How to Find the Perfect Name for Your Blog

     So you want to start a blog. It won't be easy. However, if you've set your mind to it, I believe you can do it. One of your first steps is finding a name (so you can secure a domain or Blogspot URL.)

     And this isn't the easiest thing in the world. There are over 152 million blogs in existence (!!!), so you have a huge task to make yours stand out. As long as you go into it for the fun of it rather than to get popular, you can succeed. :)

     Here are the steps to finding the perfect name for your blog:

1. Brainstorm. First, you have to just throw all your ideas onto the page. (Yes, use paper for this step!) Write everything you like and everything to do with your topic. Write clever puns and silly twists on your name. Write basic words and super flowery words. Write everything you think of, even if you know you'll cross it out later.

2. Look at others' blog titles. After brainstorming, do a little research. Find blog titles you like and think about how some of your ideas might be similar. If you like the sound of Read. Write. Coffee. maybe you can do something with a similar rhythm like Joy. Grace. Kingdom. Or maybe you like the themes of others' titles rather than the rhythm. Then, try something like Reading the Written Coffee. I don't know. Get creative. Find something that sounds right.

3. Keep it specific, but not too specific. The best example I can give of this is when I wanted to have a lemonade birthday party. My mom wisely suggested I expand it a little to a lemon theme. And sure enough, I had a lemon-themed party complete with gallons of lemonade and jars of lemon candies. You get where I'm going with this. Keep your title just broad enough that you can do a lot with it.

4. Consider your own name. The best thing you can do (especially if you want to publish a book one day) is to buy your own name as your domain. (If you don't want to spend money on it, try janedoe.blogspot.com through Blogger.) The great thing about this blog title is that no matter how your interests change, you will still have an appropriate title because it's your blog and things you like. The risk in this is that you come across as a little self-centered.

5. It can't already be taken. As much as you want to name your blog Read. Write. Coffee., you cannot have it if it's already taken. Once you nail down three or four ideas you like, check them against what is already out there. A simple Google search should do it. Also, avoid the names of movies and books, as those will always be more popular than your blog. (And we don't want search engines to put your blog as the fourth or fifth most important.)

6. Lastly, make sure it reflects you and is something that makes you smile. This one is important. Find the name that makes you smile every time you hear it. The one that makes you think, "Aw, this is my baby, my pet project, my joy." It's ok to have something fun as your blog title!

     All this leads me to the story of why I titled this site The Little Decorator. Four years ago, I brainstormed words like "yellow, joy, sunshine" but found that most variations of those words were taken. I was very into decorating as a 13-year-old and had even started reading books about it. Hence decorator. I knew I was one of the youngest in my field, and I was ok with being the child prodigy. So little it was!

     Even now that I am not always in decorator mode or writing about decorating as much, "beautiful things" are still a theme in my life and throughout my blog. So I don't think The Little Decorator was too specific. It was (and is) cute, fun, and enjoyable. It encompasses all my passions of making things more beautiful (because if that's not the definition of decorator, I don't know what is!)

     You may never have noticed, but I avoid calling myself The Little Decorator. I want to keep it the name of my blog rather than my identity. I always sign my posts ~Madeline in varying colors, and I give myself the freedom to write about whatever comes to mind. After four years, that covers a lot of subjects, so I would put myself in the "lifestyle blog" category rather than the "decorating blog" category. (So maybe the title is a bit misleading...)

     That, my dear friends, is why I called this wonderful place The Little Decorator. (Thank goodness that one wasn't already taken!)

~Madeline