BloggingPro logo

  • Blogging Jobs
  • Post a Job
  • Contact
  • WordPress Tips
  • Books for Bloggers
  • Services
  • RSS Blog Feed
  • RSS Blogging Jobs Feed
  • BloggingPro Starter Kit
    • The Secret Sauce to Freelance Writing on the Side
    • Swipe This! How to Create a Killer Copywriting Arsenal Using the Competition
    • How To Massively Grow Your Blog (In As Little As 30 Days)

When to Use a Blogging Pen Name

5/13/2010 by Andrew G. Rosen 6 Comments

For years I wrestled with how to credit myself as a blog author. I was conflicted as to whether I should use my real name or a pseudonym. Somewhere along the line, I reached what I considered a happy medium; I used different variations of my name for different blogs. The thinking being that if someone was searching for me, like an employer or ex-girlfriend, all of my work would not appear off the bat. It takes some digging and piecing together to track down my full body of work, some of which, could be considered NSFW. That worked for me several years ago. These days, as my personal goals have shifted, I find myself working hard to bring all of my content under one tent. Here are the pros/cons of using a nom de plume for blogging.

PROS

Name changer.
We spend our entire lives being called something that someone else chose for us. Even if a woman gets married, she has no control over her new surname. A pen name gives you a change to get creative and give yourself a name that matches your personality. How many tough guys named Frances do you know? Overnight you can take on a persona and become man’s man Spike McCall or southern sensation Dusty Rivers. Cooler than the generic John Smith, no?

For the masses. It’s not right, but people form opinions based on name alone. Judgement can be passed if a name is associated with a specific gender, religion or class status. Neutralize your name by picking something that is generic and not attached to any specific group. You also have a chance to break out of the “generic” name pack. If you are a John Smith (or an Andrew Rosen), a new name can help you rank better in search engines – or at least stand out from the pack.

Protection. What if your boss finds out you’ve been blogging nasty things about him? Or what if your mom sees that you told the world she dried out last night’s steak dinner? Avoid offending people by concealing your identity.

CONS

Findability and Credibility. We live in a world where people are constantly stealing content. Things have gotten so bad that even Twitter will be looking to have bloggers pay to verify their accounts. In essence, you are your own brand. So if you are hoping to embark on a career path that involves you selling YOU, it becomes exponentially more difficult when you are juggling several pen names. It also scatters your work across search engine results, forcing people do some leg work to connect the dots.

Linked Forever. I once considered writing under the alias Werdna Nesor (my name backwards). Upon further thought, I realized that this might seem clever at 1am on a Tuesday morning, but do I really want to be attached to such silliness down the road? Since you never know when your content will sprout wings and fly, make sure you choose a pen name you are comfortable living with – forever.

Do you blog under your real name or a pen name?

Author: Andrew G. Rosen

After working for FOX News and MTV Networks, Andrew G. Rosen founded Jobacle.com, a career advice and employment news blog. He is also the author of The Exit Guide: How to Leave a Job the Right Way.

Filed Under: Blogging Sense, Blogging Tips Tagged With: anonymous, blogging, pen name, pseudonym, writer

Looking for flexible blogging and writing jobs?

Comments

  1. Ross Joyner says

    5/13/2010 at 8:53 pm

    I have always found using a pen name to be useless, simply because there is always a way to track you back to your real name. Secondly as you point out when you use different pen names you spread out your link juice to what you are doing 🙂 Thanks for the article I found it interesting and will be posting on my blog at http://www.rossjoyner.com

    Reply
    • dave says

      7/26/2010 at 1:22 am

      it depends completely upon the individual and the circumstances. Hate your family? Family hate you? That’s a reason to change your name to your writing pseudonym/pen name.. or maybe you’ve recently undergone some sort of profound personality change, one that has placed you in a “new life” where your old connections have little meaning. This is a reason, too.

      People with fairly unique names need not apply.. just us John Smith’s out there.

      Reply
  2. Toni Schaberick says

    5/16/2010 at 2:43 pm

    We asked this questions also when we first launched LinkMommy.com in September of 2009. Meanwhile recognized as one of the most innovative and unique online advertising and marketing platforms ever created, we decided to write and post all articles on our website at
    http://www.linkmommy.com/Blog

    Regards,

    Toni Schaberick
    Co-Founder/Co-Owner
    LinkMommy.com
    Venice, Florida
    USA

    Reply
  3. Lito|TheFilipinoEntrepreneur.Com says

    9/21/2010 at 2:21 pm

    I thought it is not necessary to use pen names on your blog on my earlier blogging days but I find it useful for protecting my blog from unscrupulous individuals who knows my real identity.

    Reply
  4. Undecided Author says

    5/5/2015 at 5:18 pm

    I’m still undecided on the matter. If I weren’t writing about my family as much I wouldn’t be so concerned. I have seen other Mama blogs give their children nicknames, as have I, but what’s the point if you expose your first and last name? I’d feel a little more inclined to share a photo under a pen name, which seems to be what help with traffic. You can describe an activity all day long, but smiling faces working on it help sell the idea. So thank you for this post, it gave me some new points to consider.

    Reply
  5. wartrol doesn&t work says

    7/24/2015 at 9:25 am

    Wartrol even can serve elements of the body that can’t be
    reached for utility of topical creams. Wartrol shouldn’t be
    tough to absorb by placing a couple of drops underneath the tongue at least 20 minutes before you decide to drink or eat.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you're human *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Work for Bloggers

  • Writing Jobs
  • Online Content Jobs
  • Editing Jobs
  • Blogger Jobs
  • Publishing Jobs
  • Copywriting Jobs
  • Telecommuting and flexible jobs at Flexjobs

Recent Jobs

  • Features Editor: Gaming Content

    • Remote
    • Screen Rant
    • Contract
    • Freelance
    • Full Time
    • Part Time
  • Content Strategist, The Balance

    • Remote
    • Dotdash
    • Contract
    • Freelance
  • Writer with inside sales experience (Salesforce writer)

    • Anywhere
    • bloggerboy
    • Freelance

Blogging & Writing Work

  • Writing Jobs
  • Online Content Jobs
  • Editing Jobs
  • Blogger Jobs
  • Publishing Jobs
  • Telecommuting and flexible jobs at Flexjobs

DISCLAIMER

A few things we'd like to share with you

BloggingPro © 2021 Splashpress Media