The Desert of Arizona
Sunny 53 Degrees
What’s in a name?
Well, a lot actually.
When you make the commitment to create your Platform and actually run it, you might as well use every opportunity you can to make it a success.
One of those opportunities is in the NAMING of your Platform (blog, newsletter, podcast etc.).
Here’s just a quick example WHY this is important. Pretend you’re a business owner who sells handmade pottery.
Let’s say you want a website made so you can sell your products on the internet and stop working so hard travelling all around the country selling at fairs and festivals.
A website is just what the doctor ordered. And there are plenty of web designers to choose from. Too many, actually.
But for you, the business owner, you’re really an artist. And frankly, you don’t even WANT a website (but you NEED one to actually GET what you want, which is a product sale). So the whole thing can be quite confusing. Who can you even trust?
That’s where the Platform comes in. The smart web designer starts to publish a newsletter. Not about the geeky side of web design, but about the people who are benefiting from all of that. He tells stories, he demonstrates how his skill leads to the wanted result.
Which is going to be more attractive to this guy’s prospective client… should he publish a newsletter called “Jack’s Newsletter?”
Not really all that attractive now is it? You can feel there’s just no energy in there. No excitement. No implied promise. Heck, we don’t even know what Jack’s Newsletter is about.
But what if Jack calls his newsletter, “Internet Selling Made EZ: How to Transform What You Love to Do Into a Steady Stream of Sales on the Internet”
You don’t have to know much about websites to know that might have promise for attracting business owners.
This is just a very simple example of the power of a name.
Your Platform is a beacon for your prospective clients.
The more information that beacon can transmit in that first instant, the more powerful it will be.
Basically, we’re transforming what some people might just call a “newsletter” into something real and valuable, with a personality and a reason for being.
It’s almost like a product. It might be free, but that’s no reason not to use every opportunity you can to make it valuable for the right people.
So what kind of a difference can a name make for your Platform? A lot. A name can either move your prospect closer to you, farther from you, or simply leave them in a state of confusion.
As funny as it might sound, only ONE of those three options is unacceptable. It’s confusion. Confused people don’t do anything. They can’t. They don’t have the information they need to take action.
Naming your Platform is just one part of what we do in the Platform Lab, starting Monday. You actually get my personal help to do this.
Ideally, you want the name of your Platform to say WHO it’s for and WHAT it does. You can’t always get both, but that’s the goal.
I have to say, I’m pretty good at doing this. I’m pretty good at transforming something most people take for granted (a newsletter, podcast etc.) and whipping it up with a BIG IDEA into a package that attracts, inspires and excites your target market.
If you want to participate, register now before it fills up.