Hi, I’m Katie Pannell

& I’m really good with letters.

You can call me Katie with the good names. I've named brands, bands, beauty and baby products and that's just my B-list!

Want me to grade your name? Turn in your work and I'll analyze why it works, or why you should dump it.

Get a Letter Grade

Case Study: Soul CBD

Katie Pannell
Apr 16, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Mar 23

THE SITUATION

Soul CBD is came to me because their brand voice had slowly shifted from Angie & Mike's vision, and had firmly landed in "we believe" territory. Flat, a littttle forgettable, and flavorless. Angie wanted to take back the voice. Make it like THEM again. They needed language that matched the actual vibe of their products: fun, and functional.

THE FIX

I teamed up with co-founder Angie Lee for a real-time zhuzh session to rework Soul’s homepage from top to bottom. No intake forms. No fluff. Just a shared doc, 1 hour, and 2 brains on Big Brain gummies riffing their way to better copy.

Together we:

Rewrote the homepage hero, flipping “routine” into relief and coining the line: 👉 “Your best you is a gummy away.” (With rotating formats: a gummy away, a capsule away, a drink away...)
Transformed filler sections like “We Believe” into punchy, on-brand copy like: 👉 “Nothing to hide here. Ingredients you can pronounce. Quality you can trust. Relief you can count on.”
Introduced cheeky, personality-packed microcopy across the page, like renaming “Find Your Routine” to “Chew on This.”
Revamped the email opt-in and press content

Aaand with that, we booked our next few projects

THE NEW SCOPE

Brand Voice Guide
Welcome Sequence Funnel Punch-Ups
Press & Article Punch-Ups
Internal Decks & Wholesale One Pagers

BRAND VOICE GUIDE CREATION

I codified their founder-forward tone into something replicable, readable, and ready for handoff—so future writers (and AI tools) wouldn’t default back to “clean, natural, science-backed” jargon.

HERE ARE A FEW EXCERPTS:

HOW TO USE "ON-BRAND" HUMOR:

A SAMPLE CUSTOMER PERSONA:

PRODUCT COPY/CAPTION OPTIONS:

HERE’S A PART OF EMAIL THEIR TEAM WROTE USING THE NEW VOICE GUIDE:

THE RESULT

Soul now has a homepage that’s fun and functional. Emails people actually read. A voice guide they can hand off to anyone. And messaging that makes their product line feel cohesive—not cobbled together.

The cherry on top? This work doesn’t just “sound better.” It sells better.

Comments

We learn something new from our English teacher every day 😌

Can honestly say that in 53 naming clients, only 3 haven't picked a name with 100% certainty on the spot using these little tests.

Aaaand this is why naming doesn't take just a few minutes. Lol

Been sitting on this secret for a minute but it's almost time to show you what @stacyeaguilar, @caitiecupplescreative and I cooked up for @bookkeepingbyalex!

EEP! Can't wait!

This is a great naming strategy for saying what you mean, only LOUDER.

Don't be shy! Name it like you mean it!

I wish I could see your face right now when I break it to you that you will always have things in your business that need naming.

Just dropped a FREE 5-day email crash course on how to name for attention, conversion, and connection so your offer names don’t just sound good, they sell.

You'll learn:
✎ How and why your naming strategy should should for every stage of the buyer's journey
✎ How to avoid “pick-me” naming
✎ What clear > clever names are costing you (and how you might be insulting your buyer's intelligence!)
✎ When it's best to just call it what it is
✎ Why certain names hit harder, land faster and stick better than others
✎ The -ities and -cies that will help your Black Friday offer stand out from the rest
✎ What you ACTUALLY need to do if you want feedback on your name ideas before you post a damn IG poll

5 minutes a day. For 5 days.

Day 1: Naming for Attention
Day 2: Naming for Conversion
Day 3: Names that Nurture
Day 4: Naming for Black Friday
Day 5: “Street Testing” your ideas

Comment "Don't" for the link!

Ask me if I've listened to anything else since this album dropped...

Do you think we’d be foaming at the mouth for “The Fate of Ophelia” if Taylor Swift wasn’t our English teacher?!

I certainly wouldn’t be reading Hamlet again.

There are SO many name ideas hiding in classic literature. Crack open a book. Skim. Spark notes.

Look for symbolism. Traits. All of that will get you started.

Naming is never as simple as just sitting down and letting ideas hit you. You have to train your brain to think laterally.

Tough gig making up names for a living. 😏

I can’t show you MOST of the work. I can’t show you the maybes on my lists because every name has the potential to become something. To mean something to someone.

Half the job is keeping your brain sharp enough to be creative on cue.

The other half is constantly reading, writing, noticing, collecting, listening, keeping your phone BRICKED (loml).

The final name is just the 1%.
For every name I present, there were 10 more I couldn’t.

And that’s show business, baby. 😘

Before you hit “post” on another name poll, ask yourself:

Do these people know my strategy?

Are the people seeing this actually the people I want buying this?

Do I actually want their opinion—or am I just afraid to choose?

Be honest with yourself. Are you really looking for feedback or validation?

If it's feedback you're *actually* open to, here's how to get it strategically:
Don’t ask for a preference!
Stop asking “Which one do you like best?” Instead, ask:
“What does this name make you think of?”
“What vibe or feeling do you get from this?”
“If this name was a person, what kind of person would they be?”

"That's a Choice..." is one of my favorite series. My opinion on names in the wild. This one hurts. I loved the OG name. I really don't like the new one.

Oh, and as if the new name isn't bad enough... the rollout of it was worse. My app updated days before I got the name change email.

I needed extra meditation time to slow my heartbeat after I realized what had happened.

RIP Superhuman. You were special.

Another day another naming strategy! My custom naming GPT is trained on all of these, btw.

Clever line if I do say so myself.

If you want a "sticky" name, start here. Watch this page. Get on my email list. Hire me. Buy the Name•O•Matic. I've got options for you!

Womp, womp -- the "can't get the trademark" story is such a bummer. Luckily, these guys knew a gal. ;)

Namestorming 101: start with these sites and if all else fails — pop over to mine to hire me or get my custom naming GPT. 😘

You're not afraid of picking the wrong name. You're afraid of picking the right one and being misunderstood.

The "safe" name feels safe. It's clear. It's "professional." It won't get weird looks at a networking event.

But it won't guarantee success, or shield you from criticism.

Remember, before "Apple" was a tech company, it was a fruit. And "Etsy" is made-up.

Duh, Taylor is the QUEEN of world building. Each album is its own era. Each era takes on its own personality. It's own IDENTITY. And then, like the cultish fans we are, we do too. If you're one of God's favorites (*hair flip*) lucky enough to experience the Eras Tour - you saw it firsthand. You dressed according to your favorite era or the one you identify with most. (I was RED, but I had snake earrings for REP, and purple nails for Speak Now.)

She knows exactly what she's doing from name to narrative, and she makes sure -- even when we NEVER see the name coming (TLOAS?) to make it STICK.

Permission to stop thinking and go take a nap. It's best to name objectively and not subjectively with your own emotions and personal associations/experiences.✌🏻

You know how if you’re normal, you can survive a cat scratch, paper cut, or popped zit?

Well, Chayse can’t. I mean, he caaaan, and has, and does – thanks to some very expensive, life saving medicine. He has a rare clotting disorder called hemophilia.

I like to the think God compensated for the shitty blood by making him nice, hot, smart, talented, HOT (he reads all my content) and supportive! (wink)

He's also great with kids, and he volunteers. AWW!

Here's what I have to think about the name of the camp he has gone to almost every summer since he was 7.

P.S. The same facility used for Wannaklot, also hosts camps called: Camp Carpe Diem (for… epileptics), Camp WeKanEatIt (celiac disease), & this one is baaaad -- Camp No Limb-itations (amputees…)
🤣🤣🤣
If you don’t laugh you’ll cry?!

Name Drop is by far my most favorite (& most successful) freebie I have ever offered. It's HIGH value, and honestly SO fun for me. But I have to admit, I rarely give FULL BODY approval of a name dropped to me. That's not to say everyone has terrible ideas. It's just that there's a lot more to the art & science of naming than "what sounds good."

THIS is the only Name Drop (so far) I wish I'd come up with myself.

This is probably my best work. Everyone needs the Name•O•Matic in their back pocket for all the little things that need naming on a regular basis. I listed a few ideas for you...

In case the algorithm is feeling friendly and we’ve never met, I’m Katie with the good names! I’m a devoted cat mom moonlighting as a Naming Consultant & Creative Director. I know exactly how to turn what you’re called into what you’re known for.

For the past 8 years, I’ve worked as a copywriter and had built a reputation for words that are just as clever as they are effective. My work generated $1M+ in email revenue for a single client, appeared on award-winning wellness products, and helped founders find their voice again.

And in the last 2 years since founding 26&thensome, I’ve named brands, bands, baby and beauty products – and that’s just my B-list!

If you are ever on a game show and asked about me, here’s what you need to know:

1. My top 2 favorite songs of all time are Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Barracuda. In that order.

2. I’m a Sag sun, Leo Rising and Leo Moon. 🔥🔥🔥

3. My husband is the lead singer in a Chicago tribute band and prior to this gig, the only Chicago song I knew was “You’re the Inspiration” from those Ultimate Love Song Collection commercials.

4. My DMs are open if naming makes you want to gouge your eyeballs with a grapefruit spoon.

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I'm usually bricked, but sometimes I'm on IG

@26andthensome

Hi, I’m Katie Pannell

& I’m really good with letters.

Case Study: Soul CBD

THE SITUATION

THE FIX

THE NEW SCOPE

BRAND VOICE GUIDE CREATION

HERE ARE A FEW EXCERPTS:

HOW TO USE "ON-BRAND" HUMOR:

A SAMPLE CUSTOMER PERSONA:

PRODUCT COPY/CAPTION OPTIONS:

HERE’S A PART OF EMAIL THEIR TEAM WROTE USING THE NEW VOICE GUIDE:

THE RESULT

Related Posts

Comments

have we met? hey, I'm

Katie with the good names

I'm usually bricked, but sometimes I'm on IG

FREE DECISION-MAKING TOOL

Hi, I’m Katie Pannell

& I’m really good with letters.

THE SITUATION

THE FIX

THE NEW SCOPE

BRAND VOICE GUIDE CREATION

HERE ARE A FEW EXCERPTS:

HOW TO USE "ON-BRAND" HUMOR:

A SAMPLE CUSTOMER PERSONA:

PRODUCT COPY/CAPTION OPTIONS:

HERE’S A PART OF EMAIL THEIR TEAM WROTE USING THE NEW VOICE GUIDE:

THE RESULT

Comments

have we met? hey, I'm

Katie with the good names

​

I'm usually bricked, but sometimes I'm on IG

FREE DECISION-MAKING TOOL