The following is a guest blog from Allison Nazarian, an expert copywriter, blogger and social marketer.
Taglines are simple, memorable, succinct phrases or slogans, usually no more than seven to nine words (or less) that are associated with your business. Taglines tell the world what your business does, what you promise, what you provide and how you are different.
These few words shoulder quite a heavy responsibility. Taglines should explain not only what you do, but also the result of what you do. A tagline represents both a description/explanation and a promise/possibility. Your tagline may very well be the single most important ad you will write about your business.
Here are some tips on creating a tagline that works for you and your small business:
• Your tagline should be interesting. It should be memorable. It should be easy to read aloud and silently.
• Some taglines are clever and witty, some are straightforward, some funny and some serious. It should not be so trendy that it doesn’t make sense next year. It should be positive.
• Visually or graphically, your tagline is usually present with your logo and your business name. It should be used in all marketing materials, from your website to your printed material to your twitter background to your business card to your stationery.
• Your tagline should NOT include your business name because it is usually coupled with your logo and name — and since your words are already so limited, why repeat the same name?
When it comes to writing your tagline, or revisiting the tagline you already have, you will want to ask yourself questions like:
• What does your company do? (in 10 words or less)
• What does your company really do? (In other words, what is your company’s reason for existence?)
• How is your company unique?
• What separates it from the rest of the pack?
• What solution does your company sell?
• What does it promise, what does it deliver?
• Who does it deliver to?
• Who is your target audience?
• What do they need and what can you offer them?
A tagline may very well be the single most important ad you will write for your small business – make it count!
About the Author
Allison Nazarian is a copywriter, consultant and author who is widely known as one of the most honest, innovative and fresh voices in copywriting and Internet marketing today. Her areas of expertise include: blogs and blog ghostwriting; video scripting, book authoring/ghostwriting; copywriting for social media and one-on-one coaching for other copywriters and Internet marketers. The author of Copywriting 101 for Small Businesses, Entrepreneurs, Coaches and Consultants, Allison also mentors many up-and-coming copywriters and teaches DIY (Do It Yourself) techniques and tools to business people who choose to or have to write their own copy. She blogs on copywriting and marketing at www.TheCopywritingStore.com, on the humor, craziness and fun of the entrepreneurial life at www.AllisonNazarian.com and on just about everything else at twitter.com/AllisonNazarian.
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Yes, and not just companies but blogs can have taglines as well. My current one is “Copywriting snippets for the busy copy writer”, but now I’ve read your article I’m probably going to spend the next few years obsessed with coming up with a better one