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Business website poll revisited
Mar. 8th, 2006 09:59 am(1) I am not going to be registering anything.ca.
Most of my clients are American, and that will likely continue to be the case, as they pay better rates in a currency that is more valuable than the Canadian dollar. And, there really aren't any Canadian markets anyway, other than the newspapers, which always pay worse than magazines. And, I can easily see an American market choosing not to employ me because they assume I don't have American citizenship and it would thus be a hassle to pay me.
(2) A lot of people suggested that myname.com is tacky or unimaginative. The idea had never really occurred to me, and I have no idea how common this attitude is. Keep in mind that my name is my brand name, as an author. Being an author is very much about self-aggrandizement and self-promotion. This isn't about being classy, it's about doing what is sensible business-wise. EDIT No really, as a professional in my field, I know what I'm saying here. myname.com may or may not be tacky/unimaginative; I'm not debating that point. But even when people in this field incorporate, they continue to be known for their name and not their company name. It's all about the byline. It's all about getting your name on the article. No one publishes an article as written by a company name. If I were primarily doing marketing and corporate writing, it would be a different story, but I'm not.
(3) One person suggested that myname.com would get people who have used me before, but not people who are just looking for "a science writer." The truth, however, is that the markets that can afford my services will rarely if ever search the web for "a science writer." I will go to THEM and pitch a story, at which point they will google my name to see what they can find out about me. OR, they will realize they've seen my name on a few articles they've read, and google it. But, this may still be a factor. There may be business out there of which I am not aware that I could get from having a descriptive domain. It's hard to tell... I'm actually emailing a bunch of people with obvious website names and asking them, to see if I can get some "data."
[Poll #687026]
Most of my clients are American, and that will likely continue to be the case, as they pay better rates in a currency that is more valuable than the Canadian dollar. And, there really aren't any Canadian markets anyway, other than the newspapers, which always pay worse than magazines. And, I can easily see an American market choosing not to employ me because they assume I don't have American citizenship and it would thus be a hassle to pay me.
(2) A lot of people suggested that myname.com is tacky or unimaginative. The idea had never really occurred to me, and I have no idea how common this attitude is. Keep in mind that my name is my brand name, as an author. Being an author is very much about self-aggrandizement and self-promotion. This isn't about being classy, it's about doing what is sensible business-wise. EDIT No really, as a professional in my field, I know what I'm saying here. myname.com may or may not be tacky/unimaginative; I'm not debating that point. But even when people in this field incorporate, they continue to be known for their name and not their company name. It's all about the byline. It's all about getting your name on the article. No one publishes an article as written by a company name. If I were primarily doing marketing and corporate writing, it would be a different story, but I'm not.
(3) One person suggested that myname.com would get people who have used me before, but not people who are just looking for "a science writer." The truth, however, is that the markets that can afford my services will rarely if ever search the web for "a science writer." I will go to THEM and pitch a story, at which point they will google my name to see what they can find out about me. OR, they will realize they've seen my name on a few articles they've read, and google it. But, this may still be a factor. There may be business out there of which I am not aware that I could get from having a descriptive domain. It's hard to tell... I'm actually emailing a bunch of people with obvious website names and asking them, to see if I can get some "data."
[Poll #687026]
