How to write a tagline that sticks

Think of the taglines you remember. Chances are they are short, easy to say, and tell you something. They are rarely poetry. They are simple lines that did their job for a long time.

For a local business, a tagline has a modest but real purpose: to help a stranger understand, in a few seconds, what you do and why they might call you. That is something you can write yourself.

Know what the line is for

A tagline is not your whole story. It is a short handle on it. Before you write a word, answer two questions in plain sentences:

• What do you do, in the way a customer would describe it?
• What do people get from you that they are glad about afterward?

Say your answers out loud, to a friend or family member if you can. The way you explain it to them is often closer to a good tagline than anything you will come up with while staring at a blank page.

Our guide to small business brand identity covers how a tagline fits with your name, logo, and voice, if you want the bigger picture first.

Write a long list first

The first idea is rarely the best one. Set a timer for fifteen minutes and write down every line you can think of. Aim for twenty or more. Most will be mediocre, and that is fine. The list is there to get the obvious options out of the way.

Try a few different angles:

• What you do ("Honest roofing for Tulsa homes")
• What customers get ("Come home to a clean house")
• How you work ("Same-day answers, fair prices")
• Where you are from ("Oklahoma City's neighborhood bakery")

Keep any that feel true. Cross out any that sound like they could belong to anyone, like "Quality you can trust" or "Excellence in everything we do." Those words sit on thousands of business cards and mean nothing to any of them.

Choose clear over clever

This is the one rule worth holding to. A pun or a play on words can be delightful, but if people have to stop and work it out, most will not. A clear line tells them what they need and moves on.

A quick test: if a stranger read your tagline with no other context, could they guess what kind of business you run? If yes, you are in good shape. If they would need you to explain it, keep working.

Clever is allowed when it is also clear. If you land on a line that does both, wonderful. Just do not trade clarity away to get there.

Keep it short and say it out loud

Three to seven words is a comfortable range for most businesses. Short lines are easier to remember, easier to fit on a sign or a truck door, and easier to read on a phone.

Then say it aloud. Does it flow, or does it trip you up? Can you say it to a customer without feeling silly? A tagline that is awkward in your own mouth will be awkward everywhere else.

Test it before you print it

Before you put a line on a sign, a website, and a few hundred business cards, check it with a few real people. Show your top three to customers, friends, or neighbors who do not work with you. Ask:

1. What kind of business do you think this is?
2. What does this line make you expect?
3. Which of these would you remember tomorrow?

You are listening for confusion. If two or three people read the same line the wrong way, that is useful information. Fix it now, while changing it is free.

Use it where people will see it

Once you have a line you like, put it in the places people already look: your website header, your Google Business Profile description, your email signature, your social profiles, your signs, and your invoices. Using it consistently is what makes it stick. A great tagline used in one place is forgotten. A decent one used everywhere starts to feel familiar.

The honest part

A tagline will not fix a business on its own, and it will not do anything overnight. It is one small piece of a clear brand, and its value shows up slowly, as people see it again and again and begin to connect it with you.

It also does not have to be forever. Many businesses refine their line as they learn what customers respond to. Start with a clear one, give it a fair run, and adjust if you need to.

If you would like a second set of eyes on your name, your line, and how they look together, tell us what you need and we will help you land on something plain, clear, and yours.