Sometimes a pseudonym is a great personal branding move, but times can change.
Here’s the question I was recently asked by a blogger who has used a pen name since launching her blog. She asked me to keep her identity hidden so I’ll call her Ms. Smart (that’s right- a pseudonym for a pen name):
“I started my blog because I kept getting the same questions from people who knew me to be an expert on a certain topic, and instead of repeating myself all the time, I could just send people to my posts which had the extra advantage of benefiting other people online.
Due to my perceived sensitivity of the topic, I adopted the name “Ms. Smart” but lately I’ve gotten tired of the anonymity. Plus, a lawyer friend quipped that even my blog’s lame disclaimer protects me from liability.
“Ms. Smart” recently had a request for an interview by a well-known industry publication, and we got a good laugh when I revealed myself to the interview requester as someone he had once tried to recruit. He was even more impressed, but still insisted I interview as “Ms. Smart” because he thought the obvious pseudonym added an engaging level of intrigue.
Now I’m left wondering:
- Does the pseudonym-generated intrigue or mystery really help, especially in the long-term?
- Does the anonymity help (or not) in using my blog to make money?
- Does the anonymity help or hurt my personal brand? The interview request made me realize how much of a personal promotional tool the blog really can be. However, my day job is as an executive in a completely unrelated industry.
What do you think?”
I’ve blogged a few times about names:
Barack Hussein Obama Junior: The Best Personal Brand Name Ever?
The Most Unexploited Tool in Personal Branding: Your Name
A pseudonym is smart if:
1) It will make you more memorable
Mystery can help if you build a perception of being an industry whistle-blower who’s taking a big risk bringing your tips and information public, and that needs to be immediately clear for new visitors to your site.
‘Ms. Smart’ brands you positively, and everything you do should reinforce that personal brand.
On the other hand, the extra maintenance of a pseudonym usually isn’t worth it, and it can get confusing when sooner or later you’re exposed.
Having people know who you really are also makes it easier to contact and do business with you, so for practical purposes, the pseudonym doesn’t help in the money-making game.
2) You need to hide who you really are
Since you’re no longer worried about liability issues, the only reason to hide who you are is if the website persona may clash with your current role as an executive.
Put differently, attracting attention to your true self via the website may lead to confusion when people dig deeper and see that your job has nothing to do with the expertise shared on the site.
That’s unlikely though; readers who do dig that far are more likely to be impressed that you have so much expertise in the website’s topic AND so much so in another, unrelated domain that you’re now an executive (although people may wonder why you don’t just work in the website’s industry, which may lead to opportunities down the road).
So prolonging the anonymity hurts your personal branding over the long-term.
If you like the Ms. Smart name, go for the best of both worlds- keep using it but don’t hide behind it, removing the need to plan for what happens whenever you’re exposed. Clearly explain on your about page: “Ms. Smart is …” and then detail what you’ve achieved, aiming to build up the legitimate right to call yourself that.
Otherwise, keep things simple and drop it. It does seem like you’re realizing that you’ve had enough with the name, and it might be holding back your growth as opposed to helping it.
Author:
Jacob Share, a job search expert, is the creator of JobMob, one of the biggest blogs in the world about finding jobs. Follow him on Twitter for job search tips and humor.
