Eben Pagan reveals why naming is the ultimate leverage point in business, teaching specific techniques for creating memorable product and concept names. He breaks down the psychology of memorable naming using examples from his multi-million dollar businesses like 'Double Your Dating' and major brands like Coca-Cola.
Naming Concepts Products
Eben opens by establishing naming as the highest leverage activity in business, where small investments in choosing the right name yield disproportionate returns. He emphasizes creating names that are impossible to forget rather than just pleasant or memorable.
The core insight that minds remember names by sound, not sight, leads to understanding the phonological loop - the brain's auditory buffer that keeps sounds bouncing around for about 5 seconds. Rhythmic and repetitive sounds extend this time, helping names become hardwired.
Successful names combine benefit promises with sound patterns like alliteration, rhyme, and rhythm. Examples from major brands like Coca-Cola and YouTube demonstrate how these elements create both memorability and unconscious associations that drive behavior.
Eben breaks down his own successful product names like Double Your Dating, Self Made Wealth, and Wake Up Productive, showing how each combines anapestic meter, alliteration, and clear benefit promises to create impossible-to-forget brands.
“Create a name that's impossible to forget. So don't focus on creating a name that's nice or that's easy to remember. Instead, focus on creating a name that's impossible to forget.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 0:31
Focus on creating names that are impossible to forget rather than just nice or easy to remember. Use sound patterns like alliteration, rhyme, and rhythm, and make sure the name promises a specific benefit or result.
“Avoid cute names and funny names. Spending money is serious business, and most people don't wanna laugh when they're doing it.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 2:00
No, avoid cute and funny names. Spending money is serious business and most people don't want to laugh when they're making purchasing decisions. These names are usually not memorable and don't create emotional connection.
“Rhythm makes names much more sticky in the mind. We have a system called the phonological loop that acts as an auditory buffer. Use repetitive and rhythmic sounds to keep your name bouncing around in there longer.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 2:55
Rhythm makes names stick in the mind longer by keeping them bouncing around in your phonological loop. This helps names move from electrical memory to chemical memory to becoming hardwired, similar to how songs get stuck in your head.
“I usually spend anywhere from a couple hours to several weeks, maybe even months on some that I've worked on. And it's just a little project.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 11:05
Spend anywhere from a couple hours to several weeks or even months working on names. Make it a project and work on names as far in advance as possible, keeping files and notes to develop powerful associations over time.
“Coca Cola, because it has alliteration, the c c, and the rhyme, the at the end, Coca Cola. And it's got a nice rhythm, Coca Cola. It just kind of bounces right out.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 5:58
Coca-Cola combines alliteration (c-c), rhyme (coca-cola), rhythm, and a powerful unconscious association. The name originally referenced cocaine cola and still carries the unconscious association of energy and speed.
“Use names that promise results, benefits, solutions. Use everything you've learned so far to create a name that promises a benefit if at all possible.”
— Eben Pagan▶ 2:30
Names should promise results, benefits, and solutions. Use everything you've learned about marketing to create names that clearly communicate what benefit the customer will get from your product or service.
A systematic approach to naming products and concepts that become impossible to forget
Identify the core benefit
Determine what specific result, benefit, or solution your product promises to deliver to customers
Focus on sound first
Remember that names are sounds before written words - test how your name sounds when spoken aloud
Add rhythmic elements
Include alliteration, rhyme, or rhythm to make the name stick in the phonological loop longer
Test for memorability
Ensure the name is impossible to forget rather than just nice or easy to remember
Avoid cute or funny
Skip cute or humorous names since spending money is serious business for most people
Iterate over time
Spend weeks or months refining the name, keeping files of words and associations to build the perfect combination
Naming is the ultimate leverage point in business - nowhere do you get more bang for your buck than choosing the right name for your concepts, products, and business
Eben built multi-million dollar businesses with products like 'Double Your Dating' and emphasizes he spent weeks to months perfecting these names that became highly successful brands
Create names that are impossible to forget, not just nice or easy to remember - focus on the sound primarily since the mind remembers names by sound, not by sight
Names are sounds before they're printed words, and the phonological loop acts as an auditory buffer that keeps sounds bouncing around in the brain for about 5 seconds
Avoid cute names and funny names because spending money is serious business and most people don't want to laugh when they're doing it
Cute and funny names are usually not memorable, don't strike an emotional chord, and aren't good for conversion despite seeming light and casual
Use names that promise results, benefits, and solutions - treat naming as marketing that promises a benefit if at all possible
All of Eben's successful products like 'Double Your Dating', 'Self Made Wealth', and 'Wake Up Productive' promise specific benefits in their names
Rhythm makes names much more sticky in the mind by keeping them bouncing around in the phonological loop longer, which helps them move from electrical memory to chemical memory to becoming hardwired
Songs get stuck in your head because they use this principle - repetitive and rhythmic sounds keep things in the auditory buffer longer for better encoding
Include alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and powerful associations to make names more powerful after establishing the benefit
Bed Bath and Beyond uses alliteration, Coca-Cola has both alliteration (c-c) and rhyme (coca-cola) plus rhythm, and YouTube has repetitive sounds with powerful associations to TV 'tube'
Coca-Cola is a timeless brand and one of the most valuable brands in the world partly because it has alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and a powerful unconscious association to speed and energy
The name originally was 'cocaine cola' and still carries the unconscious association that 'this thing has really powerful speed in it' from when it actually contained cocaine
Double Your Dating uses anapestic meter, alliteration with all d's, and when combined with the pen name David D'Angelo creates an impossible to forget brand system
Eben spent a long time creating this name which says what it does (you get more dates), uses repetitive d sounds, and follows the same rhythm pattern as Dr. Seuss who sold 100 million books
Wake Up Productive promises that after going through the 90-day program doing 30 minutes per week, you'll be twice as productive and literally wake up productive
Through customer surveys, Eben discovered people wanted to learn time management and productivity, so he created a program with the promise of doubling productivity in 90 days
Spend anywhere from a couple hours to several weeks or even months working on names as a project, keeping files and writing down words for associations
Eben works on names as far in advance as possible, keeping journals and files to piece together powerful names over time for his successful products
Naming is the ultimate leverage point in business - nowhere do you get more bang for your buck than choosing the right name for your concepts, products, and business
▶ 0:31Create names that are impossible to forget, not just nice or easy to remember - focus on the sound primarily since the mind remembers names by sound, not by sight
▶ 1:05Avoid cute names and funny names because spending money is serious business and most people don't want to laugh when they're doing it
▶ 2:00Use names that promise results, benefits, and solutions - treat naming as marketing that promises a benefit if at all possible
▶ 2:30Rhythm makes names much more sticky in the mind by keeping them bouncing around in the phonological loop longer, which helps them move from electrical memory to chemical memory to becoming hardwired
▶ 2:55Include alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and powerful associations to make names more powerful after establishing the benefit
▶ 4:34Coca-Cola is a timeless brand and one of the most valuable brands in the world partly because it has alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, and a powerful unconscious association to speed and energy
▶ 5:58Double Your Dating uses anapestic meter, alliteration with all d's, and when combined with the pen name David D'Angelo creates an impossible to forget brand system
▶ 8:37Wake Up Productive promises that after going through the 90-day program doing 30 minutes per week, you'll be twice as productive and literally wake up productive
▶ 10:30Spend anywhere from a couple hours to several weeks or even months working on names as a project, keeping files and writing down words for associations
▶ 11:05Claim: “A name should be nice or easy to remember”
Reframe: Create names that are impossible to forget by focusing on sound, rhythm, and emotional impact
Claim: “Names are separate from your marketing strategy”
Reframe: Names are marketing - they should promise benefits, results, and solutions just like any other marketing material
Claim: “Visual appearance of names is most important”
Reframe: Names are sounds first, then written words - focus primarily on how the name sounds since the mind remembers by sound, not sight
“Naming is really the ultimate leverage point. Nowhere do you get so much bang for your buck than choosing a name for your concepts and your products and your business for that matter.”
“Create a name that's impossible to forget. So don't focus on creating a name that's nice or that's easy to remember. Instead, focus on creating a name that's impossible to forget.”
“The mind remembers name by sound, not by sight. Names are sounds before they're printed words. So focus on the sound primarily.”
“Spending money is serious business, and most people don't wanna laugh when they're doing it.”
The Right Product
Learn why your product is actually an obstacle to your customer getting what they want, and how to turn that insight into products that practically sell themselves.
Moving The Free Line
Discover the counterintuitive marketing strategy that helped Eben Pagan generate millions by giving away his best ideas for free.
Creating Currency Business
Learn how to transform customer pain into "alternate currency" and increase sales by giving away 10x more value than you charge.
Coaching Strategies
Business Frameworks
Common Mistakes
Successful business requires exchanging value where both parties get the better deal - you sell something for more than it costs to produce, while customers buy something worth more than they pay
Eben explains the fundamental business exchange: 'what you need to be able to do is sell something that costs you less to produce than you're getting in return from the customer' while 'from the customer's perspective, they need the same thing. They need to buy something that's worth more than the money they're spending.'
Start with something you know about when choosing your first business - use your existing expertise, talents, or gifts rather than diving into completely unfamiliar territory
Eben provides specific examples: 'if you happen to be excellent with money, you might want to start a service that helps people with their money' or 'If you're excellent at fixing cars, you might want to start a business that has something to do with fixing cars.'
The word 'free' is one of the most powerful marketing words in the English language, and moving the free line is the most important idea Eben has implemented that led to his business success
Eben states this is 'the most important idea I've implemented in my business that's led to the most success' and calls it 'a very powerful mindset, very powerful approach'
Moving the free line means taking your very best knowledge, techniques, and insights and packaging them into reports, ebooks, and videos that you give away to prospective customers
Eben defines the strategy as 'taking some of your very best knowledge, techniques, insights, and packaging it up into reports, ebooks, videos, and other forms that you can give away to prospective customers'
