In this short post, I am going to share with you a simple (yet very powerful) tip. There is a mistake I see even the BIGGEST AND MOST WELL-KNOWN bloggers on the Internet commit. The blunder is so basic and so obvious that I’m not sure whether to chuckle, be puzzled, reveal it to everyone, or keep it to myself. Since I want you to be successful more than I want to keep my competitive edge concerning this mistake, I am going to share with you this simple – yet extremely important – tip.
Files Names That Identify and Market
When you deliver a file to a customer or reader (ebook, resource, presentation, brochure, whatever), give it a file name that continues to MARKET your product and name. For example, let’s say you create a fantastic eBook called: 24 Hours to a Better Blog By Joe Smith.
You create the PDF and make it available to download. I buy it, download it, and it goes in a folder where I keep stuff like that. A few weeks later, I’m looking in that folder to see what interests me to read for the day and run across a file named “24BB-JS-final-ver.pdf.”
I have no clue what that file is, what it contains, or who wrote it. I’m not enticed to open it because I will have to spend additional time opening it, looking for the title and author’s name, and then deciding if it is what I want to read that day. I may never open that file again until I get to the point where I’m cleaning out stuff and must open it to consider whether or not it should hit the trash can. If you are lucky, your readers will rename the file for you when they save it (fixing your blunder for you). But don’t count on it. If this does happen, your readers will probably not pick as good of a file name as you could have given it yourself.
File Names Are Headlines
Now, let’s say you named the file: 24_Hours_to_a_Better_Blog_By_ Joe_Smith.pdf or 24-Hours-to-a-Better-Blog-By- Joe-Smith.pdf
Imagine that. How elementary. If I see that file name: I know what it is, I know who wrote it, it continues to grab my attention, it’s easy to search for, and it perpetually markets both your name and your product.
I’m AMAZED when I download an eBook or file from some well-known blog author with 100K+ subscribers and get file names like “ebk-0312ver2.pdf” or “gettraff7days-br.pdf.” Really? It would be almost as bad to create a sloppy file name with bad capitalization or typos: “24hrs-2-beterblog-BJ.pdf.”
Think of your file names like HEADLINES. Use them to your advantage. You will be way ahead of others until this very basic but powerful tip catches on with everyone. I have been using my titles as headlines for well over a decade. Do yourself a favor and join me in my quest for quality file names.
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13 Responses to “A Huge Mistake I See Even the Most Popular Bloggers Committing”
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Great point! Going to remember this when I am creating products for people. Thanks!
Theresa, sometimes the little simple things just get neglected. I always thought this was a no-brainer and people would just naturally do it. One of the biggest blogger out there caught my eye recently with some wide spread ebook of theirs that had a cryptic file name. BR
Great point! You’re making me wonder whose ebook you’re talking about, though.
I debated about naming them but I don’t want to 1) embarrass them and 2) see them get credit for the idea by writing a post that instantly goes to a million people.
Even for pictures – if they have a name – you can find them on your computer. Everything needs a name.
Janis http://www.janiscox.com
and maybe you can tell me why I can’t comment using my wordpress.org account – it always wants to use my blog at wordpress.com.
Correct Janis… images too especially if you share them. Not sure about the wordpress.org thing….BR
Excellent point and suggestion. Of course, ALL of your tips and suggestions are excellent, but this one really hit home. I recently added a digital version of a self-published paperback of mine, to my Etsy shop, and you’ve made me realize I must re-name the file that I will be mailing to any buyers. I, like you and all of us, have all too often been bewildered by files I’ve received from others, and whose names would confuse a master cryptographer. Thanks again!
My pleasure… I almost hated to share that one because it gave me a leg up on the competition! BR
This just makes good sense. Thank you for sharing.
This actually gets on my nerves!! You would think that Authors especially would want to make sure that it is named properly!!
Its such an obvious and easy thing I get a laugh everytime I see some blogger with 50K subscribers send out an ebook called “34-ROGY-ver1.pdf” BR
I honestly believe that it is the simple stuff we miss so easily. I know I do that and have to kick myself.
It’s usually the simple things that we overlook for sure… BR