Easy Romance

It's February. Cupid is sharpening his arrows, Hallmark is having a field day, and the run on chocolate has officially raised our collective blood-sugar level to staggering heights. And isn't there an election or something, too?
Love is in the air (except amongst the politicos), but, as I learned yesterday, it's a very practical kind of love. Apparently, we're moving into a Rat year astrologically, which means hard work, persistence, and business are in the forefront, with romance bringing up the rear.
You know what this means for small-business owners? It means it's a great time to re-evaluate your tagline. See, taglines romance your prospects using charm, brevity, and wit. But good taglines also do the important, Rat-like work of nibbling into your clients' unconscious and staying there.
If you know anyone whose tagline has gotten lazy, send 'em my way.
Thanks for reading,
Reese

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Easy Voting

I promised not to talk about politics any more, but I'd be eternally grateful if you'd vote on a tagline for me.

For a business named Yogi Marketing, the tagline I like best is: Stretch Your Business For A Healthy Business Bring Your Business Into Alignment Those options stink! I'm voting for Kucinich Use this link if the form above doesn't work

Of course, if you're interested in politics (or if you just can't get enough of the New York Times) click here and here and here.

Easy Love - Going STEADY with Your Tagline

I'm Lovin' It. Like a Rock. Just Do It.
By themselves, taglines mean very little...but these have gained a tremendous amount of traction due to their association with major brands. Brands and taglines have a dynamic — and reciprocal — relationship. Yes, the branding — and, ultimately, the advertising — are what build the correlation between the product and the tagline in people's minds. But if the tagline is irrelevant, unmemorable, or just plain bad, the marketer is missing out on mindspace that he or she could be capturing. For the small-business owner and the megaconglomerate alike, mindspace is money. So, maximize your mindspace by going STEADY with your tagline.
A great tagline is:
Short — As in, three to five words short.
Thought-out — It's worth iterating your tagline several times, and bouncing it off of a slew of people, before taking it public.
Evocative — It should make people want to ask you questions about your business...not make them think they already know what you do.
Ambiguous — Or, a play on words. This is my nice way of saying that you may have to get over your pun reluctance. A little punning never hurt anyone.
Devoted — One tagline to a brand, one brand to a tagline. Changing or testing taglines is fine...but once you commit, really commit.
You — Your tagline should represent your business, but it should also represent you. You're going to have to say it, over and over again, with a straight face.