How Female Founders Can Stand Out Among the Competition As more women take the plunge into digital entrepreneurship, there are many clever strategies for making your mark online and building a successful brand.

One thing's for certain: There's no shortage of women entrepreneurs. Whether it's due to the financial effects of inflation, career burnout, or just a burning desire to make their own decisions and be their own boss, women are increasingly saying goodbye to the 9-to-5 corporate grind in favor of starting their own businesses.

According to the numbers, women make up nearly half of emerging entrepreneurs, up from less than a third of new owners just five years ago¹. And with low upfront costs and a seemingly endless selection of do-it-yourself website builders, many of these new businesses are online.

"Launching an online business is a strategic move, enabling women founders to work remotely and run operations from virtually anywhere, improving work-life balance, and reducing costs required to maintain a physical storefront or office," says Lisa Box, SVP of Strategic Alliances and Business Development at Identity Digital. "This helps eliminate a major obstacle for female founders, offsetting the upfront capital investment needed to begin a new venture."

Based in Bellevue, Wash., Identity Digital operates more than 270 custom top-level domains (TLDs). A TLD is the final part of a web address that comes after the dot, such as .life, .bio, .media, and .expert. As it turns out, the number of female-owned businesses that are leveraging unique TLDs to elevate their web addresses is on the rise. "These memorable domains help women entrepreneurs stand out from the competition online, enhance branding, reach their target audiences effectively, and build credibility," Box says.

Below, Box outlines several creative ways women entrepreneurs can start and grow online businesses.

Have a domain name that's as unique as your brand.

You've found your niche, and now it's time for your audience to be able to find you. Selecting a short, memorable web address can be essential for bringing your digital identity to life online.

To get started, search domain names at a domain retailer. Many website builders and web hosts also serve as domain retailers, including Wix, Name.com, Rebrandly, and Beacons.

"Using a unique domain signals to your audience that you are committed to your mission and values," Box says. "It builds credibility and is consistent with your brand, which is crucial to success as customers crave authenticity."

Examples of women-founded websites that successfully put Identity Digital TLDs to good use include:

• empowerwomen.media: Founded by Shirin Taber, Empower Women Media "promotes gender equality, multi-faith harmony, and peace building" by highlighting women's stories and solutions.
• ethica.diamonds: A mother and daughter-run jewelry brand that sells crafted, sustainably grown lab diamonds and gemstones.
• lyma.life: Founded by Lucy Goff, LYMA sells supplements, skincare, and at-home laser devices.

Share your knowledge.

What you know, others may not. Find your niche and build your online brand by providing information to your audience. This means creating content for a blog on your website, an e-newsletter, across your social media channels, etc.

"Start writing original thought leadership content, leveraging your areas of expertise and weaving in industry trends based on research," Box recommends.

Whether on TikTok or other social platforms, Box says to be sure to add a link in your bio that points back to your business website. This can help drive traffic to your site and elevate brand awareness.

"Through crafting and sharing informative content, you're establishing your position as a thought leader, elevating search engine optimization on your site through publishing relevant content, and building your social media presence," Box says.

Cultivate a social community.

Having a presence on social media platforms requires more than simply broadcasting your marketing messages. To truly get the most from social media, your brand should engage with customers, other thought leaders in your industry, and the local community.

"Browse social platforms to join conversations with other female entrepreneurs and see what people are talking about," Box says. She recommends finding relevant threads, hashtags, groups to join, and social handles to follow. From there, spark conversations by engaging with other peoples' posts, creating polls, sharing customer testimonials/reviews, hosting a contest, and always being responsive.

"By contributing to conversations and engaging with other thought leaders and entrepreneurs, you are forming new relationships," Box says. "Building strong relationships is essential to personal growth and professional success."

Click here to learn more about Identity Digital and how a custom TLD can help your business stand out from the competition online. To claim your own custom Identity Digital domain, contact your favorite domain retailer.

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