Is It Time To Revisit Your Tagline?
Insight from Gil Templeton — Demand Curve Staff Writer
For all the changes in marketing and branding over the last several decades, the merits and tenets of a strong tagline remain largely unchanged in my book.
Your tagline should convey the greatest value you offer in a way that's clear, differentiated, and emotionally resonant with your target…which can be a tall order to pack into five-ish words or fewer. That's why it usually takes careful consideration and lots of iteration to get to a winner.
A good tagline is becoming more valuable as a way to differentiate in the increasingly competitive small business space. It can help you be a consistent, focused signal among the growing noise in your category.
For startups and smaller businesses, I'd urge you to lock down on one consistent tagline across messaging efforts. Some household brand names (who pay for lots of TV ads) might use short-lived campaign lines or wrap lines for a campaign or quarter. But for lesser-known companies with smaller marketing budgets, diverting focus tends to dilute your message.
There aren't exactly hard-and-fast "rules" for when to use a tagline, but think of it like your company's shortest boilerplate message. In those instances where you're making a first impression or leaving people with one key takeaway, you can default to your tagline.
You can use your tagline in your:
- Hero logo lockup
- Ad campaigns
- Web headers and meta descriptions
- Signage at a trade show or conference
- Email signatures
- Social bios
- Product packaging
- Branded swag
- Loading screens or video intros
- Pitch decks
- Business cards or letterhead
How to Assess Your Current Tagline
If you already have a tagline, check yours against this basic criteria to see if you have a winner, or if you need to reconsider. This is an admittedly subjective topic, and there are outliers that might work well, but these three questions are here to serve as your sounding board and keep you honest.
1. Is your tagline clear?
This doesn't mean it has to describe your company or call out your industry, but it should convey what you make possible, what you can make go away, or the shift someone feels after using you.
It should be focused and specific. Ask yourself (or better yet, ask someone else) "Does this convey the general gist of the value we provide?"
Taglines for a meal kit service:
Clear example: Solve dinner in 15 minutes.
Unclear example: Redefining how people eat at home.
Takeaway: The clear example conveys the benefit (saving time) and lets readers gather that it's a meal kit/prep service. The unclear example is a grandiose nothing-burger that requires more context for any clear takeaway outside of "food."
2. Does it differentiate the company?
This doesn't have to be (and usually isn't) an explicit claim, but it should either convey your unique POV or hint at what makes you unique inside the competitive set.
Ask if your closest competitor could credibly use your same line. If so, it's probably not defensible. Differentiated taglines highlight a well-defined stance, benefit, or use case.
Taglines for a plant-based snack brand:
Differentiated example: Crave junk. Eat plants.
Undifferentiated example: Snacks you can feel good about
Takeaway: Differentiation in a tagline does not need to mirror your UVP or be a competitive message. The first example here is differentiated, simply because it takes a stance that feels unique, bold, and conveys their value for a specific use case. The bad tagline could live (and probably does live) across hundreds of brands.
3. Does it stir up an emotion?
The best taglines hit you in the gut. The easiest way to test it is by asking whether it makes a reader feel something beyond sheer understanding or comprehension.
It doesn't have to make someone "emotional." But ask yourself: Does it excite? Spark curiosity? Make them feel seen? Create a sense of connection? Provide a sense of relief? Make them proud? If your tagline does something like this, it's pulling the emotional lever.
Taglines for a farmers' market collective:
Emotional example: Know the folks feeding you.
Emotionally empty example: Farm-fresh food every week.
Takeaway: The strong example evokes a sense of deeper connection and delivers on that natural human desire. The weak example reduces the product(s) to a commodity with descriptive, emotionally empty copy.
(For more on avoiding descriptive copy and instead answering "What's in it for me?" to your audience, see a fan-favorite Demand Curve resource here.)
Now, to evaluate your tagline:
Most good taglines can only deliver on one or two of these in spades. So instead of asking, "Does my tagline totally nail all three of these?" ask yourself, "Does it nail at least one of these really well? And do I avoid the common pitfalls of being unclear, undifferentiated, or emotionally flat?"
So if your tagline is clearly violating one of these no-nos (lacking clarity, sounding like anyone else, or being devoid of emotion), you should consider updating it.
In that same spirit, if your tagline doesn't pull at least one of these three levers in a major way, you might want to try for a new one that does.
Tips for Writing a New Tagline
I'll caveat things again by saying: there are many iconic and enduring taglines that violate a tip or two below, so think of these like general best practices to help you get to solid ground.
For your starting point, ask yourself what feeling, promise, or change you most want to embed in someone's head. A tagline's job is to convey your value in a few memorable words, so begin by exploring the core benefit, belief, or transformation your brand makes possible.
A lot of startups don't have the luxury of mass brand awareness, so the rules here are slightly different than those for household names. For startups and smaller businesses in need of a hardworking, helpful tagline, follow these general tips when writing yours:
Tip 1: Make it as punchy as possible
As a copywriter who's written lots of taglines over the last decade, I've noticed there's a natural ceiling at about five words. A tag longer than five words is harder for people to repeat or remember, and it will likely pose issues down the road (your logo lockup, fitting into small spaces, lower recall, etc.).
But this doesn't necessarily mean, "See what you can do in five words." Try to get it down to three or four if possible, and judge every word as "guilty until proven innocent" to ensure it's working hard for you. Your word count and character count are precious here. Make every one count.
To make your tagline as short as possible:
- Remove any qualifier words (really, truly, more, better, innovative, modern, etc.) that aren't mission-critical.
- Ditch the throat-clearing setup words ("Helping you…", "Designed to…", "Making it easier to…").
- Swap phrases for single words where possible ("Get rid of" → remove; "Move faster with" → accelerate.)
Example A: Payroll Software Company
Too verbose: Simplifying the way you pay employees.
Punchy: Make payroll stupid-simple.
Example B: E-Commerce SaaS
Too verbose: Sell your products across every channel.
Punchy: Sell everywhere.
Tip 2: Be singular
Your tagline should only make one point. You might be tempted to load it with multiple benefits, audiences, or ideas, but that will likely dilute your message.
A great tagline shines a bright spotlight on just one promise or benefit. Be so sharp and focused, the reader instantly knows what to take away.
Example A: Healthcare payment platform
Too scattered: Easier payments for doctors and patients
Singular: Simplify every care payment.
Example B: Fitness App
Too scattered: Track workouts. Count calories. Build confidence.
Singular: Get healthier every day.
Tip 3: Be actionable
There are plenty of great taglines that don't do this, but using the imperative case and instructing people to do something is generally a strong approach; It's certainly not THE only way to write a tagline, but it tends to keep you on the right track.
Some all-time classic taglines like "Think Different," "Open Happiness," and "Just Do It" embrace this angle to make their point.
You'll notice I've naturally been doing this in my examples (taglines that begin with words like solve, crave, know, make, sell, simplify, get.)
Being actionable can do you several favors:
- It makes your tagline a call-to-action in itself, giving readers something to do or become instead of just giving them an idea to process.
- It puts the customer at the forefront, and shows them what they stand to gain as opposed to a self-important description of your company.
- It forces you to be clear. If you can tell someone what to do in a couple of words, it's a good sign you've boiled down your value to a very focused form.
Example A: Travel-booking platform
Inactionable: Your fastest travel booking solution.
Actionable: Book travel faster.
Example B: Cloud storage SaaS
Inactionable: Better cloud-based file storage.
Actionable: Access files anywhere.
Tip 4: Play the numbers game
Much like naming a brand or writing a killer headline, the process for writing a tagline is largely a numbers game. You should really get a couple hundred options on the page before you whittle the list down to a few favorites to stress-test and consider.
First, go wide. Come at it from every possible angle and get as many types of ideas on the page as possible (aim for 200+). Riff with a partner or coworker for a few marathon sessions. Use LLMs to return tons of options. Keep going and going.
Then, go back through the list and choose 5 to 10 favorites. Rewrite them and rewrite them to ensure the idea is as short, clear, and compelling as possible.
Once you've got your final contenders, stress test them across various contexts (logo lockup, ad creative, etc.) to help you pick "the one."
Then, ask a few trusted customers (or other trusted opinions outside of your company) if they "get it" and if they can repeat it easily.
If so, bag it and tag it. You've got your tagline.
Gil Templeton
Demand Curve Staff Writer
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