How To Pick a Good Invocation Name for Your Alexa Skill
I think that most people underestimate the importance of picking a good invocation name.
Here’s why.
Most invocation names are bad. People are not even able to spell them right from the first try.
If they’re not able to spell it right, then they cannot try the skill. So even if you’ve built something great, you can get zero users if you fail at this.
As we all want to build popular skills that people want to use, let me walk you through the process of picking a good invocation name.
A good invocation name is simple, legible, and obvious.
Let me say it again. Simple. Legible. Obvious.
Here’s a checklist you can use when choosing an invocation name:
- Can I figure out what the skill does by looking at the invocation name only?
- Is it intuitive and easy to pronounce?
- Does it fit naturally with one of the Alexa skill launch phrases? (for example, “launch”, “ask”, “tell”, “load”, “begin”)
Finally, you can always share your skill name with beta testers to get feedback (our community is a perfect place for that).
Note that you can change your invocation name at any time while developing a skill. However, you cannot change the invocation name after a skill gets certified and published.
Good luck! 🙌
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Best, Storyline team.
