So you’ve started a blog. You’re brand new to the blogging world and you need to establish an online blog identity. Where do you begin? One of the things you start with is your blog’s title. The title of your blog will be the first thing readers see, so it is very important. With all the title possibilities available, how do you decide? Here are a few tips to consider when deciding on a title.

1. Make it short - you want a title that is short, catchy and memorable. Try to keep out words like "and" and "with". A snappy 2 or 3 letter title with carefully chosen words will be the most memorable to your readers.

2. Avoid fancy punctuation in your title such as curly brackets { } around words, dashes — between words, or Asterisks * before and after a title. I’ve seen all three of these punctuation marks being used by bloggers in the years of reading rubber stamping blogs. While not "wrong", there are advantages for those who avoid them in their titles. If you begin your blog title with a mark of punctuation, some directories will put your blog at the bottom of an alphabetical list in query results. Some directories or blog rolls will not read the punctuation mark as the punctuation mark you intend it to be but instead will display code in front of your title that will cause problems for search engines.

3. In the case of rubber stamping bloggers, try to include some keywords in your title such as "paper", "ink", "rubber stamping". But remember to make your title intriguing enough for someone to click on and want to view. Some examples of great blog names are (these are taken!): "Paper Trufflez", "Paper Expressions", "My Rubber Room", "Blissful Creativity", "Thinking Inking", and "Inky Art".

4. Check to see if your name has been claimed as a domain name. If the blog title you want to use is being used by someone as a domain name, you may want to choose another. Once you think of a name you like that is not already claimed as a domain name, go to http://www.godaddy.com to purchase your name. If someone purchases your name before you do, then you won’t be able to purchase it for yourself.

5. Don’t use your Username as your blog title and URL. For example, when you sign up for a blog, you will be asked for a URL name such as http://www.yournamehere.blogspot.com. If your username is betty456 and your blog title is "Stamping Dreams", you want to use http://www.stampingdreams.blogspot.com not http://www.betty456.blogspot.com. Make sure you do this when you sign up for your blog because it can’t be changed after the fact.

6. When you have a custom blog banner created for your blog make sure you decide on the "permanent" title BEFORE you order. You will not be able to easily change your title after your banner has already been created. If you change your name, you will most likely need to order another banner to fix it.

7. If you can’t decide on a title, ask your friends for their opinions!

Choosing a name for your blog is a fun thing to do and need not be frustrating. Be creative and keep the above suggestions in mind and start blogging!

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