A recent experience of mine taught me a valuable lesson that I’d like to share.  I visit at least 50 domains a day during my average 10 hour work day, maybe more.  Many of these are to sites that help me build and grow my Internet business. How many of them do I remember at the end of the day? Not may at all and I guess that’s why we have bookmarks. But I have a habit of dumping stuff in my bookmarks that I make a mental note to come back to. The reality is, it gets lost amid my hundreds of  other bookmarks and I am very unlikely to remember to go back to it EVER!

So recently I was browsing and came across a domain called www.whopopsyourpopcorn.com.  Because  of the context of the link , I knew it was an IM site and it sounded fun. How many Internet Marketing sites are fun? The domain said to me, this is somebody with imagination and energy.  I  clicked through with a certain amount of anticipation.

Turns out the domain is for a show hosted by mother and daughter team , Shahar and Nashlah, social networking advisers who hold advanced degrees in business, ecommerce and consumer psychology. Not your typical suited up, over polished presenters, just a couple of regular women who know what they are talking about.

Here’s what they say about  their choice of domain name - whopopsyourpopcorn.com

Back in the day when microwaves were not an option to make popcorn, one would get some kernels and put them in a pan. After some minutes, the corn would start to pop. At first there would be a pop here and a pop there and then the popping would be everywhere.

Social media marketing works the same way, someone starts talking about your business here, then someone else there, and suddenly everyone is talking about your business!

The analogy was such a great one,  the domain instantly stuck with me. So much so, that I called my husband and kids into to look at the show and told people about it and even posted here about it.

I regularly check back to see what Shahar and Nash have going on in the show and I never needed to bookmark this domain. It stuck instantly.  Why … ?

Because …

• It stood out from the crowd and caught my attention
• It was associated with a strong metaphor that helped me remember it and give meaning to it
• It fulfilled my expectations - I expected a fun and energetic website. It delivered.
• It touched on my emotions - childhood memories of popping popcorn and the joy of the experience

This domain did all the right things to grab my attention and make itself sticky in my mind. The lesson to be learned I guess is to think outside the box when it comes to choosing domain names.  Sometimes going for the most obvious choice is not the best strategy. Being imaginative and giving meaning or a story to you domain, will suceed in making it memorable and meaningful.

I am now a lifetime fan of Shahar and Nash and guess what?  I can’t remember the 49 other domains I visited that day!