The way you’re named, the way they see you.
I’m gonna tell a real story. I’m gonna start with my name.
- Kendrick Lamar
Are you a musician, actor, writer, etc? are you trying to decide on your brand name? Whatever you’re in your career, choosing the perfect name can be a creative ~mission~, to say the least. Taking the time to brainstorm the right name can help you avoid a lot of potential headaches down the road, so we wrapped up the most important steps to take when choosing the best name for your career.
Are you a musician, actor, writer, or another creative person? Are you trying to come up with a name for your business? Choosing the appropriate name, no matter where you are in your career may be an arduous undertaking, to say the least. We rounded together the most critical steps to consider when picking the ideal name for your career because taking the time to create the appropriate name will help you prevent a lot of potential difficulties down the road.
Playing Front-end or Back-end
Choosing a personal brand name can be just as challenging as choosing a business name. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly: when you’re the face of the service you provide, your name becomes your brand. However, if you’re determined that your given name isn’t cutting it, a name change can be your best option. Adopting artist names or figurative names that symbolize the artist’s figure is a frequent practice in the art industry. This behavior can either be a choice to remain anonymous or a plan to keep personal and professional lives separate.
Not all famous people go by pseudonyms, but for others, it’s the best option. Some performers choose to have their names legally changed in court, while many others can utilize and register their brand names without ever having to do so. In reality, some artists opt to use their real identities and stage names at the same time to keep their professional and personal life separate. So, whether you choose to use a stage name or not is entirely up to you; Alloway is correct, but it is not always possible.
Stage Names When to Adopt Them?
A stage name is a professional name that a performer uses to publicly portray himself as an artist. It is also known as a pseudonym, artist name, show name, or nom de guerre. A stage name might be made up of components of a person’s legal name or it can be something entirely different. People take on stage names for a variety of reasons, ranging from paying homage to performers who have influenced them to distinguish themselves from other artists with similar names.
There are multiple reasons why you will be in the position of deciding what makes the most sense of either using your given name as your brand name or adopting a show name. So how do you discern whether or not to present yourself to the public? I will be sharing multiples scenarios that will help you to decide.
Multiples scenarios will show up with stones to stumble with forcing you to change direction. That is why it is so important to take time and smell the roses when selecting your brand name. Let’s see some possibilities, but we do not limit to this:
Chances where you need to avoid confusion.
If your name is already in use, it is recommended that you alter it. In the world of acting, for example, Michael Keaton was born Michael Douglas, but due to the fact that his career was predated by Michael Douglas, Keaton was compelled to use the second name as a differentiator.
Chances where your name is very common in the target market.
If your name is a common one, there are most likely other people with the same name which will bring you problems at the end of the road. So, people with particularly common last names (Smith, Johnson, etc.) are likely to change their names to prevent crashing in their markets. Just think about it, if you are named John, just google that name and the search results are almost infinite. So, you won’t be competitive in google search with that name. Maybe that’s why Caryn Elaine Johnson became Whoopi Goldberg.
Chances where your name doesn’t tell your story.
Of course, it happens, there are chances where your name clearly comes from a specific place and you look like you come from someplace else entirely. For instance, you are an astonishing blonde and blue eyes woman targeting the Anglo market but you are named Segobina Castro, you might consider using a show name that conceals or obscures your heritage.
When your name is difficult to use and understand.
Using names that are easy to say, spell, and remember is recommended as part of a branding strategy. If your name is a little difficult to fit on a headshot, you should consider a juicy show name.
When your privacy is not negotiable.
Many musicians in the music industry and beyond have made a living using their stage names. The good news is that deciding on a show name isn’t rocket science, and there are no secret sauces involved. There are only lessons learned from predecessors who learned the hard way and have now written down their experiences to help you overcome these challenges in your path. So, to come up with a step-by-step approach you can follow, let’s go through the rules we learned in article 2/16 first.
From the above said, now you understand how important it is to know your brand before any brainstorming activities. Knowing your brand profile, you are ready to follow the next formula:
Your Brand Name = Unique + Easy to write and Spell the way it sounds + adapted to your market.
These steps are to come up with your own name.
Use a variation of your actual name. If you have a distinctive first name or middle name, consider using that as your professional name. You can also take select letters from your full name and rearrange them to make a new name for yourself, but take care of the phonetics and suitability. for instance, the artist Halsey got that name by swapping letters from the original name keeping phonetic balance — whose birth name is Ashley Frangipane.
Use a childhood nickname as inspiration. If you had a nickname from childhood that you particularly liked, can either be yours or a friend’s, you can use that or an alteration thereof as your moniker.
Pick a word that embodies your style. Some show names are meant to embody a particular image. If you have a specific style or word that you think represents your persona, use that to inspire your show name. For instance, — l Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist’s gritty stage name “Slash.”
Think about people that inspire you. Turn to artists that you love — whether it’s a musician, author, writer, painter, or historic hero — and who have inspired your work when coming up with your own artist’s name.
Adapt your name to the target market. You may opt to change your name to appeal to a specific audience, which is contentious. This frequently entails modifying an ethnic or difficult-to-pronounce name into something short and easy to remember, similar to simplifying names. Freddie Mercury, who was born Farrokh Bulsara, is one example.
Try brainstorming a couple of ideas. Make a list of your favorite name suggestions, compare them, and pick the one that best fits you. It may take some time to come up with a suitable name that encapsulates your persona, but having a variety of possibilities will help.
This is it, easy, right? You can even become creative and explore options not listed in this article. The key point here is that you select a name that is unique, easy to remember, and aligned to your brand.
Takeaways:
In summary, selecting a brand name implies selecting a name that reflects your personality and sells the vision that empowers your vision and purpose. In the internet world, that name will emulate a digital version of yourself that will reflect your essence online and as said in our previous article “Will help you transmit a message that resonates with the communities of people that as you explore the web every single day”. This is the main step of the brand journey to create differentiation.
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Originally published at https://effimedia.blogspot.com.
