"Tag, You're It !"
By
Larry Johnson
Biz Site Biz E-Zine
Some call them "tag lines"; others refer to them as
"catch lines" or "tie-in-slogans." Whatever the words
used to refer to them, they are perhaps the most important
part of your promotional writing.
Do you recognize any of these ? :
"Like a rock..."
"Fly the friendly skies..."
"It's the real thing !"
"Quality is job number one"
"The quicker-picker-upper"
Most of those tag lines are recognizable by us without even
including the name of the company or product.
They summarize in a very few words the essence of the
thing they are promoting. They communicate a good, positive
feeling or relationship to the product. They do it with a simple,
memorable phrase that is easily repeated.
The shorter the description is, the more challenging it is to
write. Anyone can write a 500-word description of a product
or service. Now try doing it with 5 to 10 words ! Each word
you choose is very important to the message.
HERE ARE SOME TIPS for writing good taglines for your
business offer.
1) Start by noticing ads on billboards as you drive down the
road. Billboard advertisers have but a couple of seconds to
grab your attention and sell their product or service. Usually
their copy is going to be a very good tagline with a picture of
the product or service. These are great examples of how
to write effective taglines.
2) Notice other media forms like magazine and newspaper
display ads, business cards, brief radio and TV commercials.
Observe the thing that caught your attention and makes the
message easily remembered. It's usually a concise and
well-written tagline.
3) Write down everything you can think of that relates to your
business. You may even start with a narrative description
in paragraph form.
4) Now, make a list of the top 25 or 30 things that are
important and worth mentioning. Whittle that list down to
8 or 10 of the most important things you wish to say.
Now eliminate repetition or things that are not really that
necessary to your product or service. Get your list of words
or phrases down to 3 or 4 central elements.
5) Based on your final core selection, make up some phrases
that will serve as your taglines for consideration. Keep them
short and use simple, everyday language.
Which of these taglines would you remember best ? :
"Joe's auto repair shop, the lowest-prices and the best service"
OR
"Quality Care For Your Car !"
"The Best Tax Service Anywhere Around The Town !"
OR
"Your Tax Experts At Work !"
"Emergency ambulance service available 24-hours a day"
OR
"When Minutes Count!"
Well, you get the idea!
Do some test marketing with your final two or three best
taglines. Discover the one that works best for you and
incorporate it into all of your promotional messages.
Remember, like any of life's endeavors, experience and
practice help to improve your skills level. If you want to
be a good writer, write a lot !
Best of luck in your promotional efforts !
Larry Johnson, Author
(C) 2002, All Rights Reserved.
Article may be reprinted with permission by including
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About the Author
Larry is the editor of BIZ SITE BIZ E-ZINE, a Free weekly
business promotion newsletter full of timely tips, original
"How-To-Do-It" articles, quotes and humor.
http://www.BizSiteBiz.com/
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