeing a trend to have your own name as your domain name. In fact, the trend is to use your personal name as your handle on all social media.
If you are thinking of a self-named site, here are some of the benefits.
You aren’t boxed into a niche themed site.
Your audience associates your content with your domain name, it is the frontrunner in explaining what your online space is all about. If you have always written about potty training and now you want to talk about personal finances, it is far easier to branch out in your post topics when you have a self-named site. Your site is now about all things pertaining to you and you have free range to try out different topics that you are exploring in your own life.
The site acts as your landing page.
Most of us started with blogs, but now we are expanding our social media platforms. We are also hosting projects, series, courses and providing services. As your online body of work grows, your site can act as a home base to all those other major platforms, projects, and businesses that you are a part of.
You can highlight your best stuff.
If you are a freelancer this can be like a virtual resume where you beautifully display some of your top work. Your webpage doesn’t have to look like a blog, it can look more like a menu offering your most popular and enticing content.
You are branding yourself.
For example, if you are a fitness trainer with a blog you spend a lot of time promoting your fitness training site and encouraging people to follow this site. If you use a personal name, people are following you, not your fitness training site. You are the brand and your fitness site is one of the services your brand offers. There are many fitness training sites for people to follow. The person running it is what sets it apart.
Of course it isn’t black and white. Having a ‘themed’ domain name can also be great for branding. They are SEO friendly, let the reader know the content themes to expect, can become sites that have multiple contributors, and can even be sold to new site owners. These types of websites are also centered on a certain lifestyle/issue/topic and are therefore easier to build community around. When a community is built around a personalized brand, it is more apt to take the celebrity/fan role rather than the friend/follower role, which comes with its own host of new issues.
Every little thing you do online is another block you lay to build up your brand.The site name you chose depends on your long-term online goals. There is no right or wrong domain name (unless you have .blogspot or .wordpress in it, then as your friend I’m telling you to pay the ten bucks for your own domain name).
Thank you for reading. If this post has helped you please share it!
A Little Light is a community for Canadian Christian women with online platforms. We are based in Western Canada. To become part of A Little Light Community, find more information here.
