Should you use your real name in a blog?

So whatever name you go with, how will others know if it is real or not??? Duh.

If you're proud of the content, use your real name.

It's a great insurance policy, too.

If you're not proud of the content, what are you doing hitting "Publish"?

Definately use your own name and start branding yourself as an authority or at least a person who is more and more recoginizable in IM.
I admit I do have 2 situations where I have another name and persona ( a female in the health and fitness niche) Other then that I want people to know who I am.
P.S. Most of those names you mentioned are those persons actual names and a couple are very well known in Internet Marketing

I use my own name. gives the website a personal touch.

But if your blog is about something that you don't want your name associated too, like adult sites, gambling etc then use an alias.

If you want trust and engagement to your blog, use your real name.

I always use my own name. If you're building a long term, reputable brand you definitely should. You would want your name and your brand to be almost synonymous.

- Matt G.

This is a question I come across from time to time when speaking with a new author.

My advise is go with what's comfortable to you as already pointed out the vast majority won't know its a pen name anyway.

There are one or two practical things I would look. Firstly google yourself and see what comes up.

Is there anything unsavoury about yourself that might put people off?

Is there someone with the same name as you involved in unsavory activities that you could be mistaken for?

Is there someone in the same niche or market with the same name that you could be confused for?

Do the same checks with your proposed pen name.

Check what social media accounts and domains are available with your name and pen name choice.

If you can get a pen name with a free .com social media profiles and no negative google feedback that's a positive in my eyes.

Finally you might want to consider just changing your surname, this stops awkward moments in public if you are recognised but don't respond as someone is shouting out a different name to what you are used to.

Eric (or is it?)

I use my real name on my blog. Don't use your real name if:

- someone's stalking you
- you're running from the feds
- you're a spammer
- your info sucks
- you just want people to find you on Google

If you're trying to build a brand, and a life-long business... consider using your real name. If you want to remain anonymous, to keep family and friends out of your business... consider using a pen name.

It doesn't really matter.

Seriously.

In fact, in certain niches, you NEED a pen name.

It's common practice.

What's important is you BUILD A SOLID BRAND.

Without a brand, an awesome name is worthless.

How do you build a solid brand?

Offer SOLID VALUE

Always use your name with everything you do.

You are the brand no matter what you do.

When people google you... all the things you do online will come up.

So let people get to know you, like you and trust you.

Tiff

As a small town newspaper publisher I rarely give myself a 'byline' for content I contribute. However, in more than one blog site I operate I have opted to use my real name. This is why: I think if I am going to link my blog posts to say, my personal website, it just makes sense that there is a sense of credibility.

I don't see it as anything to do with ego at all. As has been posted here already, if you are proud of the content, post your name. Using a pen name may be reason for some to wonder what you are hiding if your identity is not consistent between blog(s), websites and social media links.

I think that the best thing would be to go with your real name. This is something that I decided to do a long time ago and I think that it was the best thing that I could have done for my online career.

You see the way that I see it is that people can find out your real name if they really wanted to and when they do I just think that it may look bad on your part. Another good reason is that when you use your real name people will begin to trust your more.

When they do find out that you have been lying about who you are all of the time then they will begin to trust you less and this is something that can hurt your business.

If you want to do business and be in it for the long term then I think that you should just go with you real name there is no harm in using it.

Peace

Tre

P.S That is my real name lol

How about considering the consequences of NOT using your real name.

Will you be able to juggle multiple usernames and logins at various social sites? And will you want to?
Are you knowledgeable about how taxes play a role here? (think personal name, company name, and DBAs)

In order to engagement to your blog, try your best to use your ture name .

I use my personal name in my tech blog and its helps people to know more about me and also more about my work.

Use your Real Name.!!! Dont even give it a second thought. Think of it as attraction marketing or rather personal branding. Add rather attract people to my real name than to a stage name. Its going to be effective for your own personal growth and your business!

Always brand YOU!

I think you must use your real name on your blog and the name which represents you and your thoughts will create a mixture of great content and show your personality. It will represent you. I have seen many blogger who use their real names in their author bio's.

So I suggest you to use your real name.

Real name. Every time.

I use my personal name on my blog. I want to be able to market myself, create the brand of me!

Heres an experiment. Which paragraph is better?

Or


OK let's try some real world examples:

Is 1984 any less of a masterpiece because it was authored by Eroic Arthur Blair?

Is Spiderman less of an icon because he was invented by Stanley Martin Lieber?

Is Eldrick Tont Woods a bad golfer?


The man sometimes called Eric

If u like your name. Use your real name.

Yes.

Cheers. - Big Frank

You should most definitely use your own name. Great branding plus being a real person with a LinkedIn page, Facebook, etc instills trust and ads legitimacy to what you're sharing with your readers.

The only reason I can think you wouldn't use your real name would be due to the fact your content is poor, or you are promoting something that is shady, and something you do not want to be associated with.

Using your real name in a blog is an excellent idea, you can make a brand out of it! However, there are some exceptions: if your name is unusually long or hard to pronounce or an unfortunate name derived from a waste water sewage that people hate then better use a pen name, something that suits your niche.

Why to hide your real name, you should be proud of your work.

If you want to brand yourself then use your real name.

Don't call me Shirley.

I think the focus point of most of the discussion isn't the thing we should be focused on. I'll try to shed my own light (perspective) on the matter:

First things first:

Like "BigFrank" (let's call her by her real name, Julia) has pointed out time and time again: Your audience won't know whether you use your real name or a pen name, Unless of course you're being an idiot about and leaving huge clues (not covering up your WHOIS, or signing off a post with the wrong name for example).

So let's toss that argument out of the window for now.

What remains are what I think would be the real reasons to using a pen name.

Firstly, brand-ability. Many people here said to build a personal brand, and I completely agree. But, does that personal brand really have to be you? The answer would have to be no, because your readers can't tell if it's your real name.

If your name is something that would be incredibly hard to remember or to even pronounce, you might want to opt for something that's more memorable.

Second, to answer Julia's question (near the beginning of this thread):

Q: Who would know whether you're using a pen name or your own?
A: That would be people that already know you, and yourself.

If you're in a "shady" niche that you don't want the people around you to find out about, by all means go ahead and use a pen name. Because your friends might Google your (and everyone else's names) just to see what they can find. You might not want them to find what kind of business you have, for various reasons.

Lastly, let me ask you this:

If a bear shits in the woods and nobody sees it, does said bear still shit in the woods?
If you kill a man and nobody finds out, did you still kill him?

Obviously, Yes.

The question above might seem kinda... ridiculous, but bear with me for a second (yes, pun definitely intended). For me the reason I use my real name on my blog is my personal choice. Personally I'm not ok with using another name / pretending I'm somebody I'm not. It goes against my principles to do so.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't get away with it. Let's say I didn't use my real name here or on my blog, people would still have their trust in me and they wouldn't ever be able to figure it out. (given that I would cover my tracks). So I guess I'll give you a bonus question:

Can you PROVE that I'm really using my real name here? Heck I might even be Frank / Julia / whatever my real name is.

I think I'll leave it with the point that whether or not to use your real name comes down to your own integrity and brandability. And perhaps to how nosy your friends and relatives are.

Cheers. - Frank

You don't have to use your real name I'm sure the pricks will pass more laws to force us to but right now we can get away without doing that i have niches (and thousands others) where we publish on Amazon with pen names and have corresponding blogs with fake pen names I'm 100% sure this will be a crime once the freedom haters get around to it and ban that as well but for now my legal people say we can do it and I know tons of people are doing it. 99.99% of people here have never make money so when they say you have to use your name think twice, there is a reason why singers and actors don't use their real names why are they forcing you to use yours?

I don't use my name. I just use the following format:

_____________

Love,

(My Signature)

_____________

I have mentioned my real name within the 'About Me' section though.

This stuff is great! Where is the "Like" button...

-DATruk

Wow, gone from the forum for a week and come back to discover so many cool things...

Suzanne has weird tastes in men...I knew I liked her for some reason.

Big Frank has a warped sense of humor...wait a minute, that's not new.