Using A Pseudonym In Business – The Process

A pseudonym is synonymous with the word pen name so in this article, whenever you see the use of pen name, you know what it means. Back in those days, big writers were known mostly by their pseudonyms as it became very rampant amongst them. Nowadays, pseudonyms are not only common amongst writers, artists, and businessmen who have now adopted the system.

Key Takeaways

• Pseudonyms in business can help your forum grow excessively because they act as the main name of your website
• With a pseudonym, an author can be remembered either based on the name of their book or their name
• For your business, you should use a name that fits into your brand
• You should choose a name that everyone can easily pronounce or spell

What Is Pseudonym In Business? 

A pseudonym is defined as a formulated identity used by writers, movie stars, businessmen, CEOs, and many other people who are supposed to be famous but don’t want to use their real names for personal reasons. Technically, pseudonyms are not as widespread as they were when they were first discovered but it is still in use. It must have been reduced because of the kind of world we live in now, we have gone digital so your identity might seem like something hard to hide. Even with this development, many people have been able to use this medium and still be successful with it. 

Let’s dive right in to what we are here for.

Benefits A Pseudonym In Your Business

Let us go into something straightforward, here are the reasons why it is so important in business.  

1. It can help your forum grow excessively as it acts as the main name of your website. 

2. It draws the client’s attention, this might seem absurd but a pseudonym most times is not a common name. So, most people want to hear from who is bearing this name. 

3. With a pseudonym, an author can be remembered either based on the name of their book or their name. The bottom line is that he or she is always remembered. 

Here is what we are trying to say, your pen name acts as your brand. It has to hit the right spot in the minds of your audience, something that isn’t so difficult to spell or remember, make it simple but don’t use something common. 

The process that we believe will get you a good pseudonym:

1. Select a good age grade for your pen name

2. Use a name that fits into your brand

3. Check to see how common your pen name is online

4. Choose something that everyone can easily pronounce or spell

5. Make sure someone hasn’t beat you to it in your line of work.

The Process Of Using A Pseudonym In Your Business

This is the bone of contention here now, you have to choose a pen name that suits the business that you are venturing into. Yes, this might seem confusing but you have to consider your business nature before using a particular pen name. The pen name you use for your business can take the platform which you are creating and then create a milestone for you. 

1. Select A Good Age Grade For Your Pen Name

It is funny how this doesn’t seem to be too important on a normal basis, let’s explain to you why it is. If your target is to create an instructional book or article, something that is supposed to guide young adults, using a name from this decade or the last one is not advisable. For something like this, it is advisable to use a name that was common in the last 5 to 6 decades. Then they will take you seriously. 

This doesn’t just work for authors but sadly we only have an instance from an author’s point of view right now. Hope you get the point. Using a name that is much older than those you intend to be your audience will get you a bigger audience than when your audience feels that you are as young as they are. Don’t get this wrong, we are not saying that you can sell anything with this technique, it just helps to draw attention, for an author, the only thing that sells your book or takes you far is what is written inside your book. The name only gets people to open the book and review it. 

2. Use A Name That Fits Your Brand

Most times, people feel like their names don’t fit in with what their brand is all about, maybe they have an abstract name to what they portray. Let us take the Wayans for example, they are a comedy group of brothers, and their last name Wayans fits in perfectly with what they do. Imagine if their name were to be Statham, this doesn’t sound like something a comedian would go by. It is not as if anyone with any name cannot venture into comedy but your name pushes your brand most of the time. 

When choosing your pseudonym, check to see if it fits with what you are going into, you could make anything work but some factors make things easier and your name is part of those factors. Ask yourself these questions, has anyone in the history of this stuff ever used this name? Should you use the name in the initial form or spell it out as it is? Can you use a male and female name combined? Do you have to use a name that is fantastic or just normal?

3. Check Online To Know The Commonality Of The Name 

To promote a brand, most times you would want your social media to handle to be unique, with a unique name and unique style. Let’s say you start a brand and you don’t check the URL or online status of that name which you have picked, then you might have to start adding numbers to your social media page making it look like a second-place brand name. 

Before finalizing a particular name, you must go through a site to observe just how common that name is on the internet. The consequence of not doing this is that you might end up having a big competition when the person using your name starts a similar brand. 

To check out a name online, here are some steps you have to follow: 

1. Write the name on the search bar on any of those social media platforms or better still google.

2. You can switch your URL extension to something else, for example, there is a .net, .org, and many others

It is best to sign up for as many social media pages as you want to use, do that as soon as you see that it is available. 

4. Use Something That People Won’t Find Hard To Spell Or Pronounce

This is very important, our generation does not like to be stressed when there are other options, make sure your name is something that you know people can spell. It is best to use a name that is spelled as pronounced, keep it simple so that when they want to search for you online they don’t have to sweat. A name that is easy to spell makes you accessible to more clients especially online, also a name that is easy to pronounce makes it easy for you to get referred. 

Whatever name you pick, make sure you don’t alternate the spelling because you want to be unique or you are trying to make it look fancy. That is risky because people will get tired of trying to remember how your name is spelled. The pronunciation part, why would you even pick a name that is hard to pronounce and you intend on using it for a business, don’t you think that is a little absurd? Make things easy for the people searching for your brand, this is the bottom line here.

5. Don’t Use A Similar Pen Name To Someone In Your Line Of Work

Using someone else name to fetch for fame is not something you want to do because you would regret it. Whoever you are thinking of, dead or alive, make sure you avoid using that person’s name because Google doesn’t know how to specify between two people. When it is a copied name, whoever you got the name from is more famous than you are so for sure you would not be on the first to fifth page when you are being searched for online. 

Is Pseudonym Legal In Business?

Yes! You can use pseudonyms in business as long as you don’t use your pseudonym to drop wrong data and deceive clients with it.

Is It Possible To Use A Pseudonym Legally On Business?

Yes, this is quite simple all you do is pick a pen name and use it. Although in some states, you have to register your pen name with the state.

Conclusion

The use of pen names is normal and people have their specific reasons for using them. Think about that before using a pseudonym for your business. Think about the legal rights too. 

References:
1. https://gritdaily.com/privacy-by-design-pseudonym-use-in-online-business/
2. https://www.writing-world.com/business/pen-names.shtml

Last Updated on October 25, 2022 by Magalie D.