To Re-Brand or Not – That Is The Question

As time goes on, I wonder if ‘Compleat Thought’ is the right name for this site. Things have changed from trying to start a business to this just being a lazy blog. While I have several ideas for names, I just can’t decide if I’ve already successfully branded this name, or if I should move to something more, uh, ‘relative’.

‘Compleat’ comes from Isaac Walton’s book, ‘The Compleat Angler’ – one of the first books written about fly-fishing in the 1600′s. I contemplated started from a small blog to becoming a small agency, but things have turned, and I realize I may be better served by going for a direct industry job rather than doing it on my own. This does make me a little sad, as I thought I had a niche, but that niche is becoming more and more internal jobs or PR companies already handling large accounts. While they may not do it as I would, I still feel I could be valuable to a company wanting to reach new levels of online marketing success.

So, I open this up to you! Do you think I’ve got a good brand? Should I re-brand and hope it succeeds? Do you have suggestions on new avenues to make this site a success?

I’ve posted a new poll on the right sidebar – please comment on this post or vote. I appreciate all my readers and value your opinion.

Tags: angler, blog, Brand, Compleat Thought, Fly-Fishing, name, niche, opinion, poll, vote

FlySwinger

Kyle,

Take what you will from what I have to say. These aren’t words coming from a successful fly-fishing businessman but from a guy who works primarily in another unrelated industry and hopes to someday break in.

I don’t know that there is anything wrong with the name you have chosen for this site. Regardless of whatever name you choose to work or blog under, it is important for you to define what that name means. The content you provide will help do that.

Right now, I am wondering exactly what Compleat Thought is about. I sense that it is connected to fly fishing, though I’m not sure exactly how. Compleat Though could be a broad-ranging site that covers the entire industry, or it might focus specifically on how fly-fishing companies use social media to increase revenue. Through the content you choose to post on this site, you could convince me either way, and I wouldn’t question you. If Compleat Thought isn’t meant to meet a need specific to the fly-fishing industry, however, then you might very well consider a different name that speaks to that other market.

What you want is for your visitors or customers to think that you have a solution to a particular problem. For example, if a person wants timely tidbits of information related to fishing, they might think of Moldy Chum. If they want information specific to carp fishing, they might think of RoughFisher. Maps, FlyFishMap. Steelheading, Steel. Some of these sites are broad in their scope, and some deal with a specific topic, but they all appear to have chosen to fill a particular niche and do a reasonable job of sticking to ideas that fall only within that niche. If you’re having trouble deciding what Compleat Thought is all about, then you might need to decide what your niche is.

Here’s to hoping you figure things out.

Tight lines.
http://happyhourmary.com Mary

Kyle, you are one of the authentic fishing voices in Denver!! dont’ forget that and I don’t even care about fishing except that my husband is obsessed with it.
http://www.compleatthought.com kyleindenver

Ehren – thanks for the comment. ‘Compleat’ comes from Isaac Walton’s book – ‘The Compleat Angler’. I thought it may be a unique name for a business, but after reading your thoughts, I agree, it’s a broad spectrum, so I thank you for your input. I want to combine the world of fly-fishing and social media (or simply online marketing). Thanks again.

Kyle
http://www.compleatthought.com kyleindenver

Thanks Mary – I appreciate your reply. It turns out I mainly blog about fly-fishing, but I should change that more to comment on more social media or online marketing in the industry. Thanks again.

Kyle
http://spottedkoi.com Matt Bernier

I tend to agree with the original author of that letter. It seems to me like the idea of compleat thought makes more sense with the information on each page about “why” it is named as such, but it still leaves me curious.

I wonder if keeping compleatthought.com as a personal fly-fishing blog and creating a more “niched-out” site specific to what you do so well for the fly-fishing industry would boost awareness of you as well as create a differently-professional persona for you as well.

I would love to hear what you decide to do.
http://www.flyfishaddiction.blogspot.com Troutdawg

I like Fly Fish Addiction II? How does that sound :O Good luck with the name change, it’s never easy and though I like Compleat Thought, it’s never easy to find that perfect Fishing Blog/Biz name

TD
http://www.flyfishmap.com FlyFishMap

Personally I like the name and to me it does work as a name for a fly fishing consultancy. But maybe the layout of the site confuses visitors. It is currently wholly a blog but you sound like you want it to be a small business type site. I think the key here is that when someone comes to the site, they need to immediately see an about us section, what we do, services, clients, case studies, contact info etc. But at the moment, they just see blog posts. I would split this content out more. Your blog readers can still go directly to the blog but new visitors will be able to get a grasp of what you can do immediately.