Some taglines are unforgettable.
Think about the following:
“We try harder” – Avis Rent A Car
“Say it with flowers” – Interflora
“Just Do It” – Nike
The moment you hear those taglines, you remember something about the product or service.
Even in the world of books and publishing, as an Author you need to have your own tagline. Something journalists and the reading public can grasp on to, to make that connection with you and your books… basically your brand.
Michael Goodman, author of The Potato Chip Difference : How to Apply Leading Edge Marketing Strategies to Landing the Job You Want states, “A tagline is used to communicate or explain the main benefit the company or brand provides, especially when the company name or brand name doesn’t do a particularly good job of communicating that message.”
Goodman suggest these guidelines for creating effective taglines:
- They should contain no more than 8 or 9 words.
- Communicate or enhance the positioning benefit.
- Paint a word picture. Choose words that are easy to remember.
- Being cute and catchy is NOT as important as meaningful. People remember big ideas about things that are important to them long after they forget cute phrases, puns or jokes.
Tagline Guru, Eric Swartz suggests you keep these 12 factors in mind when you’re coming up with your own taglines.
- Originality
Make it your own. Your unique value proposition as an Author will help you here.
- Believable
Keep it real. You want people to hear it and believe that you are genuine and sincere.
- Simple
Make it understandable. The words you use must make it plain and obvious what you mean.
- Succinct
Get to the point. Short, sharp and shiny is what you need. As Goodman says, “no more than 9 words is a good rule of thumb”.
- Positive
Elevate their mood. Use words to emotionally help people feel good when they hear your tagline.
- Specific
Make it relevant. You want to communicate it exactly as it is, that one greatest point you have.
- Unconventional
Break the mold. Ignore what everyone else in your genre is doing and think outside the box.
- Provocative
Make them think. A clever play on words that challenges the listener makes your tagline even more memorable.
- Conversational
Make it personable. Communicate in the language of your readers to get that friendly, mate, buddy tone to it.
- Persuasive
Sell the big idea. Automatically assume that the person hearing your tagline belongs to your “community” and help them understand why it’s great that they belong.
- Humorous
Tickle their funny bone. Use humor with discretion, even the big PR, Publishing and Advertising agencies still get this very wrong at times.
- Memorable
Make a lasting impression. This is where you can get really creative with things like rhymes, embedded commands, intentional word misuse or invented words.
The right tagline will create a lasting impression in the minds of your readers. Craft one that tells your audience what you and your books will deliver and you make it easier for Journalists and Reviewers to spread the word about you.