Do You Use A Pen Name?
I get a lot of questions about pen names from readers and it came up quite a few times at NAMS as well. Looking through the blog, I realized it’s something I never really talked about and figured it’s about time to write a post about using pen names. A pen name is a name you invent to use when writing blogs, submitting articles and even publishing books. And yes, I use several different pen names across some of my niches. There are a couple of good reasons for it.
Since I started teaching more and more about affiliate and internet marketing, I want to separate “Susanne Myers – Affiliate Marketer” from the person that creates the niches websites. Part of the reason is that people start to look at and copy my sites. I don’t mind this for the most part, but it’s nice to have some things separate as well and allows me to do more accurate tests to see what marketing and traffic methods are working.
The much bigger reason for using pen names though is “user experience” for my readers. Let me explain…
Because I market my niche sites quite a bit, I end up with articles, guest blog posts and social media posts spread all across the web. My readers realize this and I end up with quite a few searches for my name. It’s important for me not to confuse my readers by having things about affiliate marketing appear along side articles about potty training or meal planning for example. That’s why I use a different pen name for each set of related niches. That means that I’m using the same name for several of my food and recipe related niches, but a different pen name for health and fitness related sites. In the end it makes for a better user experience and my readers find what they are looking for when they google each name.
P.S. How about you? Do you use a pen name? What’s your experience with it been? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic.
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Susanne,
I love and am fascinated by pen names. I have a few, for practical reasons, like yours: so my local writing clients don’t get tangled up in my comments or blog posts on spinach recipes or soccer moms or the like.
Also, when I use a pen name for soccer articles, I avoid embarrassing my children and can speak more openly about coaches, colleges, etc. without jeopardizing scholarships.
Advice from experience: be uber careful when posting articles to use the correct psuedonym, and be aware of which gmail account you are logged in to, at all times!
Yes, I use a pen name. I have used the name Grandma Marilyn since 2000. I use this for my crafting and recipe blogs. I have been using my real name for my PLR and affiliate blogs though.
I used a nom de plume (pen name) to write two articles back in 2006. I quickly decided at that time that it was best for me to use my real name for everything I would write online.
Now I see the value of writing under a pen name for my niche sites. Thanks for sharing this information, Susanne.
Connie Ragen Green
AKA Cydney Greene, and many more!
I use pen names for different niches – I find the more involved I’ve become with local clients, the more I enjoy writing as someone else about non-”work” related topics. :-)
However, I haven’t done much with social media under my pen names. How do you handle Fan Pages, etc… for your various niche sites?
Great article!
My question is similar to the one above. If you use a pen name on a website, what do you do about putting up a photo of your face and/or videos where you want to talk on camera about something?
Should you use your own face and hope no one notices? Buy a stock photo and avoid videos?
Thanks in advance for your (or anyone else’s) advice!
Anita,
thanks so much for the additional tips and yes, protecting your kid’s privacy is another perk of using a pen name.
As far as pictures go, I usually use one of myself that doesn’t look too much like me (i.e. wearing a hat etc.). You can also buy stock photos and yes, I would generally avoid doing videos.
I use pen names mainly on small niche sites that are all about the site. I don’t do a lot of social media and no video or audio. I rely mainly on SEO for traffic and build a relationship with my readers through website comments and my email lists.
Marilyn, I do the same thing. I use my real name here at ATC.
Connie, love the pen name :)
It can get a bit confusing, which just one of many reasons why I recommend someone new to this business stick with one niche – it can be broad and you can own several different websites in it, but build a presence in that one niche first before you move on to pen names and the likes.
If you’re a little nervous about “putting yourself out there” for the first time with a niche site, go ahead and invent a pen name for it. That way you don’t have to worry about family and friends finding your online stuff until you’re ready to tell them about it.
Trish,
I set up a different gmail account and different facebook and twitter accounts for each Pen Person.
Thanks Susanne! Very helpful advice!!!
You are very welcome :)
Susanne, (if that is your real name) lol :)
I do the same thing. I have different pen names for my niche sites. I think this is important because it helps keep the copycats away and since you do have an online marketing blog you could be an easy target if someone found all your niche sites.
There is actually one site that I started with a pen name that I would love to switch over to my real name now. When I started it I thought it was going to be a small niche site but now I am turning it into a larger authority site. But, if I switch names now that would just be weird so I will just continue to play along with the pen name.