Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick
Ebook
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Overview
One of Inc. Magazine’s “Top 10 Marketing Books": The “must-read” guide to naming products and businesses, updated with new stories and resources (Nir Eyal, author of Indistractable).
Too many new companies and products have names that look like the results of a drunken Scrabble game (Xobni, Svbtle, Doostang). In this entertaining and engaging book, ace naming consultant Alexandra Watkins explains how anyone—even noncreative types—can create memorable and effective brand names. No degree in linguistics required.
Watkins lays out in detail the elements of names that suit your target market and make people stop in their tracks and smile—and those that just make them scratch their heads and keep walking. In witty prose and with numerous examples, she reveals how entrepreneurs and businesses can come up with brand names that are evocative and memorable while also leaving room for long-term growth and larger possibilities, and avoid those that leave potential customers cold and are quickly forgotten.
This extensively revised second edition has double the number of brainstorming tools and techniques, even more secrets and strategies to nab an available domain name, a brand-new chapter on how companies are using creative names around the office to add personality to everything from cafeterias to conference rooms, and new stories (of both hits and flops). Named a “Top 10 Branding Book" by Branding Journal, Hello, My Name is Awesome is the ultimate guide to naming your product or business.
“Jam-packed with sound advice." — Publishers Weekly
"You are nuts to name your company or product without consulting this book first." —Dan Heath, coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers Made to Stick, Switch, and Decisive
“Your brand is in a relentless fight for attention. This must-read book shows you how to prepare for battle and win with the strongest name possible.” —Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable
“Reading the tips in this book can help anyone avoid the pitfalls.” —Tony Hsieh, New York Times–bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO, Zappos.com, Inc.
“Insightful, irreverent, and eminently practical, Watkins’s Hello, My Name Is Awesome should be required reading for anyone naming a brand.” —S. Christian Wheeler, Professor of Marketing, Stanford Graduate School of Business
“This awesome piece of writing is worth bottling, shaking, and stirring into your brand-name strategy either online or offline. . . . This is a brilliant book that I couldn’t put down." —Jeff Bullas, blogger, strategist, speaker, Forbes Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer, #1 Content Marketing Influencer, #1 Global Business Blog
“Fantastic book! Funny, down-to-earth, and practical, it’s chock-full of solid branding principles and huge ‘ahas’ cleverly delivered with humor and fun. A classic example of blending wit and wisdom to make a message stick. Well done!” —Tim Gard, CSP, CPAE, Hall of Fame Speaker
“Your company or product probably needs all the help it can get. Watkins helped me name my firm, and I’m constantly told what a great name it is. Don’t pick a name until you’ve read Watkins’s book—you’ll want to have a name that you love forever!” —Charlene Li, founder of Altimeter Group, New York Times bestselling author of Open Leadership, and coauthor of Groundswell
“A fascinating examination of why some brand names are forgettable and others are abominable. This is the best guide ever to the art of great naming and should be required reading for all startup CEOs who ‘have a great idea’ for their company name!” —Jay Baer, founder of Convince & Convert and coauthor of Talk Triggers
“I was skeptical about a how-to book on naming products and brands. Alexandra Watkins convinced me otherwise. Her book is a fun read with lots of practical advice.” —Patricia Roller, angel investor and former Co-CEO, Frog Design
“The type of hands-on practical wisdom rarely found (but desperately needed) in the academic community.” —Michael Webber, former Dean, School of Management, University of San Francisco
“We’ve got a terrible name. No one can spell it. No one can pronounce it. Don’t make the same mistake we made. Read this book and let Alexandra Watkins guide you away from the ‘we thought we were being clever with our name, but now we just look silly’ syndrome.” —Matt Ruby, founder and CEO, Vooza
“This is the perfect book for kick-starting entrepreneurs, brand managers, and practicing creatives.” —Pat Hanlon, founder and CEO, Thinktopia, and author of Primal Branding
- Title: Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick
- Author: Alexandra Watkins
- Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 169
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781523084890, 9781523099986, 1523099984, 1523084898
- Resource ID: LLS:9781523084890
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2026-04-08T12:31:36Z
Alexandra Watkins, founder of naming firm Eat My Words, is a recognized expert on brand names with buzz. She is frequently quoted in the press and been featured in leading business publications including The Wall Street Journal, Inc., and Entrepreneur. Alexandra is a popular speaker at MBA programs and has been a guest presenter multiple times at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, San Francisco State, USF School of Management, and their alumni association. Prior to Eat My Words, Alexandra was an advertising copywriter, working at leading ad agencies up and down the West Coast, including five years at Ogilvy and Mather, where she helped launch Microsoft Windows and learned the language of Geek Speak. In the mid-nineties she jumped on the dot-com gravy train, and rode it until it crashed in her SOMA backyard. Alexandra took the money and ran, spending a year in Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Fiji. Upon her return, she discovered her passion for naming things and soon after started Eat My Words.