Eat My Words - The Kitchen Sink

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C'mon over to our new website and blog... we'll be waiting for you. All of the same posts are there so you won't miss any of the fun.

The Kitchen Sink blog has moved - www.eatmywords.com/blog

 

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Tweet My Words (before someone nabs your name)

Hurry and register your name on Twitter before someone else hijacks it and tweets your words. It's free to sign up and takes all of 17 seconds. Even if you don't have the foggiest idea of what Twitter is or how you could possibly use it to get business, do yourself an enormous favor and secure your brand name (and personal name) on Twitter right now before someone else takes it. You can figure out how to use it later. Unlike domain names, Twitter names (e.g. eatmywords, spoonme, ihaveabean, monalisastyle, fusionlaw, halogenguides) don't cost a dime and are snap to get. I was a Twitterphobe until we got a client, Cha Chang, who "tweeted" a question about needing a naming firm and got a "tweet" back from one of her "followers," who referred her to Eat My Words. Cha-Ching! Since then, I've used Twitter a few times a week to blast out 140-character-or-less business updates, links to blog posts, and informal surveys. You can do the same and more... tweet special offers, ask your customers for feedback, and let them know about new products. Here's how some of our clients are using Twitter to engage their customers. Click on their name to see their Twitter page and postings... 

Spoon Me "Tweet your favorite Spoon Me combo!"

I Have a Bean "We have a lease! We hope to be roasting by the week of May 9th"

Solemate "Solemate is now #4 for Movers and Shakers on Kindle!"

Fusion Law "Cal-COBRA Employers Get a Break http://tinyurl.com/dbrcoe"

Eat My Dust "On beautiful days and nights like these, don't forget 2 open the windows and shut the A/C (or heat) to save energy and increase air quality."

Please let us know when you sign up. And be sure to follow us at eatmywords.

To learn how B2B marketers are using Twitter, read this excellent article.  

Love at first sight doesn't just happen on eHarmony.

Imagine never having to spend a dime on advertising or PR because your brand name was so magnetic that people were instantly drawn to it. And your name was so infectious, your customers were excited to tell other people and generate buzz for you. We've seen this happen over and over again with names we create. The frozen yogurt franchise we named Spoon Me. The commercial cleaning company we named Eat My Dust. The iPod clock radio we named Moondance. The laundromat we named Stuff a Sock In It. The ice cream store we named Frigid. The home cleaning robot we named Neato. The charity reward program we named Angel Points. The dips for kids we named Monkey Dunks. And of course our own name, Eat My Words.

 

How likable is your own brand name? 

Do people smile when they hear it?

Do they say, "I wish I thought of that!"

Do they say, "I can't believe that name wasn't taken!"

Do they say, "My friend was just talking about that!"

Do they ask, "Where can I buy the t-shirt?"

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, you're in great shape (and chances are, you are an Eat My Words client).

 

10 domain naming tips that will save you time and Tums

 

The biggest misconception we dispel here at Eat My Words on a daily basis is a client's belief that they need to own the exact dot com of their business name. Not true. Even if you are a pure online business. (When you are shopping online and, for example, Google "lemongrass candle," do you really care what the domain names are in the companies in the search results?) We recently named a company Wavelength. They "connect the leaders of the world's most visionary, successful companies and pioneering social entrepreneurs." (In other words, people on the same wavelength.) The domain wavelength.com was taken, so they got www.thesamewavelength.com, which is even better because it reinforces the brand - and it was $9.95 on GoDaddy. Another example is one we did for a new "s-e-x for midlife and beyond" business named Second Wind. They just secured getasecondwind.com. (If you're curious and over 18, here's a spicy article by the founder, midlife sex relationship coach, Katherine Forsythe.) 

10 more domain naming tips that will save you time and Tums:

1. Don't give up on a great brand name if the domain is out of reach. For instance, the PR firm we just named Potion secured potionpublicrelations.com and they won't lose any business or credibility because of it. Why? No one expects a company to have the exact dot com any more. Just as we ran out of 800#s for toll-free calls, everyone knows the free-and-clear dot coms are a thing of the past. You do not have to put your dot com name in your logo - put it in your email address or link to your site. Lastly, your customers will still be able to find you. Think of how many times you've typed in the wrong domain name - oops! Do you give up? No, you simply go to Google find it in two seconds.

2. Don't give up on a great brand name even when the domain appears to be in use. Tricky cyber squatters often disguise "parked" sites as real businesses. Do a little clicking and you may find it's a pay-per-click website. The sneakiest one we've seen is, ironically, www.sneakers.com. Click through any of the sneaker brand logos and you'll discover it's a slick pay-per-click site. 

3. Don't think just because a site is "parked" that the price is astronomical. Spoon Me negotiated SpoonMe.com for $5000. EatMyWords.com was a bargain at $1200. 

4. Don't think "not for sale" is written in stone.  If you pony up enough cash, some people will sell a domain, even if it's an existing business. We named a "luxury on the installment plan" shopping website Venue. Even though Venue.com was in use by another company and there was a notice on the site that said the domain wasn't for sale, our client persisted and got it. (It sure beats their old name, Peach Direct.) On the other hand, the company we wanted to name The Gravy could not get the guy to sell thegravy.com, despite the fact that his band, The Gravy, has disbanded. He had dreams that they might make a comeback one day.

5. Don't name your company something just because the domain name is available on GoDaddy for $9.95. While we do occasionally find these names for our clients, for the most part, every whole word name and name combination are taken. Welcome to our world.

6. Don't get a domain name that is spelled differently than it sounds like Naymz or Takkle. Besides constantly having to spell it for people, everyone types the name they hear into their web browser and ends up at places that are spelled the way they sound - like Names and Tackle.

7. Don't leave out vowels ala Flickr. Unless you have a million dollar ad budget or the next Pet Rock, you can't afford to leave out letters. This is so dated and in 5 years will look as ridiculous as eHarmony and iMotors sounds today.

8. Don't put dots in your name like del.icio.us. This silly technique is dated, annoying and impossible to remember. Del.icio.us regrets this mistake and was forced to buy delicious.com for $100K. 

9. Don't come up with your name over a bottle of wine. Some people we really like did this and almost named their social networking site for investors Portfolia. Yikes! Luckily, we renamed them Cake. The domain squatter wanted an insane price for Cake.com, so our client got cakefinancial.com for $9.95. The word "financial adds instant credibility to the name. 

10. Don't go bald pulling your hair out trying to come up with a domain name. To get a powerful, unforgettable name, contact the experts at Eat My Words.

Alexandra sheds some Light on naming in Smart Money

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Asked & Answered: Marketing Multiple Businesses

June 24, 2008

By Colleen DeBaise

QUESTION: Your Oct. 30, 2007, article described people who run multiple businesses. My problem is a little different. I am a freelance writer offering business- and career-writing services. Last year, I also started a direct-sales business (selling health and wellness products). How do I incorporate the range of services I offer under one umbrella and market it in a way that is cost-effective, but not confusing to the client? What business name should I consider? —Gloria Brown, Menifee, Calif.

ANSWER: Essentially, you want to be a one-woman conglomerate, tying together seemingly unrelated businesses into one neat package. Even big-name companies with lots of marketing muscle (think Altria (MO), Time Warner (TWX) and Tyco (TYC)) have run into trouble doing this successfully at times.

As a small-business owner with limited resources, you'll face even more challenges. The biggest hurdle? Explaining to potential customers what it is, exactly, that you're selling. "To get momentum, you really have to narrow your message, so someone says 'Oh, I get that, you're talking to me,'" says John Jantsch, a marketing coach and founder of Duct Tape Marketing in Kansas City, Mo. "When you start adding things on, it starts getting hard to explain to people what you do."

Of course, many entrepreneurs tack on a new line of products or services to complement an existing business — and, in some cases, that works well. For instance, a popular restaurant might open up a kitchen store that sells appliances, cookbooks and food items that would logically appeal to its customer base. But when the two businesses are dissimilar, it's the "classic sushi bar and bait shop" scenario, Jantsch says. "That's always going to be a challenge."

Some entrepreneurs dig deep to find a link. When Cindy Light wanted to combine her two services — she's a fashion consultant, plus an expert on Chinese business etiquette — she turned to a business-name expert for help. Alexandra Watkins, founder of Eat My Words, a San Francisco firm that specializes in memorable names, reasoned that both services help make Light's clients look like superstars, both personally and professionally. So she suggested that Light use her evocative last name to tie the services together. Light has since named the business Cindy Light and plans to use the tagline "Making you shine" in her marketing materials.

Unfortunately, in your case, there appear to be too few links between your professional-writing services and your direct-sales business. "I can't imagine a way to combine these two together, and for it not to be confusing," Watkins says. As many conglomerates have found, trying to operate unrelated businesses under one big heading can lead to customer confusion — and make it difficult to focus resources and manage the company effectively. For the time being, you might try building both businesses separately, and if it's too draining on your time, energy and bottom line to do both, "then just make a determination which one you really think has the best potential," Jantsch advises.

Got a question? Send us an email at Editors@smSmallBiz.com. Due to the volume of questions we receive, we are not able to answer all questions. Questions that are selected for publication may be edited for length and clarity.

Alas, Name Mangler is not one of our Competitor's

We recently ran across this company, and thought that at last, one of our competitor's was fessing up with a descriptive name of what they do.   However, it is not a naming company but a file naming utility. Ah well.  Just in case, these URL's were available this morning, if any of you guy's want to snap them up.

• WTFNames.Com
• StinkyNames.Com
• VileNaming.Com
• EwwThatsYourName.Com
• YouNamedItWhat.Com
• THATIsWhatIPaidFor.Com

As a refresher, take another look at our competitor's work (a PDF file), take a Bromo and give us a call.  Our names go down easy, taste good on the palate and won't back up on you.  You will want to come back for seconds.

To assist you in the selection of a main course, here is our SMILE & SCRATCH Test to whet your appetite:

The secret to powerful, unforgettable and sticky brand names is simple, "A name should make you smile, instead of scratch your head." We evaluate every name we create based on this no-brainer philosophy - and now you can too with the new Eat My Words SMILE  and SCRATCH Test^TM. Run your own product and company names through the test and see how they hold up. It's not as easy as it sounds. Most names fail because they are spelling-challenged, hard to pronounce, and meaningless to customers who don't know Latin (which is just about everyone except for Alexandra's mother). So cancel your focus groups and use this criteria any time you're trying to objectively evaluate a name. You'll instantly be able to see if you have a winning name or if you should scratch it off your list.

SMILE – the qualities of a powerful name
Simple – easy to spell, say, and understand
Meaningful – your customers instantly "get it"
Imagery – visually evocative - creates a picture in your mind
Legs – carries brand, rich wordplay, brand-extensions
Emotional – empowers, entertains, engages, enlightens

SCRATCH - scratch if it has any of these deal-breakers
Spelling-challenged - it's not spelled the way it sounds
Copycat – similar to competitor's names
Random – disconnected from the brand
Annoying – hidden meaning, forced
Tame – flat, uninspired, non-emotional, boring
Curse of Knowledge – only insiders get it
Hard-to-pronounce - not obvious, relies on punctuation

All of our names pass the test: Spoon Me, Neato, Monkey Dunks, Cake Financial, Dizzywood, Dash, and countless others. Do yours?

Biggest Mistakes When Choosing a Domain Name/Company Name

As long as I'm on my soap box writing about annoying Naymz (next post), here are some mistakes to avoid when choosing a name for your company and a domain name to go along with it:

1. Don't name your company something just because the domain name is available on GoDaddy for $9.95
2. Don't give up on a great company name if the domain is taken or out of your price range... unless you are a 100% online business (e.g. Amazon, Fandango, Priceline, OpenTable) simply use a modifier (www.___online.com, www.drink_____.com, www.______inc.) - trust us, your customers won't care and they will still be able to find you
   
3. Don't get a domain name that is spelled differently than it sounds Naymz, Takkle)
4. Don't get cute and try to be like Flickr - unless you have a million dollar ad budget, you can't afford to leave out vowels
5. Don't put dots in your name like del.icio.us - it's dated, annoying and impossible to remember where the dots go
6. Don't come up with your name over a bottle of wine

How to get more mileage out of your brand name

Most names get slapped on a product, website or business card and the buck stops there. But you can get a lot more mileage and ROI out of a name if it has long legs. A name with legs is rich in wordplay, lends itself to brand extensions, has an unlimited shelf life, can grow with the brand, and never gets dated (like eHarmony or iMotors). One name with great legs is Cake Financial, the leading online social network for investing.  created Cake to reflect what we see as their biggest benefit: "easy money." Here are some of ways that Cake has extended the name throughout the brand:
The Slice is the name of their weekly video show
The Cakedex is the top investor's performance index
The Cake "Take" is their system of rating stocks
The Cakeateria is the employee snack room
Citizen Cake was the the launch party venue

Does your name have legs and the 4 other must-have qualities of a powerful brand name? Take the Eat My Words' SMILE & SCRATCH Test™ and find out.

How your name can generate buzz and bacon

In today's freaky economy, advertising budgets are facing extinction and marketing dollars are being stretched like carnival taffy. Your name has to do more, say more, and work harder than ever before. Without a massive ad campaign to drill it in (think: Head On), consumers cannot remember brand names that are tame, tired, copycat, spelling-challenged, or have hidden meanings. Now more than ever, it's critical that your name is memorable, meaningful, sticky, has legs, speaks volumes, and can pay for itself. You know you have a winning name with ROI when it...  

Generates buzz without spending advertising dollars

Is instantly likeable, creating affinity for your brand

Has strong differentiation for brand-recognition

Emotionally connects with your target, inspiring loyalty

Stays fresh and vibrant, never becomes dated

Positions you as a trendsetter, increasing your credibility

Is rich in wordplay, allowing for brand extensions while retaining the name's original charm

Can be monetized through merchandise & licensing, with people paying you to advertise your brand

 

Learn more about how a powerful name can cut the fat and bring home the bacon.