Hey, Warrior, Do You Suffer From Multiple Personality?

12 replies
The question is really addressed to those warriors who target multiple niches. In this case:
  • You use your real name (or just the same 'fake' name) in all of the niches.
  • Your niche sites/blogs/newsletters are impersonal.
  • you suffer from multiple 'niche personality'.

I'm a total newbie to this IM world, although I've been reading quite a lot in the past few weeks, and I'm interested in knowing the best approach to this "problem".
#hey #multiple #multiple personality #niches #personality #suffer #warrior
  • Profile picture of the author davidmcsweeney
    I use my real name in niches which I feel I am a genuine expert (SEO/internet marketing being one of them!).

    For other niches I have several 'pen names' which I use, but the key thing is I have a strong, consistent editorial voice for each of them (i.e. how they write, their opinions etc) and they are all set up with their own social media profiles etc, so I can easily jump into character when required.
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  • Profile picture of the author Demetrius
    I usually use my pen names for whatever niche I work on. Also, I am looking forward to create a site with multiple niche and the domain should be my name. That will be the only one site which will have my real name.
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  • Profile picture of the author brutecky
    Im a little confused about what exactly your question is given that you made 3 statements but asked no question.
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    • Profile picture of the author janocolorado
      Originally Posted by brutecky View Post

      Im a little confused about what exactly your question is given that you made 3 statements but asked no question.

      Hi brutecky! Thanks for replying. My question is, basically, how to approach a multi-niche future. I feel that sites/blogs with someone's face in front of the content are "more trustful" in the eyes of many customers, so I question myself how do other warriors approach this: with the same name (real of fake) or with multiple personalities.
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      • Profile picture of the author DireStraits
        Originally Posted by janocolorado View Post

        My question is, basically, how to approach a multi-niche future.
        Pound for pound, I think pen-names are a good idea unless you have reasons compelling enough to be yourself, like you're a well-established expert in a given field planning to exploit your social/brand capital. But surely the odds of that being true in more than one niche are slim, and you'd have to question whether there's enough offline-online transferrable value there to warrant sacrificing the many benefits of a pen-name.

        The great thing about them is they're easily detachable when you sell up. Buyers will pay more when there's less danger of customers upping anchor and steaming off over a change of hands. They needn't even know provided that everything else remains constant (thinking along the lines of communicational standards and professional integrity, etc).

        Some oddballs, can you believe, actually choose to serve niches under their own names and wind up "licensing" them to buyers when selling up, along with a non-competition agreement. It's almost as baffling that people buy them. A reputation defined by uncontrollable third parties? Erm... might just pass on that, thanks!

        Originally Posted by janocolorado View Post

        I feel that sites/blogs with someone's face in front of the content are "more trustful" in the eyes of many customers
        I would agree with you. But obviously you've still got your work cut out to foster a positive identity founded on trust and professionalism. That doesn't happen magically just from slapping up a photo.

        Benefits of the personable approach are quite evident as you climb the ladder towards promoting higher ticket items, when trust becomes even more crucial to the sales process.

        The flip-side? If you screw up your whole brand goes kaput and might be beyond salvaging.

        "Faceless" businesses large and small often have the paradoxical benefit of saving face when things get awry. You can't scrutinise that which you don't see. It's so easy to pass the buck, paper over cracks and, with a little shake of the PR stick, assure one and all that reforms will prevent the recurrence of past mistakes... even if they won't.

        A one-man brand wagon generally has no such recourse. You trip up, you take the fall. And you keep falling, because not only were you the problem, you're also the sole irreplaceable element of the business. Nobody's infallible but a lot of problems reflect badly on a person's character, and in the end, old habits die hard.

        So it's a heavy responsibility, brand personification. Good and bad. It cuts both ways. Rewarding, yes; but also quite risky. Then again, I'm a glutton for punishment.
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  • Profile picture of the author JRJWrites
    I use one pen name in all niches, although I do use different writing styles for a few different niches.
    For example, I use a professional tone in IM-related articles, and more of a down-to-earth, friendly tone for non-IM articles.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by janocolorado View Post

      My question is, basically, how to approach a multi-niche future.
      I do the same as most successful affiliates with multiple non-IM, non-MMO niches, I think: I use a different pen-name for each niche, and I use it throughout the niche: on my own site, in my articles, on other sites, in forums, for correspondence with other people, in my autoresponder email series, and so on.

      I would advise you to ignore anyone suggesting that you'll have more "credibility" if you use your own name. This "reasoning" completely misses the point that all those interacting with you, in each niche, won't know that you're using the pen-name. The reality is that it's no more difficult to brand a pen-name than your own name.

      Originally Posted by jrjohn View Post

      I use one pen name in all niches
      I've always made a point of avoiding that (in fact wanting to avoid that was my primary motivation for using pen-names in the first place). It can detract a lot from your credibility if your potential customers in the deep sea fishing niche notice that you're also an "expert" in the cauliflower soup niche and the decorating kids' bedroom ceilings niche. It makes you come across to them as "just another marketer" rather than "the expert enthusiast" on the one specific subject in which those people are themselves so interested.

      I see that this may be slightly different for people involved in multiple "IM-niches" where - overall - they're teaching people "how to do internet marketing", but I stay well away from those niches, myself. This forum and a couple of others where I very occasionally post, and my personal blogs, are the only places where I use my own name online (and with hindsight I'm actually very sorry I did that, even here.)
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Dinero
    I use other different names in other niches, for IM stuff I just use my name
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinChapman
    I have businesses in two different niches, I use my real name for both.

    As long as you are being honest I don't see any reason to use your real name, you can be an expert in more than one niche.

    All my websites have a personal feel but that's just the way I work.
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  • Profile picture of the author janocolorado
    Thanks to everyone!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Since I've spent years writing on the business world using my own name, I continue to do so. When my first novel comes out next year, it will be under a variant of my real name.

      Outside of that, I follow the one name per niche practice, with each having their own voice. But since each of those voices is a facet of my own personality, working with multiples isn't really all that difficult.
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