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Pen names/web anonymity

by Thurston
4 replies
Hi all - new here. First, this seems like an amazing forum. I love the spirit of helping others out, without feeling like that's a threat to your own livelihood (it shouldn't be anytime, but it is treated that way in so many other industries).

So, since I'm new, I don't have much to offer yet, but I'm hoping to be more on that side of the equation as things move on.

Right now, as I'm just getting around to launching a blog or 2, I wanted some advice on pen names. I took an online blogging/e-writing course where they highly recommended not using them, but I really value my privacy, and want to basically remain anonymous if I can. I understand that some might have a reaction to that along the lines of "this is the wrong business for you, then", but I really like to write, and think I could do well with blogging, PLR sales, website creation/flipping et al.

First, I'd be curious for general feedback on what anyone thinks about using them, and any disadvantages to using them.

More specifically, I am wondering how that affects getting paid, through places like PayPal. Can they set up something for the pen name under my authorization, or do I have to do something legally to make that happen?

Any thoughts on this would be hugely appreciated....
#anonymity #names or web #pen
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    You just have to be careful you don't appear two faced by cross posting with yourself, or using your anonymity to hide a lack of ethics. People sometimes don't trust people who are anonymous.
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  • Profile picture of the author Courage
    It depends on how large you are planning on growing your blog etc. if you're just writing articles or blogging to promote products then i don't think it really matters (i have 5 different pen names on EZA).

    On the other hand if you want to interact with your readers and grow a huge blog etc. then you should probably use your real name. This also applies if you want to build yourself as a brand.

    An example is stevepavlina.com (one of the biggest personal development bloggers - writes under his real name)

    On the other hand there's Maki from doshdosh.com (of of the top IM blogs - writes under an "anime" pen name)

    Also take a look at eban pagan / david deangelo of doubleyourdating.com, using a pen name hasn't seemed to affect his success

    At the end of the day it all depends on

    - your personal preference
    - how large you are planning to grow your profile
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  • Profile picture of the author Katharin
    Originally Posted by Thurston View Post

    I wanted some advice on pen names. I took an online blogging/e-writing course where they highly recommended not using them, but I really value my privacy, and want to basically remain anonymous if I can.
    Good question about paypal and I hope someone will be able to answer it for you. I haven't used a pen name, but I've always knows that I may sometime and I already know what it will be. If you're not comfortable using your real name, then I'd say a pen name is fine. *Only* if everything is ethical, though, like someone else said.
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