A tagline is the key phrase under the title that identifies three elements of your blog: your mission, your promise, and your brand.

Like the title, your blog’s tagline helps visitors understand exactly what your blog is about. By writing an effective tagline, you narrow down or clarify the ‘first impression’ made by your title. Good taglines may be clever, inspirational or funny, but just like titles, they should always be informative, simple and memorable.

Let’s look at some examples of taglines and the functions they serve:

On my blog Goodlife ZEN, I chose the tagline Practical inspiration for a happier life. The blog name – together with the tagline – immediately clarifies what kind of posts the reader is likely to encounter.

Chris Guillebeau’s blog is called The Art of Non-Conformity, which tells you that Chris likes to break the mold and do things just a little differently. His tagline “Unconventional Strategies for Life, Work, and Travel” does a great job of telling readers exactly what kind of content they can expect to find. This is a good example of a tagline that gives specifics.

Get Rich Slowly is a personal finance blog without all the ‘get rich quick’ hype. The tagline “Personal Finance that Makes Cents” is a good example of a tagline that reinforces the blog’s message. It tells us that Get Rich Slowly is a blog that focuses on practical, realistic financial advice.

Write to Done has a unique tagline. “Unmissable articles on writing” gives visitors a direct, compelling reason to stay, read and subscribe.

Notice that all of these taglines are simple and easy to remember.

How to Write a Great Tagline

Take a look at the title of your blog. Which parts of it are vague? Which parts of it are confusing? What questions might people have after seeing your blog’s title? This is a good starting point, because your tagline should answer some of these questions.

• Express a benefit in your tagline. The best tagline expresses a promise; it tells new readers why they should subscribe to a blog.
• Brainstorm taglines. When you’ve got at least ten, see if you can shortlist the best candidates.
• Get a second opinion . Show your blog / blog title to some of your friends and ask them to tell you what they think it is about. Where did they go wrong? What information can you put in your tagline to help them understand the focus of your blog?
• Develop your brand. Your blog’s title, tagline and content should all work together to communicate your brand. If you plan to write content with a sense of humor, for example, consider writing a funny tagline. If you plan to write about simplicity and minimalism, on the other hand, you probably want to stick with a simple tagline (like on Zen Habits).
• Find inspiration. If you’re having trouble choosing the right tagline, take some time to see what other bloggers have done. We’ve looked at four examples of great taglines already, but there are tons of effective blog taglines out there for you to find. Movie posters are another place to find examples of effective taglines.
• Don’t overthink. Even if you’re not 100% satisfied with the tagline that you pick, don’t sweat it. You can always change your tagline as your blog and readership evolves.

Author: Mary Jaksch