Internet first! Well, it's not anything to really brag about since there aren't actually any real Diablo 3 gold guides out there yet (it's all just simple guesswork and guides on what might make money.. like "farm mobs"). :)
This however is a cool approach that not many people know about or even consider as a gold making technique but it works.
And, the strategy is sheer elegance in its simplicity; character name auctions!
* People will be playing this game for years to come, so it's vital to get a great name as soon as possible.
* The regional servers allow you to create 10 Hero names. I would recommend that you create one for yourself and 9 others for selling purposes. Don't waste your time playing the game right away, just try to reserve 9 of the best names you can.
* Even better if you have multiple accounts.
* Remember that these regional servers are not like WoW. In WoW, you're competing with 40-60,000 other players for names per realm and it's possible to have the same name on multiple realms. In Diablo 3, it's one server for potentially millions of players. Character names will be an extremely rare commodity.
* So far, Blizzard has not announced a new ID based naming convention. For example; Diablo3_Char_Name.AccountID. If this was the case, you'd probably see a half-million Legolas's running around.
* It's more likely you'll see a lot of xXxDestroy3rxXx naming conventions.
You could try and sell these names right away, but I would recommend holding onto them until the naming pool dries up and their value increases.
The new Cash Auction House is region wide, meaning that your Character Auction will be visible to millions of players. And the characters name will be important in their decision to purchase.
(On a side note; buying a bad character name encourages you to change it's name. So, it's in Blizzards best interest to not allow post-auction name changes and force users to use their paid services.)
Selecting character names ahead of time should be a pretty easy process for you. You'll want fantasy centric names, names similar to Diablo key-players, simple or short words, aggressive language, and real names. Short names are more valuable, and they must not contain special characters.
Remember that internal Diablo names will be reserved, so don't set your hopes too high for Deckard, Diablo, Tristram, Barbarian, Blizzard, etc. Blizzard, friends, and family will also have first pick of the litter before you. :)
Some names to get you started - Legolas, Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, Lich, Blood, Death, Killer, Jason, Timmy, Tim, Bob, Bruce, Glob, Ghost, Smite, Shock, Nope, Purple, Pink, Orange, Focus, Strength, Panda, Dyablo, Wicked, Nasty, Wild, Banker, Vendor, Frost, Awesome, Awesomesauce, etc.
Remember to make a list well ahead of time with all of your top choices and backups.
To get a good idea of popular names, search Google for "naming your wow character" or use WoW Armory to find out which names are used the most (and then compare to your own list to determine the most valuable ones).
tl;dr; Character names will be a highly valued commodity. Servers are regional/country based, whereas WoW had multiple realms per region, so you will be competing for awesome names against many more players.
