Pen Names

It really depends.

If you want to brand yourself and become an authority, then stick with one name. If you want to become 'famous', use your own name.

I think the reason most people choose to use pen names is that while *most* customers they get are decent -- you will always get that one ("idiot") who bugs you non stop because he/she now knows your "real" name, and feels it is a 1-1 relationship. So I believe for most people who use pennames, it simply gives them a sense of security.

Also, it is a way of protecting yourself competitively. If you had 500 articles, all under your own name -- other people might "check" out what you were doing, figuring there must be money it it since you were willing to spend that much time.

I'd give some consideration to how you want to market to each of the niches.

Are you going to be 'detached' from the niche and be simplying providing a product or service that stands on it's own or are you going to be looking to create a 'personality' by which anything you sell / advise / recommend has weight based on how your niche views the person behind the offer?

For example, i have a couple of niches under a different pen name in each that create sales based on the character I am to that niche. (Which answers your question about having a pen name too :rolleyes:. I don't think there is anything wrong with it so long as you don't claim anything untrue such as being Mr. Ben Dover, decorated War Hero and inventor of the Fluff Free Belly Button Lint remover.) Being that 'person' isn't that hard or devious - if anything it helps to save confusion between some niches that share buyers.

I do tend to create a personna per niche purely because i don't want to leave an easily veiwable trail of all my activities to those in the know - some of the niches I am in turn a very nice $$ profit with little effort required. Should others with the skill join the niche, I'll have to work a lot harder, which I don't really want!

You just have to pick up on simple things to get right - using the right email address to send responses from, who to sign off an email from etc etc! you also need to consider things such as the trading name on your Paypal account for example - if it's a business name then that's normally okay but if it is your name, that can be a touch confusing to some!

End of the day Liam - I believe it's what YOU feel most comfortable with. I hear what you say about feeling a tad (love that word, thought I was the only one who still used it! :rolleyes deceptive but are you really being? Just using a different name to author something and 'trade' under is not really that deceptive, IMHO.

Choose what you feel best with and go for it!

I use/will start using a pen name permanently as my "business name" if you want. Because I want to brand a name/person and not a company (at least at first) its much easier for people to remember an actual english name and one that is "catchy", my real name is a b***h to remember

I wont use pen names for every niche I go on or stuff, I will use the business name for my primary 1-2 niches and for the rest I will just be "providing a product".

Yes, absolutely -- if you're going to use a pen name in a niche, then use that same name for ALL activities in that niche.

Think of it like this...

If you do NOT use the same name in the same niche, then you're actually being deceptive. Because then it looks like you have Liam Hamer recommending "Joe Blow" (the pen name). You'll look like a sock puppet. And if someone puts the two together, your credibility goes out the window, because it looks like you're developing multiple identities to promote your sites and products.

So choose a pen name, or use your real name. But whatever you choose, just make sure to only use ONE name in any given niche.

Cheers,
Becky