Amy Carroll » Marketing Your Message » Writing a Tagline–Part 2

Writing a Tagline–Part 2

I  hope I convinced you last week that taglines are important and a worthy investment of your thought and time.

This week I want to give you some steps to take to write your tagline.

1.  Pray–Ask God to show you the niche specially made for you.  Also, ask Him to fill you with His gift for words!

2.  Think–Think about your past experiences and your current passions.  I love this instructive thought from Mary Demuth, “Your ministry niche is the intersection of your life experiences and what you see as the world’s greatest problems.”  I’d ask yourself questions like:  What past events have shaped who I am today?  What credentials make me qualified to speak on a subject?  What are adjectives I’d use to describe myself?  What topics make me want to jump up on my soap box?  What are my favorite subjects to converse about?

As you think, start a word bank on paper.  List words and phrases that come to mind as you ask yourself these questions.

3.  Ask–Ask some people close to you, “What do you see as my passions?  What passions always bubble to the top when we talk?”  It’s interesting.  People usually say what you think they well, but occasionally they don’t.  You’ll either have your passions confirmed or see  how God is using you in ways you haven’t recognized.  Both are great results!

Add these words and thoughts to your word bank.

4.  Brainstorm–Sit down with something to write on and something to write with.  Determine to fill the paper with ideas.  Turn off your internal editor–trying to evaluate in the midst of brainstorming is the surest way to damp the flow of ideas–and create.  Write a tagline and play with it, writing it as many different ways as you can. When you can’t think of any more, start again with a completely different tagline.

Only turn your editor back on when you’ve finished brainstorming.  Choose your top 3 or 4.  Narrow down to 2, and then pick one.  Although I think outside input is awesome, I’m finding myself a little confused because of the various input.  If you ask and don’t like your friend’s advice, be ready to choose the one they don’t like.  In the end, your tagline need to meet this checklist:

  • Concise
  • Memorable–this included a fresh perspective and unique way of saying it
  • Expresses what you’ll give to your audience
  • YOU LOVE IT!

Equal to all those above, I think it’s important to pick one you love.  You’re the one who is going to have to live with it, say it to people who ask “What do you speak/write about?”, and attach it to your website, business cards, email signature, etc.  You need to love it and be proud of what it expresses.

Your turn!  Would you share your tagline if you love it?  Even if you don’t would you be willing to share?  Friends, let’s jump into conversation about taglines.

 

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One Comment

  1. With your help, Amy, I arrived at a tagline that I love. And now that I’ve launched my ministry and am out using it to answer that question, “What do you do?” I’m finding it captures what I do in my ministry exactly. I’m Laura Naiser with Making It Real Ministries and I speak and write about: Real life at the intersection of truth and grace. Thanks for helping me with my tagline!