Read an Excerpt
Every entrepreneur, business owner, and marketer has to name something — at least once.
It’s part of the job. You need a name to start a business, create a product, launch a campaign, share an idea, or define a place. Everything, literally everything, has a name: babies, products, drugs, books, beers, gods, companies, cats and dogs. That’s just scratching the surface. There are names for molecules, stars, countries, towns and places, wars, cults, hurricanes, causes, churches, and laws.
Everything has a name. Without a name, could it even exist?
Naming is one of the most fundamental building blocks of how we communicate and understand. As Eve Ensler wrote in The Vagina Monologues, “I have always been obsessed with naming things. If I could name them, I could know them. If I could name them, I could tame them. They could be my friends.”
Names are everywhere, and to name something is one of the most important decisions you will make. But naming sucks!
There, I said it. The process of naming can be awful. It’s time-consuming. It’s hard work. And every time you think you’ve found a great name, you discover it’s already taken. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to find a name that is absolutely perfect, only to discover that some jagweed has stolen it from you.
Ok sure…they found the name first. They’ve been using it for years, and they’ve trademarked it and made it their own… But they definitely don’t deserve it. Your use of the name is so much better. Screw them for taking it!
So after a temper tantrum or three, you come to terms with the situation. The name is ideal, but it’s not yours. You’ve got to find something else. So you keep digging and testing and looking for the right name. You know it’s out there. You just haven’t found it yet.
Michelangelo said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” The same is true for you. It’s your job to dig and brainstorm and create to find that name that captures your brand perfectly.
The process can suck, but the outcome can shape the entire future of your business and brand—so let’s challenge that notion. Naming doesn’t have to suck. I am going to show you a better way to generate names. In Name This ____! you will discover a proven, step-by-step process to create an unforgettable name. I will show you what to do every step of the way — from exercises to generate lots of naming ideas to techniques on how to test which names resonate the most.
You’ll discover the science of how names persuade people and how they get stuck in your mind, and you will learn the origin stories of interesting brands. Name This ____! brings together a practical how-to guide with loads of inspiration and stories to challenge you in creating a brilliant name that you will be proud to own.
My ask for you is to embrace the journey. Naming can be hard, but the results can be transformational. Take the ideas and exercises in this book and put them to work. I am confident you will create an unforgettable name.
