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How to create a brand name (and get its domain)

October 14, 2019

Getting your brand name right

If you’ve ever had to come up with a brand name for your company or side project you know how hard it is. I myself have seen entrepreneurs struggle with this time and time again. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Like most things in life, what you need is a system.

Let me share my step-by-step process for coming up with a viable brand name.

Brainstorming

First up, decide if a brand name carries meaning or not. In most cases, you want to have a brand name which is related to what you’re actually doing. Come up with some core words and write them down. Next, surround them with relevant prefixes and suffixes.

For example, for a hosting company this could be the following:

Prefix: my, insta, secure Core: hosting, server, web services Suffix: space, base, performance

Once you have these written down, it’s time to experiment with as many permutations as possible. You need a lot of options because finding matching domain name is challenging because most are taken nowadays.

Find (or buy) a domain name

Find a service to look up the domain availability of all those combinations. If you do find that your favourite domain name is taken, never fear: there is a strong chance you can buy it for a fair price.

Speaking from experience, premium domains over €100,000 are mostly not worth it. The sweet spot is around €1,000-5,000 in my opinion. Also, don’t forget to check the newish premium TLDs .co, .io, .space, .site etc.

If a domain is taken and you don’t have the cash upfront to buy it, just add a prefix like ‘try’ or ‘get’ to it. This works as an adequate temporary stand-in until you have the funds to buy the real domain.

When you decide you want to buy, use services like domaindiscount24.de or X and compose a short email to the owner. I’ve bought more than a few of domains in my life and can assure you a short emails work rather well.

Write something along the lines of:

Hey,

My name is Chris. I am working on a new project and was wondering if you are willing to sell the domain for €1,500?

Kind regards,

Chris

If you get a reply, negotiate a bit but try to close a deal quickly. Use the initial momentum because you are not in the strongest bargaining position when buying a domain name you want.

Get a broker (if applicable)

If you have your heart set on a premium or really expensive domain, make sure you use a domain broker, especially if you don’t have prior experience negotiating such a deal. A broker can work wonders!

These are two brokers that would be worth reaching out to if the domain name really is top quality:

All of them are well respected in the industry and have experience brokering names at the highest level.

Do a trademark search

Last but not least, check if there is any Trademark or IP registered. You can do this via TMSearch (http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4809:4yjnx5.1.1) or in Germany via the dpma.de.

You can do this yourself but to avoid screwing it up, get a qualified lawyer to do a similarity search. It should cost less than €1,000 and be you’ll get a comprehensive written risk assessment report. This should protect you from forced rebranding or costly legal battles down the track (which is also a reason why you should register your brand name as a trademark).

Final evaluation

Now it’s time to use a checklist to make sure all bases covered.

Create a spreadsheet with the following questions:

If the answer is ‘yes’ to all of these questions then voila! You have a strong name for your brand that should weather the storms of doing business.

P.S. I’ll let you on a little known secret: You might not like the name right at the start. It’s only after using it day in day out for several years that’ll start to mean something.

For further education

Here are some good resources to learn more about domains:

How to create a brand name (and get its domain) - October 14, 2019 - Christian Kedzierski