Elements Of A Great Tagline

 

Your tagline is not your brand, your position statement or your brand promise. But it is a short versatile expression of who you are. It is a meaningful distillation of your brand. What I like most about a tagline is that it is sometimes experimental and can be quickly changed. Many websites have their taglines displayed next to their logo and interestingly enough they are often 3 things - like "Build Create Empower" - which I find a bit boring. Some sites actually name their site using a tagline.

My personal tagline is "Simplify Organize and Finish" which expresses some of my underlying ability. It doesnt express my current brand - but it does describe why I am good at what I do. I learned many insights from Chip and Dan Heath's book
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die - which describes how to make something memorable.

I have compiled a short list of attributes that a good tagline might have.

• ORIGINAL - Be different - its your best chance of being remarkable
• SIMPLE - Dont mix in too many concepts - it should be complete but not complex
• CREDIBLE - Stay on the ground and state something believable
• SUCCINCT- Keep it short and to the point - You will be lucky if someone reads it
• MEMORABLE - Similar to being original - but its a combination- does it stand out and repeatable
• POSITIVE - Express using positive language which will leave a positive impression
• CONCRETE - Be specific and tangible Unusual - Oh here is another way to be different and original - "Think Different"
• THOUGHT PROVOKING - If you can get some mind share - all the better
• CONVERSATIONAL - Make it easy to say and remark about Humorous - I personally like a little humor - can help you stand out
• EMOTIONAL - If you can weave in some emotion - all the better.
• DRAMATIC - this works too

The following is an interesting set of taglines I found and duplicated here

1. The Straight Dope: Fighting Ignorance since 1973 (It’s taking longer than we thought).
2. Maxim Philippines: The best thing that ever happened to men … after women!
3. The Consumerist: Shoppers bite back.
4. Random Acts of Reality: Trying to kill as few people as possible…
5. Joshuaink: Same old shit, different day.
6. The Superficial: Because you’re ugly.
7. Smashing Magazine: We smash you with information that will make your life easier. Really.
8. The Best Page in the Universe: This page is about me and why everything I like is great. If you disagree with anything you find on this page, you are wrong.
9. Scaryduck: Not scary. Not a duck.
10. The Art of Rhysisms: Chronologically inept since 2060.
11. Needcoffee.com: We are the Internet equivalent of a triple espresso with whipped cream. Mmmm…whipped cream.
12. Ample Sanity: Life is short. Make fun of it.
13. Rathergood.com: The Lair of the Crab of Ineffable Wisdom – a load of stuff by Joel Veitch that will probably crush your will to live.
14. The Breakfast Blog: In search of the best eggs in town.
15. Dooce: Not even remotely funny.
16. Pink is the new blog: Everybody’s business is my business.
17. Shoemoney: Skills to pay the bills.
18. Oh No They Didnt’t!: The celebrities are disposable, the content is priceless.
19. YouTube: Broadcast Yourself.
20. Waiter Rant: Do you want Pommes Frite with that?
21. Newshounds: We watch FOX so you don’t have to.
22. Sabrina Faire: All the fun of a saucy wench, none of the overpriced beer.
23. Defective Yeti: A maze of twisty passages, all alike.
24. All About George: All about George Kelly… you know, if you go in for that sort of thing.
25. Go Fug Yourself: Fugly is the new pretty.
26. kottke.org: Home of fine hypertext products.
27. Slashdot: News for nerds. Stuff that matters.
28. Gawker: Daily Manhattan media news and gossip. Reporting live from the center of the universe.
29. Get Rich Slowly: Personal finance that makes cents.
30. hi5: Who’s in?
31. Fotolog: Share your world with the world.
32. Jezebel: Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for Women, Without Aribrushing.
33. Autoblog: We obssessibely cover the auto industry.
34. Boing Boing: A directory of wonderful things.
35. Perez Hilton: Celebrity Juice. Not from concentrate.
36. DumbLittleMan: So what do we do here? Well, it’s simple. 15 to 20 times per week we provide tips that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane.
37. Lifehacker: Don’t live to geek, geek to live!
38. Gizmodo: The gadget guide. So much in love with shiny new toys, it’s unnatural.
39. John Cow Dot Com: Make Moooney Online with John Cow Dot Com
40. WebWorkerDaily: Rebooting the workforce.
41. The Simple Dollar: Financial talk for the rest of us.
42. TrafficBunnies: Making your hits multiply like rabbits.
43. Mighty Girl: Famous among dozens.
44. The Sneeze: Half zine. Half blog. Half not good with fractions.
45. Buzz Marketing: Because everyone is entitled to my opinion.