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Creating a Tagline That Rocks Part II:
Five Steps to the Perfect Tagline
 Taglines are bite-sized, catchy nuggets that either 1) say exactly what your business is about or 2) set the tone when your business name already tells what you do.
Last week I gave you my take on what a good tagline is: simple and short; positive (although using negative words to contrast can work); memorable; timeless; and tested.
Now let's look at how to create one:
1. Define your ideal client. This step is key. Who is your ideal client and, most importantly, what is their problem? Because if you don't know what the problem is, how are you going to offer the right solution? Write down every problem you can think of. Prioritize them in order of importance. Now take the most pressing problem your customer has and write down- what you do to solve it. This will lead you to your core benefit. Maybe it's freeing their time up. Or saving them money. Or creating a warm, inviting home space. It has to be the thing they want, not what you want to give them.
2. Decide what kind of response you want from your client. What do you want them to think or say? Sure, you want their business, but what kind of emotion do you want them to experience? Maybe relief. (My office was disorganized and I was losing important papers.) Or pride. (I didn't know how to do this marketing thing and now I can do it myself!) Identify that key feeling. You will want your tagline to make them feel that.
3. Write down every idea, every word that comes to your mind. List words that relate to your core benefit. Don't censor or judge. Sometimes a word or idea that just comes out of you will be one of your best ideas. Using a thesaurus, under each word or idea, list similar words, the more the better. Now cut your list (you should have at last a few dozen) and star the promising ones. Play with these words/phrases. Try alliterations (repeating the same consonant sounds or different vowel sounds at the beginning) and rhyming words. But be careful with rhyming taglines. Unless done well, they can sound too "cute."
4. Play with the combinations. Rewrite the most compelling ideas in different ways, always keeping your ideal client in mind. People usually remember the simple taglines, so be brief, but powerful. And use active verbs. Narrow your taglines down to 3-5. Set them aside for at least a week, so everything will be fresh when you come back.
5. Test. If you have employees, ask for their feedback on your final picks. Ask business colleagues, friends-even acquaintances-if they understand your business after reading your tagline. Read them aloud and see if they roll off your tongue or make you stumble. You are looking for easy-to-say, easy-to-read, easy-to-understand. Select your best one and start using it! |
