Shock Notes

Notes on Creativity, Technology, and Life

Ideas for Blog Topics

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A hook is the broad idea of your blog. It is like an elevator pitch. It is what you tell someone when they ask, “So, what’s your blog about?”

One blog I built finally gained a fair number of readers. It was because it had an interesting hook: baseball card collecting. The hook was, “I have hundreds of unopened baseball card packs from the past 25 years. I’ll open one pack a day.” The audience was tiny, but for the first time, I had regular readers. Finding your blog’s hook might be the most important decision you make.

Other important decisions include where you host your blog and the web address you choose for it. The host you choose affects your site’s reliability, speed, and features. The web address is often readers’ first impression of your site.

This article will provide ideas for choosing a hook for your blog. Then it will show you some hosting options to consider. Finally, it will give you some techniques for finding a proper web address.

Finding your hook

There are an infinite number of ideas out there. You must pick one and run with it. This section will help you pick an idea for your blog’s hook.

For your blog to be successful, it should stand out somehow from the 300 million blogs that are already online. Don’t copy or regurgitate. Give to the internet something that is unique to you. The only way to gain readers is to offer something that is not available anywhere else on the internet. Writing a blog is only worth your time if you have readers.

Before you do anything, you need a reason to do it. It’s not enough to start a blog to make money. Making money is not a reason—it is a result. It’s like saying, “I want to be a famous author.” But that ignores the fact that you must be an unknown writer before you can be a famous one. So, cross “making money” off your list of reasons for starting a blog. You need to think deeper.

Think about your blog’s topic. What kinds of people do you want to read your blog? What do you want to tell the world? What makes you want to wake up in the morning? It goes against intuition, but the narrower your idea is, the easier it will be to gain an audience. The journalist Herbert Bayard Swope once said, “I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.” If you fall into the trap of writing for everyone, no one will read your blog.

A niche is a specialized area of a broader topic. It is a subtopic that not everyone is interested in, but the audience can still be quite large. An example of a niche is “men who wear ties.” Not many women, children, or casually dressed men will visit your blog. You might think you wouldn’t get much traffic after alienating so many people, but the millions of people who still fit into the niche will be much more enthusiastic about finding the blog. And millions of people is not a tiny audience.

People find blogs by searching for specific keywords. If someone wants general information, they will go to one of the well-known big sites. It is when someone is looking for specific, niche information that they go to a search engine. Once on a search engine, they might find your blog even though they’ve never heard of it. Narrow down your blog topic as much as possible, and find your niche. A great hook always rests within a compelling niche.

You’re good at something. Perhaps you have the sweetest basketball layup anyone in your neighborhood has ever seen. Maybe you follow political news and have controversial views for the next election. Or perhaps you have a knack for finding the best deals in town. Everybody is awesome at something, but not everybody knows it.

Your job is to find out what you’re awesome at and write about it. You’re awesome at that one thing because you’re passionate about it. You’re so passionate about it that you’re willing to spend time on it to become excellent at it. If you’re having trouble finding your passion, just ask someone close to you what you do best. Another approach is to think about what you can talk about for hours. If you can talk about something, then you can write about it, too.

There are many different types of blogs. Once you choose a topic for your blog, you need to craft the hook. Later in this article, you will find some ideas for how you can twist your topic idea into a hook.

Idea #1: Teach your skills

You know a lot more than other people do about at least a few subjects. You have hobbies or jobs that most people don’t have. Share the information you know on your blog. People enjoy learning new skills.

For example, you can teach people how to live a self-sustaining lifestyle. If you know a lot about managing money, you can show people how to handle their personal finances. If your expertise is string theory, write a blog that simplifies it so even a beginner can learn.

Pick a topic you know a lot about. Think about some techniques you’ve discovered that might not be common knowledge. Give step-by-step instructions. This idea also lends itself well to creating online courses and YouTube videos.

Idea #2: Write about your journey

Set a big goal, and write about your journey towards achieving it. Turn your blog into a journal, and let people follow along on your mission. For example, do you take part in races like the Spartan Race and Tough Mudder? Start a blog about your goals and how you train for those races.

Idea #3: Teach the tools of your trade

What tools do you use most? They might be specific software like Evernote, physical tools like duct tape, or product lines like the Apple Watch. Write tips for using your favorite tools. Guide people, step by step, through performing certain tasks with the tools. Your blog can become daily reading for other individuals who have to use the tools every day.

Whatever your field, you can experiment with different techniques and software. Blog about what you discover. If you work in an office, what methods and software make you more productive? What didn’t work out for you?

Idea #4: Run an experiment

What are some unique experiments you can try for your blog? You might be in a unique situation where you can try something out. We’re not talking about lab experiments here. It doesn’t even have to be anything risky or dangerous. Switching to a vegan diet? Write a blog about your struggles. On a quest to eat at every restaurant in your town? Blog about that. Buying a new television? Write a blog about how you choose. Test different things. Tell your readers what works and what doesn’t.

Idea #5: Target a specific demographic

Jezebel is a popular blog for women. Kotaku is a blog for video game players. Target a particular demographic of people. To further narrow your focus, you should combine your chosen demographic with any topic. The advantage of this type of blog hook is that you know exactly who your intended audience is.

There are many kinds of demographics. You can target a physical trait like ethnic background, gender, or left-handedness. You can write for a particular occupation. There are also niche groups you can target like horse owners, cosplayers, or beach bums.

Idea #6: Write a book as a blog

A lot of books start out as blogs. The author of a popular blog might take several popular posts and compile them into a book to sell. What if you flipped that idea on its head? You could write a book and release it as a blog. Instead of publishing a fantasy novel as a book, you could release a chapter every week as a blog post. You can then polish the finished blog post book and publish it as a book. Your blog can be an ongoing story.

A twist on this idea is to think of your blog as a television drama. Post a new chapter or episode every week. End each season with a season finale to complete a book. Make sure every episode ends with a cliffhanger to keep readers waiting for the next blog post.

Idea #7: Write a reference guide book

Compile a reference guide as your blog. You can collect recipes to add to your cookbook blog over time. Maybe every month you can introduce a new chapter. One month you can write poultry recipes and the next month you can write soup recipes. This idea works for other types of reference material as well. You could compile a reference guide to the various types of zombies. Or all the different games produced by Nintendo. Every year or so, you can compile your posts into an e-book.

Finding a blog host

Once you have a hook for your blog, you need a host. The host is where your blog will live. It is a server computer at a data center somewhere in the world. Whenever someone loads your blog, their computer downloads it from the blog host.

There are many kinds of blog hosts. The easiest ones to set up are the free blog platforms like Tumblr or Blogger. Traditional hosts like GoDaddy or HostGator offer the most control but can be hard to set up. Managed WordPress hosting provides a good middle ground. They combine the ease of free blog platforms with some of the control of traditional hosts.

If you are blogging as a hobby, a free blog platform would be enough for you. No need to spend any of your hard-earned cash. All you have to do is choose a free blog platform, sign up, follow the directions, and be on your way. The biggest disadvantage of using a free blog platform is that you won’t have your own domain name. Many of them don’t let you add advertisements or use your blog for commercial purposes. Furthermore, free blog platforms don’t give you much control. They reserve the right to change or delete your account whenever they like. There is nothing you can do about it. If that scares you, you should consider a paid blog host.

If you are willing to spend some money, traditional hosts start at just a few dollars a month. You buy one of their hosting plans, and they will set up some space for you on one of their server computers. This option offers the most control. It is perfect for bloggers who want to add custom code to their blogs.

Managed WordPress hosting is the hybrid of free blog platforms and traditional web hosts. You still buy space on a server computer, but you can only use the space for WordPress. You can customize WordPress the way you want, but the host manages the installation. That way you don’t need to know any technical details outside of WordPress.

There are thousands of hosting options out there with no clear “best one.” To simplify things, I recommend the biggest, most popular options. Though I don’t mention them here, many smaller web hosts are worth your consideration. It all depends on your needs and how much you’re willing to pay, but you often get what you pay for.

Idea #8: Sign up for a free blog platform

While you do give up a lot of control by using a free blog platform, you gain the advantage of ease of setup. If you are a new blogger or don’t plan on blogging for money, this might be the best option for you.

WordPress offers a free blog hosting. It is a good choice to start with if you want to try WordPress before committing money to renting a host.

Tumblr is the most popular platform besides WordPress. Yahoo owns it and boasts over 300 million blogs. It is an excellent choice for casual bloggers because of its integration with social media.

Blogger seems to have fallen somewhat in popularity over the past decade. Since Google owns both Blogger and AdSense, you can put AdSense ads on your blog. The clean composition interface makes Blogger an excellent choice if you enjoy writing.

Idea #9: Find a free niche blog platform

There are also a few smaller blog platforms that cater to specific niches. I’ve provided a few options here. For more, you can try searching Google for “blogs for [niche].”

Penzu provides online diaries. You can keep both public and private diaries. They keep private diaries safe with double password protection and military-strength encryption.

Edublogs provides blogs tailored for students, teachers, and schools. The blogs run on WordPress but have themes, features, and plugins customized for education.

DeviantArt is a community for artists to share their art. It lets you share your visual artwork and interact with other artists in the community.

Idea #10: Blog on social media

In many ways, social media is the next iteration of blogging. You might not think of Facebook as a blog, but it can be. Social media sites like Facebook have taken over many of the functions of blogs.

Facebook offers a blogging feature called Facebook Notes. It works just like most other blogging software. You can create a note, add pictures, and format your text before publishing it publicly or only to your friends.

Twitter is a microblogging service that limits each post (or tweet) to 140 characters of text. You can also add pictures, videos, and polls to your update feed.

LinkedIn also allows users to write and publish business-oriented articles on their platform. All you have to do to start is log in and click the “Write an article” button.

Idea #11: Traditional hosting

If you want the most control over your blog, you should choose traditional hosting. This is how it works: you first buy a shared hosting plan that can cost as little as a few dollars per month. You will receive access to a control panel where you can configure your website. From there, you can add custom domain names, install WordPress, and manage your files. You can also do advanced things like web programming or install a secure shopping cart.

GoDaddy is one of the world’s largest hosting companies. They claim to have over 14 million customers. If you’re looking for the biggest most well-known hosting company, this is it.

Bluehost is one of the hosts officially endorsed by WordPress. It is known for its low prices and reliability.

HostGator is another popular low-priced host. The same parent company that owns Bluehost also owns HostGator. They offer a low-cost cloud hosting service that they tout as being much faster than other comparable hosts.

Idea #12: Managed WordPress hosting

If you’re planning on blogging professionally, managed WordPress hosting is your best option. It is more expensive than most of your other options, but you often get what you pay for. Since managed WordPress hosts are built specifically for WordPress, they are faster and more secure.

WPEngine is the most well-known managed WordPress host. Plans start at $25 per month for one WordPress installation.

FlyWheel uses its smaller size to its advantage, focusing on excellent customer service and human interaction. Managed WordPress plans start at $13 per month for one installation.

SiteGround offers one of the cheapest managed WordPress hosting options. It has a good balance of features starting at $4.99 per month.

Idea #13: Green hosting

You might sleep more comfortably at night knowing that your website is run by wind power or other environmentally friendly energy. A few sites now offer “green hosting.”

GreenGeeks claims to be “300% green” and powered by renewable energy. They do it by replacing three times the amount of energy your website uses with wind power credits.

Dreamhost is another one of the big players in the web hosting market. It is certified carbon neutral by various environmental groups.

FatCow powers all their offices and data centers with 100% wind energy.

Idea #14: Pay for a third-party blogging platform

Not all blog platforms are free. Some offer the same ease of use as free blog platforms like Tumblr, but with premium features. Paid third-party platforms are essentially the same as managed WordPress hosts, except that they don’t use WordPress.

Typepad is based on the Movable Type platform, which predates WordPress by a few years. Plans start at $8.95 per month, and there is a free trial.

SquareSpace emphasizes beautiful designs. Choose from a large collection of themes, and customize them through an easy-to-use interface. Plans start at $12 per month.

Posthaven offers simple, easy blogs that will last forever. They promise to keep your blog running for the long haul, perhaps even 100 years from now. They also promise to keep the price at $5 a month, forever.

Idea #15: Write for the community

You don’t even have to have a blog to earn a living blogging. You can write for someone else. You won’t have your own blog, but you can get payment and recognition for your work.

HubPages is like a big shared blog. If your articles get a lot of page views, they will share the advertisement revenue with you.

Anyone with a computer can make money online these days by freelancing. Fiverr and Upwork are two sites where you can find people to pay you to write blog posts. Freelancing jobs most often don’t give you public recognition, but you will get paid for them.

There are many websites that you can apply to write for. They will pay you if they use the articles you write. Dotdash and Digital Journal are a couple of the bigger sites, but with a little searching, you can find more.

If your goal isn’t to make money, but to share content and interact with readers, there are many websites that are powered by user content:

Medium is a social journalism site. Once published, articles can be upvoted by readers. The front page shows the most popular articles.

Quora is a question-and-answer site. You can ask questions, answer questions, or collaborate on editing the questions and answers.

Wattpad is a platform for sharing stories. You can read stories or create your own to share with the community. Each story is presented as an e-book, complete with a cover image.

Idea #16: “Blog” on the forums

Internet forums are one of the oldest ways to publish content on the web. They are like blogs in many respects. If you like interacting with other internet users, you might enjoy joining a forum more than you enjoy blogging. These online gathering places let you publish your thoughts to an existing audience. The advantage is that the platform already exists and eager readers are looking for new content. Users of forums are also much more likely to comment on posts because the primary focus of online forums is to facilitate discussion.

Before participating in an online forum, you should first read through previous posts. Every forum has a unique style, audience, and etiquette. Lurk behind the scenes for a few days without posting to get a feel for it. With your posts, try to adhere to the established style of the forum. Understand who the audience of each forum is and tailor your message to them.

Most forums cater to a specific niche audience. There are forums for almost any topic you can imagine. What topic are you most passionate about? Go to Google and search for “[topic] forum” (without quotes). For kicks, I searched for some forums on random topics:

There are also a few large general discussion websites that you’ve probably already heard of. Reddit is a popular news aggregation and discussion site. Google Groups lets you create and take part in forums, and also has the old Usenet archives incorporated into it. Facebook Groups is a newer platform for online discussion groups. Quora is a question and answer forum. Wikipedia has a list of more popular forums at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_forums.

Once you’ve established yourself on forums, answer other people’s questions. Provoke discussion with thoughtful posts. Be as helpful to others as you can. There is an unspoken rule of internet karma on the discussion boards. The more useful you are, the more others will try to help you when you ask questions.

If you are helpful to people, they will want to find out more about you. Be sure to include links to your personal blog or social media feeds in your forum signature. That way people who want to know more about you can find your website.

Finding a great domain name

A domain name is what someone types to visit your blog. It is often the first contact the visitor has with your site, so it is important that you make a good impression. A potential reader will judge your blog by its domain name before ever visiting it.

There are a few general rules for finding a good domain name. First, it should be easy to spell and easy to say. Imagine telling someone your blog address over the phone. People know blogger Nathalie Lussier as the Real Foods Witch. She got that name by accident. Years ago, she ran a blog called Raw Food Switch. The domain name she used was www.rawfoodswitch.com. As you can imagine, everyone read that as Raw Foods Witch, so Nathalie became known as a witch. She embraced her new name as a unique brand, but you might not be so lucky. Pay attention to the different ways someone can read a web address. Be aware of how it sounds when you say it aloud. Avoid any domain names that are confusing.

Choosing a domain name is a balancing act between the clarity of a long domain name and the potential confusion of a short one. All the short domains using real words sold out a long time ago. That’s why many of the shorter domains you see—like Digg.com, Flickr.com, and even Google.com—are misspelled versions of real words. They could have just as easily named their sites DigTheNews.com, FlickerPhotosOnline.com, and GoogolSearchEngine.com. Those names are clearer, but are almost unwieldy in length.

Domains that end in .com are the standard on the internet, so that should be your first choice. There is some debate over how important it is to get a .com domain name instead of something else like .net or .biz. I recommend looking for a .com first. Then, if the .com you want is not available, you can consider other domain extensions. Just be aware that, for most people, the inclination is to add .com behind every web address. If you choose a different extension, you might lose a lot of traffic to people accidentally visiting the .com version of your site. An infamous example is when the U.S. government set up the official website of the White House at whitehouse.gov, but did not buy the .com version. Somebody came along and set up a pornographic website mocking President Bill Clinton at whitehouse.com.

Good domain names have few letters, few words, and few syllables. The words should be memorable and have common words that go well together. Avoid adding filler words like “my” or “the” to your domain name. Be wary of putting numbers in your domain name because people may wonder whether to spell them out or not.

Make a list of 20-30 domain names to consider. Once you have a list, the next step is to see what names are available. Go to a domain name registrar like GoDaddy, Name.com, or Register.com. Go down your list, and search each one to see if it is available. You will find that many of your favorite domain names are no longer available, but with some luck, you will find a few that still are. Once you find one that you like and is available, go ahead and buy it.

Your registered domain also acts as a brand name. Give your blog a name corresponding to your domain name. Remember to register your blog name on every social media site you use.

There are also many tools on the internet that can help you find a good domain name. Dot-o-mator has an excellent tool for finding domain names. Most of the big domain name resellers also have useful search tools for finding the perfect name.

More on Finding a Great Domain Name

There are many nuances to be aware of when valuing a domain name. You can only tell if a domain name is a good or bad deal if you know how to evaluate them. In general, the length of the domain name is the biggest factor in its value. Shorter web addresses command higher prices. But I will argue that syllables are a better predictor of value. I’m not talking about the number of syllables in the domain name itself. I mean the number of syllables it takes you to tell someone what your web address is clearly.

When the owner of europe.net tells someone else about the web address, she says it is “Europe dot net.” It takes four syllables to say that.

When the owner of whyeye.org tells someone else about the web address, he says it is “why eye dot org, W-H-Y-E-Y-E dot org.” Twelve syllables. He can’t just leave it at “why eye dot org” because it’s not clear whether it’s spelled WhyEye.org, WhyI.org, YEye.org, YI.org, or WiEye.org. That ambiguity makes it a lousy domain name.

The value of your domain name generally depends on how many syllables you need to tell someone how to get there. Imagine telling your friend about your new web address. What do you need to say? How many syllables is it?

Here are some examples of recently sold domain names:

You will notice that any name that is unclear or has many spellings must be spelled out. It is important that your domain name has only one distinct way of spelling it.

There are other factors to consider. Domain name valuation is not as clear-cut as I made it seem to be. For example, why is the seven-syllable arabicmusic.com valued at $140,000, while the four-syllable cardfile.com is valued at only $300?

Other factors include the popularity of the subject, popularity of the TLD (top-level domain), whether the words have homophones, and special characters in the name. The subject of Arabic music is much more popular than the topic of card files. The .com TLD will command much higher values than other less common ones. Words that have the same sound but more than one spelling (homophones) also decrease the value of the domain name. Finally, any numbers or special characters like dashes also reduce the valuation.

Keeping these guidelines in mind, you can find some great bargains on domain name brokers like GoDaddy or Sedo. After I recent search, I found some great web addresses available for under $100: storemyfiles.com, wipefix.com, contentinform.com, and alphajokes.com. If you wanted to run a slimy male enhancement website, you could even buy goerect.com for $11! It’s not a business I would recommend, but it’s a great domain name.

Idea #17: Find a keyword domain name

Google gives special treatment to websites with domain names that match search terms. If someone searches for “pet food,” Google is more likely to show results where the words “pet” and “food” are in the web address. You can use this information to your advantage. Make a list of all the keywords associated with your topic. Check the availability of different combinations of those keywords in domain names.

Find a word in the dictionary that hasn’t been taken yet. All the short words are taken, but you might find an available word if it is a longer or more obscure word. You can also try different extensions other than .com. Some examples of dictionary word domain names include Amazon.com, Yahoo.com, and twitter.com.

Put two or three words together in different combinations to make compound words. Doing this makes it more likely that your domain name will be available. For example, you can combine the words “desk,” “author,” and “pen” in 12 different ways:

  • deskauthor.com
  • authordesk.com
  • pendesk.com
  • deskpen.com
  • authorpen.com
  • penauthor.com
  • deskauthorpen.com
  • authordeskpen.com
  • pendeskauthor.com
  • deskpenauthor.com
  • authorpendesk.com
  • penauthordesk.com

Add a trendy word to a keyword to create a memorable brand name. Some possibilities include the words zen, ninja, mastery, zip, and alpha. If your topic is parenting, you might consider the following domain names:

  • zenparents.com
  • zipdad.com
  • parentingninja.com
  • alphamom.com
  • parentingmastery.com
  • zenmom.com

Not all keywords are created equal. People search for some keywords thousands of times a day. Other keywords are not so popular. You can find the keywords using the free Google Keyword Tool. Or, if you have money to spend, you can try Keyword Tool or Long Tail Platinum.

Once you know which keywords work best for you, it’s time to find a domain name. A number of websites can help you find a good keyword-rich domain name. A free one that looks useful is Lean Domain Search.

Idea #18: Make up a portmanteau

A portmanteau is a blend of parts of words to create a new word. Wikipedia, Instagram, Microsoft, and Comcast are all portmanteau words.

Choose two words that are associated with your topic. Say those two words together as fast as you can, ten times. Then think about how you might shorten those two words into one word to make it easier to say. For example, you might decide to shorten “plumber directory” to “plumdirect.” PlumDirect.com is a much better domain name than PlumberDirectory.com.

Choose two or more words associated with your topic, but use only the first letter of one of the words. For example, “electronic tourist maps” can become etouristmaps.com.

Certain word endings always bring specific words to mind. When you see -opedia, you immediately think encyclopedia. When you see -osaur, you immediately think of dinosaurs. If there is a specific thought you want to invoke when someone sees your brand name, you can use this to your advantage. Want people to think of your chess blog as a definitive resource? Call it chessopedia.com. Want people to imagine a massive lumbering dinosaur when they visit your sriracha sauce fan blog? Call it srirachasaurus.com.

Idea #19: Make up a nonsense word

Pretty much every dictionary word is taken in the .com space. Because of that, companies have been exploring the next frontier of finding nonsense words. When making a nonsense word domain, just keep in mind that it needs to be easy to spell, as few syllables as possible, and easy to remember. The perfect example is Bing.com. Other examples include Diply, Zillow, and Etsy.

Think of a word associated with your topic and change one letter. RubberDuck.com may be taken, but you can always try WubberDuck.com.

Can you think of a nonsense word or sound that you enjoy saying? See if the domain names are available. Zazoosh! BamPow! Ratatatatat!

Change the ending of a topic keyword to make it sound cute or clever. Aviator.com becomes Aviaturr.com. Magazines.com becomes Magazinely.com.

Idea #20: Come up with an initialism

The internet has become ubiquitous with over a billion websites spanning the global reaches of the web. That means nearly every pronounceable short domain name has been taken. Most of the ones that remain are unpronounceable strings of consonants or too long to be memorable. What do you do if you are looking for a short, robust and memorable domain name? Try initialism.

Initialisms are abbreviations consisting of first letters. International Business Machines becomes IBM. Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes KFC. Bayerische Motoren Werke becomes BMW. Every combination of three- and four-letter .com domains is now taken. You might still be able to find a good five-letter .com domain since there are 11,881,376 possible combinations.

If your blog’s name has five or more words, it is an excellent candidate for an initialism. Simply take the first letter of each word and string them together.

You don’t actually need five or more words in your blog’s name to make an initialism out of it. Just look at Internet Movie Database (IMDb). It only has three words, but they used two letters to represent the word database. America Online does the same with AOL. You can get away with this if your name has compound words. Now your Antidisestablishmentarianism Political Society blog can have a nice, short domain name: adeps.com.

You can also work backward. The military is fond of this technique of naming things. Find an available domain name, then choose words to fit the initialism. For example, I noticed abidg.com is available. How can I use that domain for my dog-grooming blog? Maybe I should call my blog Another Big Idea Dog Grooming?

The advantage of initialisms is that they are short, easy to remember and represent your brand as vigorously as the full name. You need to put in work in marketing the shortened brand name to give it exposure and make it recognizable. It should get to a point where no one even remembers what the initial name was. For instance, it is easy to forget that “laser” means “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.”

In the end, what matters most is not so much the name you pick as how well you build it up as a brand that people recognize and love.

Idea #21: Play with your words

Google is a made-up word that is based on another word. The word “googol” means a one followed by a hundred zeroes. It is an intentional misspelling of an obscure word. When you’re coming up with a domain name, you can also play with your topic keywords to come up with some clever misspellings.

Think of a word related to your blog topic, and come up with a nonsense spelling of the word. For example, Reddit is a play on the phrase “read it,” as in, “I read it on Reddit.”

Misspell your topic word so that it’s still pronounced the same. For example, the popular image-sharing community Imgur is a misspelling of “imager.”

Sometimes when you put two words together, they can be read in more than one way. Petsmart.com is one example. Is it “Pets Mart” or “Pet Smart”? It actually doesn’t matter. Either way, the name invokes ideas that are consistent with the brand.

Idea #22: Use an existing name

One of the easiest ways to find a name for your blog is to use an existing name. The advantage of using an existing name is that it is already known and has some connotations associated with it.

Use your own name. This is especially easy if you have a relatively unique name. Hello, my name is Steve Alvest. I registered SteveAlvest.com, but Alvest.com was taken.

Use a famous person’s name. Some names have brand power associated with them. Buddha. Caesar. Elvis. Those names all bring certain personalities to mind. For example, when you hear someone mention Hemingway, you probably think of the writer Ernest Hemingway. HemingwayApp.com is an editing app.

Places also have brand power. Taj Mahal. Sahara. New York. When you think of those places, images come to mind. Amazon.com is named after the Amazon River to suggest the massive scale of the store.

Idea #23: Add to the domain name

If the domain name you want is taken, sometimes you can tweak it a little to find a version that is available.

You can add prefixes or suffixes like -blog or -site. Engadget.com added the en- prefix. Friendster.com added the -ster suffix. You can also add an article like the- (theoatmeal.com) or a- (alistapart.com). Sometimes, it makes sense to make a word plural, like W3Schools.com. Other times, it might be appropriate to add a superlative like best- or fastest-, like BestBuy.com. If you get creative, you can also find words to attach to your name like -mastery, -guy, -girl, -method, -system, -information, smart-, or -hacking.

In April 2012, Matt Mazur of LeanDomainSearch analyzed a list of domain names to find the 5,000 most frequently used domain name prefixes and suffixes. The top 50 prefixes and top 50 suffixes are listed below.

Idea #24: Buy an alternative TLD

A TLD is a “top level domain.” They are the extensions at the end of your domain names, like .com, .net, or .org. There are now hundreds to choose from. Search Wikipedia for “list of top-level internet domains” to find a constantly updated list of TLDs.

Every country in the world is assigned a TLD. They are controlled by the individual countries, so some of them can be hard to acquire. Domain Hacks has a tool that helps you find clever uses of country TLDs. For example, www.coach.me is a habit-building site that uses the country extension for Montenegro in its domain name.

Label your name with one of the newer TLDs like .blog, .app, or .club. If your blog is called “Jim’s Woodworking Blog,” you might be able to get jims.woodworking.blog as your domain name.

Use lesser-known extensions to get short domain names. One advantage of having so many TLDs is that you can once again find short domain names. All .com domain names with four or fewer letters are already taken, but you can still find them if you choose a different TLD. For example, after a quick search on GoDaddy, I found kaz.uk available for $6.99.

Idea #25: Buy a domain name from a reseller

If you have some extra money to spend and can’t find a good domain name, it may be easier just to go out and buy one. An industry has sprung up around buying domain names and reselling them at higher prices. You will find that some of the resold domain names are still quite affordable.

Some places where you can buy domain names from resellers include Flippa, GoDaddy, Sedo, and Odys. The prices of resold domain names vary according to demand. They can range from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.