Podcast Episode 10: Naming Books, Brands and Businesses

• Louise has always had a love for words and stories, language and sound, and her career has grown from that.
• Louise had a business branding background and when she moved to Australia from Canada, she needed a way to differentiate herself. She chose naming as her niche – it is something she had been doing for decades for some of the world’s best-known brands.
• A good name is insurance for your brand.
• Her first paying client was a pedorthist business in London, formerly called the TBG Group, and after Louise found their new name, Sole Science, their revenue increased by 130% in 18 months.
• Sometimes niches find us. She discovered what she does makes a really big difference to good people doing work that matters.
• Be willing to do the hard work doing the emotional labour of writing a book as it deepens our expertise even more, so we can be of even more service.
• When planning your book, gather expert knowledge about the people in your niche. Louise wanted her book to be a Rolex, not a Timex.
• Louise decided to write her first book, ‘Namefluence’, as a ‘nearling’ (a practice run & learning ground). Having a definite launch date at a literary festival gave her the impetus to finish, knowing it wasn’t perfect, but the world would let her know what it needed.
• Her second book, ‘Word Glue’, was launched in July 2019. It was the winner of the Gold Medal in the Axiom Business Book Awards in 2020.
• Louise created her own publishing company, Brandfluence, and self-published with help from local talent and businesses to produce her book – it is important to her to know where her money is going. Every step with her brand is high integrity. It’s a local, kind and generous project.
• Her book, ‘Word Glue’, has been endorsed by some big names like Seth Godin. He is the one that came up with the title after reading those two words in something Louise wrote while doing one of his courses.
• Louise was a business book reviewer in Canada and had a real sense of what books she felt worked, and what she wanted her own book to be. Her book cover echoes the traditional design of a composition (essay) book – which fits because it is a workbook that helps people compose their brand name.
• In terms of design, think about what you want your book to remind people of when they pick it up. This will help you and your designer to develop impressive packaging, i.e. all design elements together that create the look and feel.
• When naming your book, keep all ideas together because ideas beget ideas. Louise uses a mindmap on a chalkboard on her wall. Collect the elements of your book together there and words will pop out.
• Your brand name or book title must break through in 2 seconds. It has to grab attention..
• Your tagline offers a promise, a result.
• Your book should be remarkable, as in ‘worthy of remark’. You want people talking about your book to others.
• Louise does not care about book sales – she cares about the credibility that comes from having a gold medal book and being positioned as a naming expert. That allows her to have the important conversations with clients she loves to serve.
• The journey of getting your book finished can be very confronting. Her advice: ‘The person who is willing to tame the dragon gets the gold.’

Links & More Information