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Using several Website Personalities for different fields?

chris338
Posts: 12
Joined: 11 Oct 07
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Using several Website Personalities for different fields?

I have an idea to do a few review sites that trace my experience in different areas. I want to blog and post articles about what I'm learning as I go. After a few months, I can zip up all of the info into an eBook and then sell that. My question is whether or not I should use my real name and pictures. I've heard it said that you can't use your real name for anything more than 1 subject. You won't have credibility if you start showing up on the web as an expert in different fields. So if I create the different personalities, how do you keep track of them?

For instance, is Mark Ling really Mark Ling? Is that your real picture? What about the PPC classroom guys? What do you advise about a heavy content SEO site? For instance, Steve Pavlina - is that a real guy? Do you know who I'm talking about? I'm not trying to be deceitful, it's just I know I can't do an expert blog on real estate, then do another one on dog training.

I'm rambling a bit, but I guess the core question is should I use my real face or not?

Thanks,
Chris
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aletta
Posts: 3392
Joined: 09 Jul 06
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I'm not Mark, but here's my two cents.

It depends on whether you want to be forever known as "that real estate guy", or "that dog training guy". Bear in mind that stuff on the internet has a habit of sticking around for a looooong time. Some people will use their real names and real details because they're building a brand around themselves. They want to be known as experts in their field, and they want that to be part of their identity for the rest of their lives. (Or perhaps longer!)

Other times you're just making a site to see how something works. Or you might not want people being able to find out stuff about you by Googling your name. Or you want to promote different products. Or you don't really know that much about your topic and you don't want to look like a dork :) In those cases I would use a pen name.

I know that Mark uses pen names sometimes, and Mark's writers use pen names sometimes. As for photos... people often respond just as well to cartoon characters. Or you can use stock photography (so long as it isn't obviously stock photography).

I don't think there's anything particularly dishonest about using a pen name. You need to protect your own privacy a bit, unless you want to be a celebrity.

For the record, Mark is certainly Mark, or at least he has been for the past six years since I met him :) And I'm most certainly Aletta, although my last name isn't really "is so cool". But most people would figure that out :)
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horksi
Posts: 10
Joined: 24 Mar 09
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Hi Aletta,

If I own the authorship for different ebooks for different niche, is it better to use different pen names for each niche or 1 pen name for all the niches if i want to sell those ebooks in different websites I own?
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sonitin
Posts: 152
Joined: 26 Apr 07
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Hi Aletta,

If you can help on this.
How do you get a name to put on sites. For example all the rocket languages product have a person's name on sales letter. Was that the person you hired for product creation and went into an agreement with to use their name and picture?
Are they one of your regular staff? Or was it just an agreement to use that person's name and picture? How do you manage that?

Any explanations will be a great help.

Thanks
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