Should I change my name?

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Hi all.  I've been debating over whether to change my shop name.  Etsy says they will be introducing this feature and, on iCraft, it's as easy as changing one field in your shop setup.

Do you think my name is nicely distinct?  Or too difficultly unique?  It will cost a lot for me to legally register a new name, but maybe I made the mistake and should fix it.

Thanks for the thoughts.

[PetiteTuques]

The only problem i have with your name is the pronouciation... Otherwise it is very unique and I do like it... I think you should do with what you feel. If you personally don't like it, change the store name and see if you have more clients/views.. I don't think you should register with a new name until you try it out.

[Northern Girl Jewelry]

Changing your name is a big step.  If you really dislike your business name, maybe it's worth it, but there are many implications to changing your name.

If you change your name, that will change the URLs for your shops.  How many business cards are out in potential customers hands with your current name and URLs?  How many links on blogs and other websites point to your current shops?  What other promotional material is out there currently that would point people to the wrong address if you change your name?

If you really want to change your name, do it sooner, rather than later, because the longer you wait, the more materials, links, etc. will be out there with the wrong name, address...

Just my 2 cents....

Julie

[PillowThrowDecor]

Your cards are amazingly beautiful and unique.

Your business name does not in any way (in my mind) do them justice or even describes them. If EM is your legal business name can you do a dba?

Here's some reasons to consider why you might want to seriously consider.
- Ensorcelled Minds is difficult to pronounce
- difficult to spell
- difficult to remember
- doesn't refer to cards
- some people may have a negative impression because of sorcery, paranormal association although "magical" seems more acceptable
- not SEO friendly

I know it costs money to do a change but in the long run I think it will be worth it. If you were to do it... plan your reintroduction... It is a good excuse for some HUGE promotion. Let us all know and we can all help with some new link building.  Lets ask admin if there is anyway that you can preserve some of your links.

Gosh... sorry for giving all the negative but I say again you have a beautiful product and I think it is worth it to do a rebranding. Once you are on your way with a new branded image I think you will find it a lot easier to create and promote your new brand.

What about running some sort of "new name" competition. Involve all your past buyers and other sellers that have done business with you... do a giveaway for all suggestions.

Just an idea.

Cheers
Christine

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I like the name because it is quite unique.  However, friends and family wrinkle their noses at it and once my MIL said she tried to tell someone about my shop but couldn't recall the name well enough.  That was the drop in the cup that spilleth over.  I would not change my corporation's name, but just register a new "trading name" - same as "doing business as".  It will cost in the ballpark of $250 for my lawyer to do it.

Thanks for the tips about how many reprecussions it has, JWB.  Thinking of your points, I don't have a lot of external promotion going on right now.  I do have business cards out there, but I don't think they are doing  much.  I have my own website that is just an info stop and then sends the customer on to my stores (Etsy or iCraft).  I think I would keep that site and indicate the name change there for a year, so if anyone did a search, they would still find that site.

What spurred this DRASTIC change idea is that I want a graphics makeover.  As soon as I have the funds, I'm buying one, right here on iCraft.  If I'm going to invest moolah in this, I want it to be worth it!  I've been trying to figure out how to describe what I want my new banner to look like and found myself stumped.  How do I describe "Imaginative" visually?  That's what the name was supposed to do.  But I can't get it to appear in my head in any way, shape, form or description.

That's when I realized, I haven't had an avatar related to my product (until recently - my temporary solution).  I also don't have a name related to my product, as PTD rightly picked up on.  That's another thing that made we wonder how I expect people to be interested in my stuff when I make it so hard to figure out what I'm all about!  (I never imagined the negative connotations that could come from "sorcery"!  That is a very good point.)

(Tax refund can't come soon enough!)

Thanks everyone.  Please, more comments are certainly welcome!

[iCraft Admin]

FYI. Name change on iCraft doesn't affect your URL in a big way, as we redirect all old URLs to your new URL. Though I would not recommend changing it too often. However, if you do change your name - it's a good idea to use some of the product Keywords in it. Also, if your name consists of 2 or more words, it's better to have those words separated, instead of combining them into one long name. It's easier for Google to read them when there is a separator in the middle.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Thanks, admin.  I have a few ideas in my head - surpise, all of them are LONG.  What about the viewers?  Any name suggestions from you?

[PillowThrowDecor]

How would you suggest separating them. With a hyphen?

FYI. Name change on iCraft doesn't affect your URL in a big way, as we redirect all old URLs to your new URL. Though I would not recommend changing it too often. However, if you do change your name - it's a good idea to use some of the product Keywords in it. Also, if your name consists of 2 or more words, it's better to have those words separated, instead of combining them into one long name. It's easier for Google to read them when there is a separator in the middle.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Mine is separated with a space. In the URL, then, the space becomes an underline.

[Northern Girl Jewelry]

Admin, thanks for the info about the URL redirect.  For how long do you redirect after a name change?

EM, I agree that your name doesn't evoke the product you sell.  I'm terrible at coming up with names, so I don't have any suggestions for you.

If you have some ideas, perhaps you could post them and ask for feedback on them.  That way you would get some sense of how people react to a name, what that name conjures up for others.  If you have a facebook fan page, ask for name ideas there...
 

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I'm leaning towards keeping it because I'm too indecisive about what to pick to change it and when I searched, most of my picks were taken.  I have only one favourite left: "Notes and Notions"

I am still going to get a graphics makeover, and, so long as I ensure my banner and avatar are representative of my shop, I think that will be a huge help alone.  Do you think a graphics overhaul would negate the strange name thing?

I do appreciate your thoughts.  Seeing through different eyes always helps!

[iCraft Admin]

Jewelry Without Borders, the answer is "forever".

[iCraft Admin]

Regarding URL construction. You don't need to do anything special. We take care of URLs.

If your Exhibit name has two or more words, you can list them separately with a space between them. When we construct URLs, we add underscores between those words. We plan to replace underscores ( _ ) in all our file names with hyphens ( ‐ ), as apparently they are better from SEO stand point.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Hubby - who is my flash test on most of my crafty stuff - says to change the name.  Guess I will be taking this leap after-all!

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Wow, it was incredibly easy to change my name here!  No longer am I "Ensorcelled Minds".  Now I'm Fairy Cardmaker.  Graphic changes are coming soon!  Still updating bits of the shop (like the announcment) and I will also have to change the photo's with the shop tag on the backside of my cards.  Lots to do!

My forum name changed, even for posts in the past - except for who originally started the thread.  It's almost like that other not-so-simple-to-remember name never existed!  It's great!

Thanks of the input from people here.