How to Develop Your Tagline to Win More Work
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One of the six keys to success as a solopreneur is to be known for something and be memorable. When you are perceived as an expert, you’ll get more referrals and win more work. Narrowing your niche is an important step in the right direction, but you’ll also want to develop a tagline as part of your branding.
A marketing tagline is short phrase that helps people remember you in a certain way. Just like the phrase “Just Do It” makes you think of Nike, your tagline should make people think of you when they hear it. Ideally, it should say what you do and the results you achieve. It may include who you do it for, though that’s usually not necessary. What is necessary is to keep the tagline short, without overly long words or business jargon. For example:[1]
“HR/shared-services expert focused on efficiency”
“High-performance advisor & burnout-prevention specialist”
“Turnaround leader for distressed middle-market companies”
“Change strategy & implementation for big, hairy tech projects”
“Mentor & advocate to help solopreneurs create the career of their dreams”
Developing a tagline is harder than you think but it gets easier once you’ve defined your niche and service offerings. (See my earlier article for tips.) After helping hundreds of solopreneurs, I’ve developed this formula:
(What You Do) + (The Result)
Step 1: Select the keywords that best reflect your expertise (What You Do). In the list of taglines above, some of the keywords are “big, hairy projects;” “shared services;” “burnout prevention;” and “turnaround leader.” These words should cause that expert to be top-of-mind. Your keywords should pinpoint your sweet spot—the work you really love to do and what you want to be known for.
Here are some thought-starters: strategic planning, estate planning, merger integration, process reengineering, org design, diversity, digital marketing, college financing, change strategy, performance management, leadership development, executive coaching, financial planning . . . You get the idea.
Step 2: Summarize the big-picture outcome of your work (The Results.) What potential clients really want to know is, “How will this benefit me? Is it worth the money?” When you construct your one-liner, it’s usually best to include the result rather than the approach or problem. Your ideal clients already know they have a problem; they’re looking for The Person to help them fix it.
Step 3. Stitch the What and the Results together. Start the phrase with an action word (gerund) ending in “-ing” (e.g., growing, increasing, helping, driving, maximizing, harnessing, slashing, optimizing). Insert your keywords, then add words that tee up the result (e.g., leading to, so that, resulting in, etc.). Last, add the result.
Action word…Keywords…connecting words…the result
More examples: [2]
“Solving operational problems to make way for growth and profit”
“Helping women in HR excel in the C-Suite and at home”
“Improving company profitability through better data insights”
“Moving your virtual teams from surviving to thriving to maximize performance”
“Coaching executives to lead high-performing organizations”
“Helping small business owners solve financial challenges and accomplish their goals”
Sometimes it makes sense to include your target client or industry, but only if you’re focusing solely on a market segment such as start-ups, health care, fintech, parents, or entrepreneurs. Here are a few industry-specific tagline examples:[3]
“HR and talent expert helping start-ups scale domestically and internationally”
“Showing business owners how to generate referrals without asking”
“Unlocking hidden value in health care + medtech through strategic sourcing”
“Certified Financial Planner helping parents save & pay for college without going broke”
Include the industry in your tagline if it’s particularly insular, like biopharma, where companies strongly prefer to hire experts who have already worked in their industry.
Don’t include in your tagline how you do whatever you do. It takes too many words to explain and it’s hard for people to remember. The more words in your tagline, the more you dilute your message. Don’t bury or hide your keywords with extraneous stuff!
Once you’ve crafted your tagline, use it everywhere like below your photo on LinkedIn, in your email signature, and on your website.
Remember, clients want to hire The Expert, so be sure to market yourself as one!
[1] These taglines were created and are owned respectively by 1) Alex Mostkov, Omnium Professional Services, LLC; 2) Lisa Duerre, RLD Group, LLC; 3) Philip Boken, PCB & Company. All rights reserved. (The 4th and 5th examples were invented by me.)
[2] These taglines were created and are owned respectively by 1) Tom Freestone, Freestone Enterprises; 2) Susan Nelson, HR Leaders Coach; 3) Stacey Schwarcz, Ariel Analytics; 4) Joe Hopkins, Collective Fusion Consulting. All rights reserved.
[3] These taglines were created and are owned respectively by 1) Dante Nuno, Mise En Placement; 2) Stacey Brown Randall, Building a Referable Business; 3) Teri Nagel, Nagel Strategies, LLC; 4) Ann Garcia, Independent Progressive Advisors. All rights reserved.
