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How to Stand Out Online with a Common Name

<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;collegecareerlife&period;net&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2011&sol;06&sol;name-tag&period;jpg"><img class&equals;"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3523" title&equals;"name tag" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;collegecareerlife&period;net&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2011&sol;06&sol;name-tag-300x199&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"199" &sol;><&sol;a>It was Shakespeare who wrote <em>&&num;8220&semi;What&&num;8217&semi;s in a name&quest; That which we call a rose&comma; by any other name would smell as sweet&&num;8221&semi;&semi;<&sol;em> but perhaps the great bard failed to foresee a future in which the uniqueness of your name determined if you stood out in a crowded space or just blended into the vast ocean of anonymity&period; Today&comma; with the sheer numbers of people who are online&comma; it would take a unique name to stand out on search engine lists&period; But then&comma; it’s not just your name that determines who you are&comma; as anyone who has achieved fame &lpar;or notoriety&rpar; on the web will tell you&semi; it’s also what you do and how well you do it that get you noticed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There’s no such thing as bad publicity as any PR person would tell you – if you have it&comma; flaunt it even if it’s not your most positive asset&semi; all you need to do is get tongues wagging for people to remember you&period; Just look at all the scandals that travel like lightning through the Internet grapevine – they’re the fastest and most definite ways to make the news&period; However&comma; if you’re looking to make a name for yourself on a positive note&comma; then you have to work on achieving this through a different angle&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It’s not easy to stand out in a crowded place like the Internet unless you’re already a celebrity or well-established with your own domain name&period; If you’re a late starter&comma; here are a few tips to help you stand out online even though you share your name with a million others&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li><strong>Piggyback on controversy&colon; <&sol;strong>You don’t have to create controversy&comma; but you can learn how to use it to your advantage&period; For example&comma; if the net is all agog with a scandal&comma; use this news to boost your blog or social network profile&period; Don’t just say the same things that others are saying&semi; instead&comma; find a new angle to work on and focus on making your copy as interesting and unique as possible&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Provide information&colon; <&sol;strong>Everybody loves freebies&comma; so if you can use your online space to promote deals and bargains&comma; provide relevant and timely information&comma; and generally give people something in return &lpar;tangible or intangible&rpar; for visiting your site&comma; you could make a name for yourself in the online world&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Keep it fresh&colon;<&sol;strong> And finally&comma; no one likes stale content&comma; so keep your online space as fresh as possible with regular updates that are both interesting and entertaining&period; The success of this strategy depends to a large extent on the niche your blog is in and in how knowledgeable you are in the subject&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>Admittedly&comma; it’s a pretty uphill task to make a mark for yourself among the millions of people online&comma; especially if you’re burdened &lpar;or blessed&rpar; with a name that’s as common as a weed in a garden&semi; however&comma; with just a little planning and application&comma; you can ensure that your voice is heard even above the regular online din&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>This guest post is contributed by <strong>Evelyn Dugan<&sol;strong>&comma; who writes on the site earn a degree online&period; Contact Evelyn at her email id&colon; evelyn&period;dugan83&lbrack;at&rsqb;gmail&lbrack;&period;&rsqb;com&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Andrea: