Coming up with the perfect tagline for your art business isn’t easy. How do you say, in as few words as possible, what your art is all about? How do you create a tagline that can withstand the test of time?
Better yet, how do you create a message that captures your target audience’s attention enough to keep them thinking about your art business long after they’ve left your online shop, or the gallery showcasing your work?
This week, 6 successful business owners shed a little light on the subject by sharing their company taglines, the stories behind their taglines, and their best tip for helping you craft the perfect tagline for your business.
1. Highlight what YOU do differently
Michelle Lin, of Chelleline Cards, uses the clever and descriptive tagline: Putting the ‘hand’ back into ‘handmade’
Michelle came up with the tagline after realizing that many of the greeting cards produced by small businesses were being reproduced through printing presses while each one of her collaged greeting cards were being crafted with her own two hands.
When it comes to creating a tagline for your art business, Michelle says, “Think about your work in the context of your competition. What are you doing differently?”
2. Keep it short, simple, and obvious
Fashion consultant and publicist, Colin T. McDonald, of Colin T. McDonald Agency, uses a concise, bold tagline: Image + Confidence = Style
Colin’s says his tagline means “if you can create an image and have the confidence to attract others to want to imitate it, then you created a sense of style.”
His advice for creating a tagline is, “Keep it short. Keep it simple. And make people say, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?!'”
3. Choose a tagline you’re passionate about
MegganJoy Trobaugh, principle photographer of MegganJoyPHOTO, uses a very personal, and empowering tagline: Decide What Defines You
MegganJoy decided on the tagline a year after starting her business. Her big brother had passed away and suddenly, her business took on a whole new meaning. Thinking about her loss, and what she wanted to remember about her brother, she realized that what she did for a living—photographing families—was not only “priceless” to her clients, “but to the generations to come after them”.
Then one day, while discussing her brother’s death with his daughter, her niece said, “I will decide what defines me.” That statement resonated with MegganJoy so much that she knew she had found it. . . that was her business tagline.
When it comes to creating the perfect tagline for your art business, MegganJoy says, “Make sure it’s something that you love enough that you’re willing to scream it to those who love your brand just as much as you.”
She also wants you to love it enough that you are comfortable enough to share it with a room full of strangers—knowing half of them just won’t get it. But also knowing that your target audience, will get it. And that’s what matters!
4. Use your tagline to give your brand a “voice”
Racheal Kash, president of Lulu Blossom Inc., uses: Go ahead… Get some!
Racheal says the tagline means, “give us a try. You can count on us and you’ll be glad you did.” She goes on to say that her brand “is fun, nature driven, trustworthy and lighthearted. . . while her message is clear.”
Her advice for creating a tagline is to make sure it is cohesive with your brand. You want to “clearly focus on what your brand would say if it had a voice and a moment to speak”.
5. Brainstorm your tagline with friends and family
Veterinarian and entrepreneur, Julie Buzby, of ToeGrips, uses: Get a Doggone Grip!
Julie says she developed her ToeGrips for Dogs in an effort to help senior, rehabilitating, and disabled dogs obtain traction on hard-surface floors. But coming up with a tagline wasn’t easy so she enlisted the help of her family.
Her advice for creating a tagline that sticks, “Brainstorm! Our tagline was born at our extended family’s Christmas gathering. My mom later said, ‘Well, it was either play Family Feud or brainstorm your business start up.’ We had an absolute blast! Pooling brain power of family members who are close enough to your brand to share your passion, but not so close as to lose perspective (like an owner can), serves as a free think tank!”
6. Focus on the most important element of your brand
Cassandra Droogan, founder and president of PYSIS Inc., uses a descriptive, “call-to-action” tagline: Protect Your Shoes In Style!
When Cassandra designed the PYSIS Overboots, she knew she had designed a very unique product and she wanted to make sure the tagline she used conveyed a message. . . that it explained what her product does.
She says, “The word ‘Protect’ distinguishes PYSIS from typical rain boots that are not worn OVER shoes and ‘In Style’ distinguishes them from your grandfather’s old galoshes (or rubbers), which have fallen out of fashion because they looked so goofy. PYSIS protect your shoes in style—literally!”
Her advice for creating a tagline is “to think of the most important element(s) of your brand message and make sure it comes across in your tagline.”
The next time you create a tagline, either for a new art business or one you already own, think about these 6 suggestions. Pick one suggestion that works for you, or try all of them! Your tagline says a lot about your business, so don’t stop until you find one that feels right and says the right thing!
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