Deciding on a Channel Name
Creating a channel name isn’t just slapping down the first thing that comes to mind! There’s a real art to it, and it’ll stick with you for a while so it’s a great idea to spend some time to really crafting the perfect name.
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What You Need:
- You need to know what type of content you’re going to make
Think Long Term
This is the name you’re going to be known by not just today, but in six months, a year, or even ten years down the road. This means that while it’s tempting to choose something easy, you want to make sure you aren’t naming yourself something inflexible. Consider what type of content you’re making, and what the true focus of your channel is--and what it will be months or years down the road.
Associations Are Important
When you’re wandering through your local grocery store, consider how certain product names tell you a lot about the product without you even knowing what it does, or that evoke a certain feeling. Products like FireKing, SentrySafe, Gardall and Fort Knox all evoke a sense of security and strength, important things when purchasing a safe for your jewelry. Formula 409, OxiClean and CLR have names that sound advanced, scientific, and certainly worth paying extra for versus using vinegar and water to clean your stove. Or, consider the naming of the BlackBerry PDA, which was named to evoke feelings of calmness, joy, and relaxation in order to fight the perception that mobile devices were loud, buzzy, and complicated.
Make A Long List
Don’t stop with just one name. Write down as many as you can, and don’t be afraid to keep “bad ones.” A lot of times, the best name doesn’t actually jump out at you the first time you see it. Narrow it down from there after spending some time seriously considering each possibility.
Do Some Googling
Once you’ve got a couple options, spend a few minutes Googling each one. See if there are other similar companies out there already using that name, or if it shares itself with something negative. It’s bad to have a channel name that reminds people of a horrible tragedy that you didn’t even know about, especially if you can avoid it entirely from the onset.
Test It Out
Say it aloud. A lot. Test it in sentences. Try out a few generic introductions and outros using the name. If you can’t say it comfortably, your fans certainly won’t. A great example of this is Kurzgesagt, who saw a sustained growth of over 350% almost immediately after changing their name to include “In A Nutshell.”
DO’s
- DO make sure it fits your personality
- DO say it aloud a lot to see if you actually like it
- DO shorten it to see what acronyms and nicknames are likely, you don’t want to choose Lucy And Mark Entertainment only to find out that shortens to LAME
- DO make it simple to pronounce and spell
- DO project the right values: Dr Lucy Jones is probably a bad name for a teenage beauty channel but great for commentary
- DO choose a name that is distinctive
DONT’s
- DON’T be too trendy. youtube.com/FidgetSpinner isn’t likely to be relevant in a year
- DON’T choose a name that is too common, no one can find Joe Smith’s channel
- DON’T add unrelated numbers or letters to the name, no one gives any credibility to youtube.com/xXmarkXx3221
- DON’T include a geographical location unless it’s important to the core of the message
- DON’T try to appeal to an audience you don’t understand, or ‘Be Cool’
- DON’T just choose your initials, this is highly forgettable and often not tied to the content at all