I’ve been spending a lot of time writing tag lines lately. For my inner writer self (the self that really just wants to spend all day writing about nothing for the sake of
writing), I think taglines are the most satisfying professional experience I have. From a consulting perspective, the art of writing a strong tagline is also the hardest thing to teach. I write a lot of them, and if I may state an opinion, I think they’re pretty damn great ones. I still can’t explain how the process works in a rational way.
Writers are like artists in the sense that everyone has a routine that works for them. For me, taglines and coffee shop napkins go really well together. I suspect it has something to do with the reduced space kicking my brain into a really productive place.
The fantastic thing about writing is that even if you can’t really explain how it works, you can explain how it feels when everything really clicks. For me and taglines, it’s like when you shake out one of those giant puzzle boxes onto a table. There’s all this stuff there that you need to make sense out of. And like a puzzle, you can separate it out into bits and pieces that gradually form the bigger picture. I can usually place the start and the end of the tag right away, so I sort those words out into another mental pile. Then you get to the hard part.
A great tagline is hard because it’s really an art form. Think about all the really famous advertising lines: for instance, Nike’s “Just Do It”. This tagline works because it’s short, memorable, and conveys incredibly complex layers of meaning that speak to the individual. Nike sells shoes, but they also sell lifestyles. Their slogan is iconic because it sells the potential to realize your life. Shoes are really a secondary issue.
The only teaching tip I can give about taglines is really a tip that applies to all writing. Words are powerful, and words have multiple meanings. When you’re writing a tagline especially, you need to consider both the explicit and implicit meanings of a word. Secondly, consider the emotions that your words bring up. Definitions of words and the emotional content of words can also be very different, and finding the perfect word that combines the two can be the key to not only expressing yourself, but making a sale.
Ultimately, your readers/clients/buyers aren’t buying just a product, but they are buying into a mindset that your product sets. Taglines play a big part, so make sure that you love them 100%. And have fun with the puzzles. They can be the key to unlocking your business and your heart.
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