How To Create The Perfect Tagline For Your Small Business

1. Introduction to Creating the Perfect Tagline: the right tag. Lincoln set your business apart from competitors and help attract more of your target market. After working with hundreds of businesses on their taglines, I've created this course to help you create your own motto or tagline for your business in this course will cover the basics. How to make sure you're tangling resident with your target market and also share my process of how I determine the best tagline for a business. So this course is for entrepreneurs, small businesses, start ups or other content marketers and writers who want to be able to write taglines for businesses. So just stick with me in the short course and you'll learn how to write an awesome tagline for your business. Let's get started. 2. What's A Tagline?: Welcome to the Create the perfect tagline for your small business course. We will be going over how to do this step by step. And this is Michael Lucchese. So let's get started now. What is a tagline also is often called a motto. Textbook definition is a catchphrase or slogan, especially as using advertising or the punchline of a joke. I'll try to spare you guys any jokes in this course. How I would define the tingling is a phrase or set of words used to complement a company's name and logo to create a feeling and reaction within their target market. We'll also go over some of the other things. Attack. A good, really good tagline can do later in the course examples that you're probably familiar with . Just do it from Nike. Challenge everything from EA games and think different from Apple 3. Additional Tagline Examples: As you probably know, since you're taking this course, taglines are extremely important for businesses. Not all of them need them. But most successful businesses do you have a tagline. It's gonna be a part of your overall brand, just like your logo and your name. It can help connect you with customers, and it can help influence sales. So over the past decade, I've created several 100 taglines from businesses, both start ups and already established small businesses. Here are four examples in my explanation of why I created each for each business so the first year's plans change. Stay updated. This tagline was for a calendar startup that helps users stay on top of their calendar and get notifications when things change so plain plans change. That part appeals to busy people with schedules that are fluid and constantly changing, which is a pain point for the target market. These people don't have time to constantly check and update their calendar, so this tagline quickly helps them understand what the APP does and why they need it. Because plans change, they need something to keep them updated in this app is the best way to do that for them the next year is feedback forward. This was for a corporate consulting company that uses feedback to improve different aspects of a company, from customer service to the products and services they provide. This tagline really works well because it's intriguing shore easy to remember, and it hints at the core benefit they can provide to clients, which is improving companies moving them forward using feedback that they're already likely collecting the next year is life's too Short for long cuts. This was created for a barbershop that uses their speed as their main point of differentiation. It's in their name. This business, as you can tell by the tagline, is targeting men who are busy and simple when it comes to their haircut needs. It promotes that benefit being really quick, and it differentiates over other competitors by basically calling other competitors slow, saying you don't have time for the longer cuts at our competitors. That's why you should come here. And the last one here is looking to be found tag. You're it. I'm very proud of this tagline. It was for a business that focuses on helping businesses utilize Hashtags, which are mainly used on Twitter Facebook instagram to increase their followings online and get more leads. So now that we've looked at several tagline examples, let's talk about what makes a tag line great. 4. Characteristics of a Perfect Tagline: my experiences, I've found that there's eight characteristics of a perfect tagline and each tagline that I create for business or startup. I do try to meet every single one of these. Now that might change depending on the wants and needs of a specific business or the preferences of the entrepreneur that's in charge of the business. But I always try to meet every single one. That's also the reason I have think different apples. Tagline. I think it pretty much perfectly meets every single one of these eight. So number one is short. You want a tagline to be short. I always try to keep it under. It's a 5 to 6 words. Sometimes the longer it depends on the business and the point you're trying to get across. Most of the great taglines are 2 to 5 words. Most aren't much longer. You can get away with it if you haven't invested Target Market, Who's gonna understand it? Invest. It just means they want to hear what you have to say. Number two is memorable. Not all short Ted lines are memorable. You want to make sure you use really simple words, and it has to be catchy. So sometimes companies will use rhymes or play on words different things to make sure it's memorable. Number three is easy to understand. Obviously, you don't want it to be complex. It has to be a real short, punchy statement that's obviously short, memorable and easy to understand. Number. Forced flows with the name of the business apple Think different. Nike. Just do it. You want to be able to say your business name, followed by the tagline, and have it feel like it's like it flows. Number five is aligns with the brand. This one's pretty obvious. Think different works for Apple because they do things differently. This is the way the approach business so it definitely aligns with the brand. Number six is showcases a key benefit, and this is something that can be really difficult with a tagline especially dependent on the type of tagline you decide to go with. It works for Apple in this situation because they promote being different and having products that are superior to others and that resonates with their target market. They want that they want to be different. They consider themselves different than everybody else, and that's why they go with Apple products, so this definitely showcases a key benefit for them. Number seven is differentiates the brand from competitors. I feel like this one is obvious as well. Them using think different. It separates them from other competitors there. There's outwardly saying we're different. This is what makes us different. This is why you should buy in with us, never ate. Positives encourages a positive reaction from the target market, and this can be a thought. In this case, it is a thought there saying, Think different. Don't go with the cheapest option or what's all around. You make sure to seek out things that are better, which is us. Nike also does a great job with this. Just do it. They're encouraging a positive reaction from the target market. They want them to get out there and be active to accomplish their athletic goals. Toe put on that parent Nikes and go for a run. So these are the eight characteristics off perfect tagline, and this also will be available in the course worksheet. So feel free to reference that you don't have to read these down. I have provided it in the course materials for you. 5. Pre-Tagline: What To Do: So now you know what a tagline is, why they're important and also the key characteristics of great taglines. But before you create your perfect tagline, there still a few more things that you do need to know. And here are five. Number one is no your target market. Obviously, you won't be sure if your tag line is going to resonate with your target market. If you don't know who they are, I would highly recommend that you create an avatar, which is outlining who your target market is, what they do for a living there. Name, age. Pick a specific person that your business creates your marketing around and make sure that tangling will resonate with them By picking one person. You're really picking a group of people that you're selling Teoh, and there will still be out liars that will buy into brand. It's not like your saying to the rest of people that made by your products. We don't want your business. You're simply saying this is specifically for you, and that's going to resonate really well with them. If you do that with your marketing efforts, including your tagline, Number two is defined. Your goals you need to know what you want this tagline to accomplish. Number three. Look at competitors. This is a really valuable exercise, especially when you're looking to differentiate your company using a tag line to make sure it stands out. See what your competitors air doing and see how you can position your tag line to show why your business is a better choice for your customers than your competitors. The only way you can do this is if you know they're taglines. You see what they're using and why. This might also give you some ideas, so don't try to copy them by any means or or do something just like they're doing. Even if they're successful, you want to be able to position your company in a better place to capture your customers, then your competitors. And you can do that through this research and then creating a tagline meant to show why customers should buy in your business instead of theirs. Make a list of keywords. So during my process, this is the most important part. While I go through what a business owner is telling me about their background of their business about their goals, their target market and their competitors are making the list of keywords. These are things that resonate with the target market and words that help guide these customers towards this business. So when Apple was writing their list of keywords, if they did a similar process and creating, there's, they would had being different, being smart, premium, different things that helped give them eventually to think different in Nike's case with Just do It. They were probably thinking active athletic on that helped get them to just do it in action statement for their target market. So make a long list of keywords I would do maybe 20 or 30 in these key words should be things that are gonna resonate with your target market words that they understand words that help explain the value that your business provides. And also this isn't a necessary step. But this is one I like to do is spend 5 to 15 minutes set a clock and just write everything that comes out of your head in relation to a tagline. So this is everything. What your business makes you think of what you think your customers want to hear, just right, and then going through those notes, I guarantee you can pick out those keywords that you will then start to use to create your perfect tagline. 6. 6 Steps to Create Your Tagline: you are now ready to start. Actually, working on your tag line is it is exciting and it should be fun. Make sure to look at the course materials where we have space for you to write out your keywords and also to get started on these steps. So the first step I always take when working with a small business on their tagline is I write out 10 sentences describing the value that the company provides to the target market . So if your cosmetics company and your main product is lipstick, maybe one of the sentences would be make your world mawr colorful. Just write 10 of them, spend maybe 10 to 20 minutes max on this step. But this is gonna be great. Start. So you want to use your keywords and use everything you know about your target market in writing these. If your target market is 40 and over, you don't want to use words that are going to apply more than teenagers, and vice versa mean use those things while you're writing these 10. But don't scrutinize it heavily yet. Just get 10 written down and then you can narrow down and we'd these out This is a process , and this is a great first step. So go ahead and pause this. Use the worksheet to write out 10 beginner taglines and remember, write them out of sentences. They still should be no longer than 15 words, but go ahead and write out 10. The second step here is trim. Go through each one and take out every word that doesn't change the meaning of a sentence. So it might sound a little awkward. Maybe think different sounds weird compared to a full sentence that says, Upgrade your technology. Eso You can think different and change the world. And then they narrowed it down to think different. Most hag lines were longer sense at one point, and then it's chopped down to something very basic and simple, and that's what you want to do. If you don't train, you're gonna have a 8 to 12 word tagline that nobody's ever gonna remember in. It's way too long, so really got out. Each of those 10 options still keep all 10. Even if you kind of don't like him, see where this process leads you. Make sure to trim each of the 10. The third step here is the eye test. Now you want to really look and scrutinize each of the 10 options. Are they too long? Does it look awkward? Does it not seem to flow those air? The question kinds of questions you want to be asking and you can start eliminating ones that don't pass the eye test if it if it's not gonna look nice next to your logo or after someone says the logo and then looks at your tag line if they seem disjointed or just don't flow right. A lot of times it's a gut feeling. So don't be afraid to just cut it because there's just something off about it. You're probably right. The next is the ear test. You need to say each of them out loud, and several times I would go through the list. Whatever you have left, 789 or all 10 say each out loud two or three times by themselves, then go back through the list and say each after your business name. So going back to one of our earlier examples Nike, Nike, just do it. You want to say your business name and then the tagline say each of those, the ones that don't sound right. You can rework it. If you still really want to consider that option, maybe you could trim it again or figure out sending them one of the words to change. And maybe it will sound better. You can really work them if if there's some parts of them you like. But I would probably recommend If it doesn't sound right, you should cut it and keep going. The next step here's that five is put through filters. So now that you have shortened taglines that have passed, I tests, they pass the year test, you know, wanna put through those eight filters? The characteristics. Is it short? Is it memorable? Does it? Is it going to resonate with your target market? Put it through those eight. And once again, that's on the course materials as well. And if it passes six or more, it's a very strong option. You could still consider ones that don't pass six, but I really wouldn't. If you can't pass four or five of those eight filters, it's not gonna be good tangling for your business. So put each one through try. You know it's gonna be tough to cut them all. If you don't have any that match six, you might need some outside help or to start all over again with your keywords and then writing 10. But I would strongly strongly bet on you being able to find one of your options meeting at least six if not all, eight of the filters. And then your six step is going to be narrow your options to just three. You might even have your one, and that's fantastic if you already have your finalized tagline, but go ahead and narrow these down to just three. 7. Finalize Your Tagline: At this point, you should have either The one tagline you narrowed your less down to or small list of three taglines at most. Now finalizing you're tangling means that you're choosing your tagline. You can always change it in the future, but ideally, this tagline is something you'll use for the next 5 to 10 years, if not for the entire life of your company. But before we can decide that this is the tagline, we're going to choose to build a brand in attracting customers. We have to take the following steps, so the first is say it or them out loud again. And this is also a way you can rank several options if you still have three, pick the one that sounds best for now. Go through the other steps and then you can pick the final, but you want to make sure it sounds good on its own. You want to make sure it sounds good, one paired with your company's name. The second is search for use, so take just your tagline or taglines. If you stole several and search each separately on Google, you want to see who is using your phrase and For what purpose? If a company in your industry's already using your phrase, or if the phrase is already known in a different industry, you probably want to either edit it so it's unique or pick a completely different one. It's okay if there are couples search results that come close to your tag line, but if there are hundreds that match the exact phrase you're using, it's best to keep looking. Number three A trademark search. This is a very important one. You need to make sure that your tagline is not trademarked for your industry. Now trademarks are different than copyrights, and you can trademark a phrase for your specific industry, whether that's health care or cosmetics or apparel. So ideally, I don't choose taglines for companies that are trademarked for any industry. I make sure to come up with something unique. Just avoid any that hassle. If there could ever be one. If someone could ever say you're using it in their industry or that you're violating their trademark, my favorite place to search for trademarks is trademark ee dot com. Search ings free. You don't need to log in or give him, and for any information you can see if there are any trademarks. If there's any trademarks expired on your phrase, and you can also see what industries they've been trademarked in. Number four is test. It's time to put your tag line to the test. Ideally, you should speak with five people in your target market. Family and friends who wouldn't be customers could still provide valuable feedback, but you should probably take their opinion lightly. What really matters is what people who are going to buy from you will think about and feel after hearing your tagline options in number five, choose your final tagline. You have everything you need now to choose your final tagline. Congratulations. If you have your final tagline, that is a big accomplishment. If not, it's OK. Go back through the process creates more options. Go through this again. This is a task worth investing some of your time in, and I do appreciate you spending time with me. I hope this is incredibly valuable. I have used my process through this whole course that has served me well over the past 10 years, but hopefully you do have that Tagle it and we can move on to talk about what we should do 8. Post Tagline To-Dos: after your taglines finalized, you now need to carefully add it into your brand with the least amount of disruption possible. If you have a large following, you want to be extra careful, and that means tens of thousands of Twitter followers. If you're getting lots of interactions, you just want to be really careful with this transition. So if you change your website, social media profiles and marketing marketing, copy all to reflect your new tagline on one day in your audience, hates or tagline, you then have to decide whether toe wait it out and see if it catches on or change back immediately, which kind of makes your brand look a little unstable, So one way to introduce it carefully is through a block post. Explain what the phrase means to your company and your customers and see what kind of feedback you get on that, and then you can slowly integrate it into the rest of your brand. So, for example, if we were Nike executives and just decided to make just do it, our official tangling, we could write an article about the importance of taking intentional action in order to accomplish our dreams and goals in life that at some point, after thinking and planning and dreaming, you just have to do it and there's no better time than now. So in addition to planning how to integrate it into your brand, you also have to decide how it will appear. Visually. Will you incorporate it into your logo? Are you just gonna have it next to it in text? Maybe your website copy. So if so, you need to have a designer or do it yourself if you're gonna put it in your logo. Also create different versions of your logo with the tagline in it. I wouldn't change them all, and you could also decided not to include it in your logo on just to work it into marketing copy and different marketing materials, which is perfectly fine. Another consideration after you finalize your tag Ling is whether you should trade market. Keep in mind that when you trademark, it only applies to your industry, but it is a way to prevent your competitors from using it to their benefit when it's something that you have created. So if you had a coffee roaster business and you trademark cool beans and apparel company had a type of hat they called cool beans. They could both have a trademark, So don't think that a trademark means you completely own a phrase. But it does help competitors within your industry not be able to use that. And one other thing you might want to do is to secure the domain name for your tagline. It's another way to keep control of what you've created. Part of your brand is toe have the domain name for that tag line. You can also reroute this, so if somebody entered in that specific girl, it would take them to your website. 9. Your Project: Hopefully, you've been following along and doing each step as we've been covering him in the videos for your project. You do want to go through the process outlined in the course and finalize your tag line. Get that perfect tagline for your business. Then share your business name and your tagline in the your project section of this course. If you're still working on finalizing your tagline, still submit it in the year Project Sections Course I'll be happy to provide my thoughts on the tagline. If you need any help, please do email me at Michael at Trepp rep dot com. Thank you once again for taking this course and good luck with creating the perfect tagline for your business. Please also rate this course. Let other students know what to expect and how helpful it's been. Hopefully, it's been extremely helpful on Feel Free to Follow Me, Michael Lucchese on skill share. Thank you so much.