“What’s In A Name?”
Well, some people seem to think that success itself is in a name.
Be it for your business, your website, your blog, your Etsy Shop, or your DOG…names are important.
While I don’t think a great name for your Etsy Shop will guarantee success (nor do I think a so-called “bad” name will doom you to failure), I do think that taking the time to put some thought into your shop name is time well spent.
Here are a few tips to help you pick out a new name.
A Good Name
- Should be easy to remember – something catchy
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Is Short – try and avoid very long names more than 2 or 3 words
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Is easy to spell – watt moore kin I saie?
- Communicates a message – who you are, what you do, your style.
- Can be trademarked
Cross Platform Branding
It’s a good idea to consider what other venues you might use to sell your lovingly handmade items, if any. If you’re going to (or already do) sell your wares at art festivals or craft shows, then you would be better served by using the same name in both places.
If you hope to have a website of your own at any point, you might want to see what domain name you can secure first. This could be important if you want your business to be free to offer some items that are not handmade, or even made by employees you hire.
If this is you, then you should start with a domain name first. The same ideas apply to selecting a web domain name.
Once you find a domain name that you like and is available you can see if that name or something that works with it is available as an Etsy User Name. If you can get them both to match, then you’ll be in much better shape going forward, even if you don’t plan to build a website for some time.
We use Bluehost.com for our web-hosting and find them to be very good in pricing, service, and ease of use. You can register your domain name and set-up hosting with them very easily. Bluehost.com
Note: It’s been about two years since this post was written and we’re still very satisfied with Bluehost..
Disclosure: I do earn a commission if you choose to go with Bluehost as your host. There are obviously other hosting companies available, but again this is my recommendation based on my experience with the company since I started doing business online. If you do purchase through my affiliate link, thank you so much for your support!
Don’t Limit Yourself (unless you want to)
If you expect to sell the same limited range of products, such as pendants, for the entire life of your Etsy Shop, then you might want to include the word “pendants” in your name. If, on the other hand, you sell pendants now but would like to one day offer bracelets, rings, and jewelry boxes then you would want to come up with something that allows diversity.
Be Happy
At the end of the day, I think you’ll know when you’ve found a name that works for you when that name puts a smile on your face! I’ve named my share of businesses over the years and I’ve always found it to be a really enjoyable process. It’s like a birth when you come up with the name for your new business! Enjoy!
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Very simple useful advice. Thanks.
Thanks for this great advice and information! How do you know if a name is trademarked?
Thank you!
Great advice. Thank you. Love the way you designed your website…
@peachie — Go to the Patent and Trademark Office website at http://www.uspto.gov. In the Trademarks box, click on the ‘Search Marks’ options and that will take you to their search engine (called TESS). You might also want to check with your state’s Secretary of State website, in the corporations or business section to see if anyone else in the state already opened a business with the name you want to use.