It took my cousin, my male cousin, to come up with my tagline. And I write contemporary romance. Makes it sound like I'm not a very good writer if I can't produce a short, simple tagline. Those few words have to be poignant, powerful, full of meaning. They have to entice a reader to check out my work. The tagline must sum up the essence of my fiction and convey emotion, romance, drama, and - let's face it - basically accomplish a minor miracle. Not so simple, after all. Mind you, words come easily to me, and I trust I'm not risking anything by stating publicly that I've never suffered from writer's block. Trust me, I understand how blessed I am. Writing a 400-page book? No problem! But composing a tagline of only a few words? Impossible!
Louisa May Alcott, Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain never had to come up with taglines. And don't think for one minute I'm comparing my writing to theirs. Back in their day, all they had to do was write, granted with much more primitive tools of the trade. Of course, these three authors had the most important tools - lively imaginations and a unique way with words. Still, it's fun to ponder the possibilities. Louisa would probably adopt some female-empowering slogan. Ernest would likely say, "I'd rather be fishing," and Mark, "I'd rather be drinking." Wait. Maybe it would be the other way around. In any case, they would undoubtedly view taglines as a colossal waste of time. Then again, they were able to focus on writing and didn't have to worry about what modern-day writers face: marketing, advertising and promotion. But that's a topic for another day.
The irony of my "condition" in not being able to produce a decent tagline does not escape me. I mulled over ideas in my head for a few weeks. At a family dinner, nearly desperate, I finally posed my question. Well, more like begged for their help by tugging on familial ties. "You have to help me!" Everyone around the dinner table stared at me as though I had two heads. One family member even had the nerve to state the obvious, "Well, uh, you're the writer in the family, JoAnn."
Then my helpful cousin, Jamie, said, "How about... Awakening the Spirit of Romance?" He waved his hand in the air with a flourish and broke into a triumphant smile. Bless his generous, creative heart. I repeated the words under my breath, letting them roll over my tongue, savoring each one. I looked around the table to see my otherwise mute family members nodding at one another in smug satisfaction, pleased to be participants in the process. Yes! It was perfect, especially since Awakening is, in fact, the name of my upcoming book.
If I had to "diagnose" my condition, I'd say I'm essentially brevity-challenged. One way I tried to overcome this obstacle was by entering a couple of flash fiction contests. I was forced to write a complete story in only 300 words based on the prompt of a photograph in one and a beginning sentence in the other. Surely it would be torture. Try it sometime. It's downright daunting. My grocery list is longer than that! I wrote, I rewrote, I tossed out words, I wrote again, I edited. I found I actually enjoyed writing short stories in first person. Surprisingly enough, I also found flash fiction to not only be a challenge, but it was really great fun. So, I finally submitted. The first contest, I tied for third. But, imagine my surprise when I actually won the second one! Another fun note: each of my two flash fiction entries came in at exactly 300 words!
It doesn't mean I've mastered brevity, by any means. That will always be one of my greatest challenges. But I have learned the value of each and every word, and to make them all count. That's a great lesson to learn! And it most definitely applies to those pesky tag lines.
What's your personal stumbling block or your greatest challenge in your writing? I'd love to hear from you! Blessings to all, and I hope to meet many of you in Indy in a few short weeks.
Showing posts with label tag lines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tag lines. Show all posts
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Using a Tag Line to Promote Your Writing
Last month I covered how having a professional logo could make you more memorable, and save you time explaining yourself during a first meeting with a prospective client or editor. This month, I’d like to add one more promotional element to your writing arsenal that can also assist you in promoting your writing – the tag line. Tag lines are also referred to as a slogan, and are usually a phrase, of up to seven words, that is catchy and ties in directly to the first snap-shot impression you want someone to have of you and your writing style.
Tip: This is not to be confused with your elevator pitch – which is a short, 30-second description of you, what you write, and what makes you unique from other writers.
Most of us are familiar with product tag lines, such as: Nike - ‘Just Do It’, Bounty – ‘The Quicker Picker-Upper’, M&Ms – ‘Melts in Your Mouth Not in Your Hands’ … and oh-so-many more. These companies have been using the same tag-line to promote the same product for many years. For businesses and individuals it is much more common that you will change your slogan or tag line about every two years to match up with any change in direction you may be taking. After all, if you happen to be a prolific writer, you are hopeful that the novel you are working on now will be published within two years and you will then be moving on to writing and promoting your next writing adventure! Watch for slogans everywhere you shop, or even in your kitchen cabinets. Analyze the ones that seem the most effective, or interesting to you.
Questions that need to be addressed when creating your tag line:
While thinking about those 5 questions write down all of the words that come to your mind. You might also want to check out what tag lines your competition is using. Pay attention to what words they use. Make sure that you aren’t copying a tag that someone in your field is already using. You might find some useful words, but don’t make your tag-line TOO similar to avoid plagiarizing.
At this point, dig out your thesaurus, write down even more words to choose from and then develop a list of your favorite tag line ideas. Look them over and apply the 5 questions above to your list. Narrow your choices down to the most effective ones and then ask willing family, friends or colleagues to chime in. If you end up with more than one top choice – either keep tweaking the words until one is the obvious choice, or use one for a couple of years and keep the other for your next promotional campaign, to keep things fresh.
Example - My First Tag Line
Aside from my personal writing projects, I run a small business performing copy writing and graphic design projects for individuals and other businesses. I regularly work with clients that have an idea of what they want, sometimes they even have some of the writing, or even logos and photos they know they want to use, but they can’t quite put their finger on how to pull it all together and make an advertisement or brochure out of it … (or whatever the project may be). Sometimes they don’t even know how they want to advertise themselves, they simply know they have a great product and want their potential customers to know all about it. And my clients can be everything from another writer, to a large global company. My slogan had to be somewhat generic to incorporate a very big potential client list.
After working on tag lines for others for years, I still found it a challenge to come up with the first one to use on my own business. Because I’m a visual thinker I eventually chose to use wrought iron and ceramic tiles as elements in my advertising and I also wanted to mimic that in my slogan. Both wrought iron and tile are raw elements that are usually unimpressive on their own, but you can use them to make items that are beautifully intricate, and often useful too. So my brainstormed slogan ideas reflected taking raw elements and making something whole from them.
I eventually came up with ‘Taking raw ideas … and making something beautiful!’ as my first tag line. Hopefully, my journey to my own first tag line will inspire you to work on one of your own. I am just starting to use it on my web site and in my advertising, and I still need to add it to my e-mail signature, business card etc. As I slowly develop all of the elements I use to promote myself I will now include my tag-line, pictures of tile, and my logo – which includes an intricate wrought iron fence. The more I do this, the more potential for instant recognition I will have.
Are you using a tag line? If so, please comment and share what you are using.
Blessings,
Suzanne Wesley
Tip: This is not to be confused with your elevator pitch – which is a short, 30-second description of you, what you write, and what makes you unique from other writers.
Most of us are familiar with product tag lines, such as: Nike - ‘Just Do It’, Bounty – ‘The Quicker Picker-Upper’, M&Ms – ‘Melts in Your Mouth Not in Your Hands’ … and oh-so-many more. These companies have been using the same tag-line to promote the same product for many years. For businesses and individuals it is much more common that you will change your slogan or tag line about every two years to match up with any change in direction you may be taking. After all, if you happen to be a prolific writer, you are hopeful that the novel you are working on now will be published within two years and you will then be moving on to writing and promoting your next writing adventure! Watch for slogans everywhere you shop, or even in your kitchen cabinets. Analyze the ones that seem the most effective, or interesting to you.
Questions that need to be addressed when creating your tag line:
- Who will see it? Who is your customer/audience?
- What benefit do you offer to them?
- How do you stand out from your peers?
- What type of emotion or feeling do you want to emit?
- Is there any action you want someone seeing your slogan to take?
While thinking about those 5 questions write down all of the words that come to your mind. You might also want to check out what tag lines your competition is using. Pay attention to what words they use. Make sure that you aren’t copying a tag that someone in your field is already using. You might find some useful words, but don’t make your tag-line TOO similar to avoid plagiarizing.
At this point, dig out your thesaurus, write down even more words to choose from and then develop a list of your favorite tag line ideas. Look them over and apply the 5 questions above to your list. Narrow your choices down to the most effective ones and then ask willing family, friends or colleagues to chime in. If you end up with more than one top choice – either keep tweaking the words until one is the obvious choice, or use one for a couple of years and keep the other for your next promotional campaign, to keep things fresh.
Example - My First Tag Line
Aside from my personal writing projects, I run a small business performing copy writing and graphic design projects for individuals and other businesses. I regularly work with clients that have an idea of what they want, sometimes they even have some of the writing, or even logos and photos they know they want to use, but they can’t quite put their finger on how to pull it all together and make an advertisement or brochure out of it … (or whatever the project may be). Sometimes they don’t even know how they want to advertise themselves, they simply know they have a great product and want their potential customers to know all about it. And my clients can be everything from another writer, to a large global company. My slogan had to be somewhat generic to incorporate a very big potential client list.
After working on tag lines for others for years, I still found it a challenge to come up with the first one to use on my own business. Because I’m a visual thinker I eventually chose to use wrought iron and ceramic tiles as elements in my advertising and I also wanted to mimic that in my slogan. Both wrought iron and tile are raw elements that are usually unimpressive on their own, but you can use them to make items that are beautifully intricate, and often useful too. So my brainstormed slogan ideas reflected taking raw elements and making something whole from them.
I eventually came up with ‘Taking raw ideas … and making something beautiful!’ as my first tag line. Hopefully, my journey to my own first tag line will inspire you to work on one of your own. I am just starting to use it on my web site and in my advertising, and I still need to add it to my e-mail signature, business card etc. As I slowly develop all of the elements I use to promote myself I will now include my tag-line, pictures of tile, and my logo – which includes an intricate wrought iron fence. The more I do this, the more potential for instant recognition I will have.
Are you using a tag line? If so, please comment and share what you are using.
Blessings,
Suzanne Wesley
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Finding A Platform (And Other Arguments With Myself)
I recently read an article about the importance of having a platform and branding to attract a publisher and sell books. It had a lot of good things to say but this topic has always left me with a big question mark. I'm a fiction writer. I'm more of a jack-of-all trades than an expert at any one thing. This applies more to nonfiction authors, right? Someone who writes a book about finances has a built-in platform of financial expertise and can travel the country teaching people valuable lessons about managing money. But fiction authors write about all sorts of topics/themes and may not be an expert at any of them. In my first novel, Snow Angel, the theme is the classic redemption story of God's love. Duchess and the Dragon is finding your own faith and growing in that, Wind Dancer - spiritual warfare, Love's First Light - forgiveness and my latest book, Angel's Den, domestic violence. While writing and researching these books I learned a lot, but I don't feel qualified to get behind a microphone and claim to be an expert at any of these themes. (Never mind that pesky fear of public speaking). When it comes to branding myself and platforms I've always felt clueless. What am I an expert at? What knowledge or ability do I have that other people would like to learn?
It's at this point that many authors become writing coaches. I think this is great, and I try to help out aspiring authors as much as I can, but I don't think "teaching" is my gift. I function too much on gut instinct and don't know how to convey that as a teacher. What, if anything, do all my books have in common? Romance and history. I could build a platform around historical research and target history lovers. I've seen some pretty impressive websites that dive into world of the Regency period or have a Jane Austen look and feel but my books are set in different locations and time periods which would mean a separate website for each book. Not very practical and that narrows my playing field to history lovers. I've noticed that people either love history or couldn't care less.
Okay, what about romance? Love? Hook-ups? Hmmm. Now there is a huge topic and I am a big fan. When I look at the kinds of books/movies/TV shows I read and watch, I definitely find a lot of romance. And if I ask myself what my dream career would be second to writing, I think I would say matchmaker - that would be seriously fun! I love it when two people fall in love. Do I have a passion for romance and helping people find their mate? Yes! Yes, I do!
In asking myself a few questions, I have discovered a possible platform that I am really excited about. I'm not sure what it will look like yet, but my immediate response to articles on branding has gone from shoulder shrugging to an eagerness to start writing blog entries about finding love. That's a start and who knows where it might go from there? Sometimes we box ourselves in because we lack the faith and vision that God sees for us. In this area of finding my platform, that is exactly what I have been doing.
How about you? Are there any areas in your writing career that you've felt clueless about? Do you think fiction authors need a platform, branding, taglines, etc? I'm excited to hear your thoughts!
Jamie Carie
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