What's in a newsletter name?
Hi all, I've been spending the first month and a half of 2021 thinking about the future of my newsletter. I started it last summer intending to provide a look at coffee, coffee culture and the coffee industry from a consumer's perspective.
I named it 'Three Quarters Coffee' without doing any workshopping amongst friends as to what the name meant and why it fit my newsletter. I rationalised this in my first issue that the name was the result of playing around in Figma and settling on a logo before I'd even thought of a name. I'm not sure how wise this was looking back. The biggest issue I've felt specific to this name is that it sounds like a coffee company, not a newsletter about coffee.
On the flip side, does the name really matter if you market it effectively and the content is good. Would be grateful to hear your thoughts on this as I mull over my next steps!
Just took a peek at your newsletter - first off, love it! Exactly the coffee culture deepdive I've been wanting.
Second off, I would do a branding overhaul and pick a fun name. You want something memorable, and IMO 'Three Quarters Coffee' isn't.
Try Denise Lee Yohn's MVB https://deniseleeyohn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DLYohn-ChangeThis-MVB-Manifesto.pdf for your brand in under an hour.
Do your branding first, then choose a name. I have a sneaky suspicion that once you go through the process a name will come to you. And I'd update the logo to have more shape - or even be animated.
Background: I do branding and marketing strategy for startups as a freelancer and am Brand Director for a software company.
Hey Sophia, thanks so much for taking a look and for your insight!
The link you shared gave me a lot of food for thought about what the newsletter means to me. While I definitely want to work some more on the logo, I've come to the conclusion that the branding is less important to me as my goal isn't currently to monetise. Essentially, it's a personal writing project for now.
My mind is not fully settled, but I'm leaning towards sticking with Three Quarters, with the justification that I've now been on a journey with it. It's an issue I'm going to have a rolling dialogue with myself on though. I would probably never be fully satisfied with any name I ended up with. For now, I'm going to focus on consistency and writing in a compelling way.
Very, very late but you're welcome Ash!
I hope the newsletter is growing nicely!
Hi, just read through a few of your newsletters. They are really good. I particularly like how you are providing insights into growing coffee industries in developing countries like Ethiopia.
I don't think your newsletter name is bad, it fits with what you are writing.
Hey! Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm glad you like it.
I'm planning a few more in-depth looks at the impact of coffee in developing nations, so stay tuned!
If you want to take a look, you can read my newsletter here: threequarters.substack.com