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We closed the domain naming thread (click for details).

Instead, let's start with a killer "elevator pitch!" Joel will be blogging about the elevator pitch approach to naming, but to get you started:

The Elevator Pitch

This isn't as easy as it sounds. Imagine the user who will never read your FAQ and you have two seconds to grab their attention. It should be catchy but descriptive. It should be thoroughly clear but painfully concise. Make every... word... count.

Here are some creative examples:

  • Gawker: Daily Manhattan media news and gossip. Reporting live from the center of the universe.
  • Gizmodo: The gadget guide. So much in love with shiny new toys, it’s unnatural.
  • Autoblog: We obsessively cover the auto industry.
  • DumbLittleMan: So what do we do here? Well, it’s simple. 15 to 20 times per week we provide tips that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane.
  • Needcoffee.com: We are the Internet equivalent of a triple espresso with whipped cream. Mmmm…whipped cream.

Use it as a Tagline

A shorter elevator pitch can be used as a tagline — something you can display in the header at the top of the page. If it doesn't fit, consider shortening it or creating a separate tagline. Here are some great examples:

The Motto (don't forget your logo)

A logo begs for it own little, short tagline — like a motto. Maybe the tagline inspires the logo; Maybe it's the other way around. Mottos make good t-shirt, bumper stickers, and other marketing material. Either way, you'll recognize a good motto when you see it:

  • Just do it.
  • Think Different.
  • The Uncola.
  • Intel inside.
  • Like a rock.
  • The king of beers.

…and perhaps all this leads to a proper name and domain for your site… eventually. So let's start from the basics. Come up with a killer elevator pitch, tagline, and/or motto!

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    Why are we doing this when the name that we had picked for ourselves has been universally acknowledged as the only one that actually works? It feels like your trying to force us through hoops for no reason here.
    – sarge_smith
    Oct 9, 2010 at 3:19
  • What sarge smith said. +1.
    – daniel
    Oct 9, 2010 at 18:32
  • You guys are generating a TON of bad blood with this move.
    – Daniel Bingham
    Oct 10, 2010 at 2:32
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    @daniel 1. so are they, and 2. we are still participating in doing it, we just feel that they should understand it is under protest. We all want these sites to succeed, i know I've already spent hour upon hour on generating content and having content generated for me. I shudder to think how much time hobodave and aaronut have spent on here. It't their site, but with out us it's just an empty shell and I feel we are allowed to register our displeasure in a civil manner. (using the tools provided for that purpose, i might add)
    – sarge_smith
    Oct 10, 2010 at 4:06
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    @sarge: I'm pretty certain Daniel was referring to Robert, not you and I.
    – daniel
    Oct 10, 2010 at 21:28
  • @daniel then my apologies sir.
    – sarge_smith
    Oct 11, 2010 at 19:18
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    @sarge_smith Yeah, I was talking about Robert and the SE team.
    – Daniel Bingham
    Oct 12, 2010 at 0:24

3 Answers 3

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Note: I'm writing this as though we actually have a properly-branded site and not a cheap "cooking" subdomain. I think it's pretty lame that the team couldn't even compromise as far as giving us a named subdomain. Anyway...

Taglines:

  • Seasoned Advice: Whipping up something delicious.
  • Seasoned Advice: Perfect meals every time.
  • Seasoned Advice: Making your cookbooks come alive.
  • Seasoned Advice: What the chefs don't want you to know.
  • Seasoned Advice: Get the most out of your kitchen.
  • Seasoned Advice: The Secret Ingredient.
  • Seasoned Advice: You'll never need take-out again.
  • Seasoned Advice: Om nom nom nom (that one's a joke)

Mottoes:

  • Cooking themes actually work great with single-word mottoes:
    • Delicious
    • Scrumptious
    • Sumptuous
    • Delectable
    • Mouth-watering
  • Seconds, please!
  • The Community Cookbook
  • The Secret Ingredient (same as tagline)
  • Master your Kitchen

Elevator Pitch:

  • Everything you can't find in a cookbook. Seasoned advice from culinary experts.

Or, a little more vanilla and less markety:

  • We help you hone your kitchen skills and make delicious meals.
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    Let me echo your note here: I'm commenting as if we had a properly-branded site. Love your first "elevator pitch". The "Everything you can't find in a cookbook" would be great as a tagline too. It highlights that we're not another recipe exchange site.
    – Erik P.
    Oct 9, 2010 at 14:15
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    Echoing Erik (in all respects), I quite like the Everything you can't find in a cookbook. By the same token, I don't like The Community Cookbook or any of the others that imply recipe exchange. What the chefs don't want you to know is also very good.
    – daniel
    Oct 9, 2010 at 18:36
  • @roux: I don't necessarily think that a cookbook is just about recipes. But I did expect that it might come across that way, and if regulars here see it like that then I'm sure newbies won't be able to tell the difference, so it's probably not the best choice then.
    – Aaronut
    Oct 10, 2010 at 3:11
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    I agree with @roux, I think any reference to cookbook implies recipes. While that is not the only thing you find in a good cookbook, recipes are the primary attribute of almost all cookbooks.
    – yossarian
    Oct 10, 2010 at 13:00
  • My only concern with what the chefs don't want you to know is whether or not it will imply that this site is only for amateurs, not professionals. I like Everything you can't find in a cookbook.
    – justkt
    Oct 12, 2010 at 19:01
  • That's true @justkt. That one is a play on the slogans used in so many mass-marketed books, i.e. health books telling you "What the doctors don't want you to know." I suppose you could interpret it as having an anti-professional bent; but then again, roux liked that one. I'm trying to imagine how I'd react to a site that claimed it was "what the engineers don't want you to know." I'm obviously biased now, but I think I'd be amused or at least curious rather than insulted or repelled.
    – Aaronut
    Oct 12, 2010 at 20:01
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Everything you ever wanted to know about cooking.

option, add: but forgot to ask

option, add: (until now)...

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I'm pretty certain the community here--or, at least, those of us who participate in these discussions--are dead set against this weird hybrid domain redirection thing. Thus the thread shouldn't have been closed.

But, since our opinions don't matter we have no choice:

seasonedadvice.com: how to cook everything seasonedadvice.com: fix your kitchen

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    +1 for the domain name comment. -1 because I don't like your tag line. I guess I'm not voting.
    – yossarian
    Oct 9, 2010 at 3:08
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    I rather like fix your kitchen
    – justkt
    Oct 12, 2010 at 19:03

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