Using your name vs. brand name?

This week I'm answering one of the most common questions I hear from creators.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creator Science]( Presented by [ConvertKit]() Hello my friend! Happy February! I have you've had a great start to the month. January was a down month of revenue for me (compared to December). Even so – it was 3x January of last year! So I'm choosing to look at the silver lining – this year is off to a MUCH stronger start than last year. Even better, February has already outperformed January in terms of new members in [The Lab]()! We've had 11 new members join The Lab in just the first couple days of the month. [And they are incredible creators](). Also, [my email growth experiment](=) continues! If you're new to Creator Science, you may not know that I've set a goal of reaching 20,000 subscribers on this newsletter by the end of February. So I'm publicly experimenting with how I am working to achieve that goal – and as of this writing, we're at nearly 18,500. I've set up several paid and cross-promotional campaigns, a few guest workshops, and a couple other experiments – but they have not yet run (or completed). So no major updates to share this week (yet). Progress so far has been driven by social media and Sparkloop's [Upscribe]() product. So this week I want to share with you my answer to one of the most common questions I receive from creators: "Should I create behind MY name, or a brand/company name?" It's a complicated question that I struggled with for a long time – but last year I changed my approach and it led, at least in part, to my biggest year ever as a creator. That full essay is linked down below! But first... ​ ​ PRESENTED BY CONVERTKIT Reach the Creator Community Guess what? You're reading promotional content in a newsletter! Sponsoring creator newsletters, like this one, is a great way to reach engaged and targeted audiences. It will build your brand — whether that is your personal brand or your business. So here is the deal. Creator Science is part of the ConvertKit Sponsor Network (CKSN), representing more than 100 individual newsletter creators. I absolutely love working with ConvertKit and their sponsor network – and we're taking the next couple of issues to let you know that you can sponsor THIS newsletter and get in front of 18,000+ creators. Not only that, but by working with ConvertKit to sponsor Creator Science, you'll gain access to many more great newsletter opportunities too. So what do you think? Want to work together? 👇 [Sponsor this Newsletter]() ​ ​ [Featured Image]() READ THIS WEEK'S ESSAY Which name to create behind? Your name vs. brand name One of the most common questions I hear from creators is whether they should build their business behind their name, or behind a company (brand) name. I won't claim that there is a right or wrong approach here – but I will share my approach and how I came to that decision. It's an approach I believe in strongly, because it led (at least in part) to the biggest year of growth I've ever experienced as a creator. [Keep reading (6 min) ↗]() ​ ​ CLICK WORTHY 🔥 Check these out 📝 [SURVEY: Understanding the Creator Economy]( – This is big news! I'm partnering with The Tilt on a new research project. We want to understand your journey as a creator. Can you spare 5-10 minutes to complete this survey? To thank our survey-takers, we’re hosting a giveaway. One person will win one AirPods Pro or a $250 Amazon gift certificate (your choice). --------------------------------------------------------------- 📬 [The bpd beat newsletter]( – A weekly newsletter for Creators + Founders filled with strategies, frameworks and inspiration to help you build community-driven products. Subscribe to make community the 💜 of your product strategy. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗓️ [Join me at CEX 2023](=) – Join me and other creators at Creator Economy Expo this May in Cleveland. Amazing agenda (including a few sessions with me) and even better networking. Save $100 with code CLOUSE100 ​ LISTEN ON CREATIVE ELEMENTS #135: Behind the scenes of my first solo YouTube video (our most successful video yet) [Creative Elements Cover Art]( On the podcast this week, I talk about the process of creating this video! This is a big moment for the channel not just because it's the FIRST solo video on the channel, but because we actually plan to do a lot of solo videos on the channel this year. YouTube is a big area of focus for me this year, despite currently being my smallest channel. So in this episode, I want to talk a little bit about our YouTube strategy and why I’m putting so much emphasis on it this year. Not only that, but I’ll share a little behind-the-scenes of making THIS video, what we learned, and how we’re approaching future videos as well. [Play episode]( [Apple Podcasts](=) [Spotify]( [Stitcher]() [YouTube](=) New to the show? Start with a [curated playlist](). ​ ​ LAST WORD 👋 The Lab is getting full! I launched our little membership community, [The Lab](), in March of 2022. That means the community is nearly a year old! The time has flown by and I have nothing but excitement to keep building. I've shared before that [I'm capping The Lab at 200 members]() – and right now, we have 174 members. We're also nearing a milestone that would be pretty special to me! So if you've been on the fence, I really encourage you to take the leap this month. Not only are we quickly running out of space, but it would mean a lot to me personally. Here's what you get as a member: - Our community forum + private chat app - All of my courses and workshops ($700 value) - Biweekly, live Office Hours with me - Opportunity for 1-on-1 Hot Seats with me - Monthly behind-the-scenes Retros from me - Our community Swipe File - ...and other amazing things I'll leave for you to discover I should also mention... I just started piloting mastermind groups within The Lab. We have a few beta groups starting now as a test – but if that test goes well, I'll be adding that to the value proposition to membership and raising the price one final time to $1,999/yr. If you're on the path to becoming a professional creator and you've been considering joining, this is a great time! And every new member of The Lab starts with a 30-minute 1-on-1 call with me. And don't just take it from me, click the button below to see dozens and dozens of testimonials from our current members: [Join The Lab](=) ​ OK! I'll stop my pitch there. You know whether or not this is right for you. If you have any questions, hit reply to this email! We'd love to have you. Cheers, Jay --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse]( Jay Clouse [Say hi 👋 on Twitter]() or [Instagram]( ☎️ [Book a 1:1 call with me]( Thanks for reading! Reply any time. [Edit your profile]( or [unsubscribe here](. This email was sent with [ConvertKit]() and designed using [Palladio](=). Want to work together? - [Work with me 1:1]( – book a coaching or strategy session. - [Sponsor this newsletter](=) – get in front of 18K+ creators (booking into March). - [Join The Lab](=) – my membership community for creators (<30 spots open). - [Courses & Workshops](=) – learn the essential skills to become a professional creator. Send mail to P.O. BOX 797, Worthington, OH 43085