A tagline is different from a slogan in that a tagline is generally accepted as being a constant message associated with a company whereas a slogan can change from campaign to campaign. Writing a tagline can be difficult if you don’t recognize what the purpose of it is. Let me expound on that as we cover how to write a tagline.
How to Write a Tagline
A tagline should inspire curiosity in your reader as soon as they read it so that that person is intrigued to learn more about you or at the very least convey your message as succinctly as possible.
Writing a successful tagline comes down to 3 basic but important components.
Problem – Step one is to identify the problem. This is going to get someone’s attention because we someone hears you mention the problem they’re having, they’re much more likely to listen to you.
Solution – Step two is to offer the solution in your tagline. Once you’ve baited them with the problem, you can deliver your solution.
Audience – Lastly you want to tailor your tagline to address a specific audience. You always want to target your tagline as closely to a specific audience as possible as this will improve conversions.
Now let’s take a look at a simplified example of a tagline to put all three components together:
“We fix cars fast.”
Ah a tagline of only four words. The less words, the better. There’s nothing worse or less effective than a tagline which runs on and on. In fact when it’s just a tagline and you have very limited time to convey your message, less time than usual, even an extra word than is necessary counts as “running on and on”.
Problem – Cars are broken. We don’t even need to say it here, it’s understood that your car is having an issue. In fact adding the problem in this example would mire down the effects which the tagline has if we changed it from “We fix cars fast” to “We fix broken cars fast”. Again it’s understood that if you’re reading their tagline with intent then it’s implied that you’re having a problem with your car.
Solution – The simplest of solutions “we fix” something, in this case cars. This company takes your problem and literally fixes it.
Audience – The inclusion of the “fast” qualifier means that this tagline is intended to get the attention of folks who want quick results. Who wants fast results? Virtually everyone wants fast results, so this . Additionally, the “fast” gives the tagline a bit more personality and even gives the company more perceived authority. Anyone can fix a car given enough time, but to do it quickly with implied quality makes you stand out from the rest.
See how much one little word adds to this tagline?
The components may not always be as obvious as they are in that example, but a good tagline will always have all three to convey its intended message to its intended audience most effectively.
To write your tagline, think about what problems your audience is having, what solution you can offer to their problem is, and what makes you/your solution unique to separate you from the rest which will help nail down your specific audience. Hold a brainstorming session where you come up with dozens or hundreds words related to each component so you have a large pool to draw from, then narrow down the best sounding and most succinct ones to achieve your tagline.
Note that this was taken from my brand new 88 page eBook “Creating Converting Copy – How to Create Copy Which Will Convert For Your Business”.