by Ralene Burke
Many people wonder if they need a tagline for their editing business. While a tagline is not necessary to have a business, it is a tool that can help editors stick out, promote engagement, and communicate a promise.
What is a tagline?
A tagline is a catchphrase or slogan created for advertising purposes. A good tagline tells the potential customer who you are and what you stand for.
When Nike came up with Just Do It, they were telling those people who wanted to be more athletic or who just wanted to move more to get off their keisters and get going already! They were empowering their consumers, while saying that their shoes would help.
Who are YOU?
Who are you as an editor? As a person? What values are important to you? If you could communicate to potential clients who you are, what would you say?
Who you are includes your goals, your aspirations, your hopes, your dreams … even your weaknesses and failures. (Though you don’t want to include those last ones in promotional stuff, they can give you perspective.) Having a good picture of who you are will help you create a tagline that reflects you in a way that will attract the right clients.
What do YOU Stand For?
What is important to you from a business aspect? What priorities and values do you want to be known for? How do you represent yourself and your career? What areas of editing do you excel at? What are your weaknesses? Are you in favor of the Oxford comma or not? Okay, the last one was just for giggles. But you do have to consider what makes you different from all the other editors.
Knowing how to portray to the public your standards in such short form is an important step. Taglines are not long—but they do have to be unique.
The original tagline for my editing business was “Making Your Next Project SHINE!” My goal as an editor is to make my clients’ work stand out from other projects with better writing and better content. In other words, I want them to outshine the competition.
More recently, I had to change the tagline to encompass my own fiction as well. I shortened the tagline to “SHINE Beyond.” This allowed my fiction, which focuses on ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, to shine right along with my editing business.
Taglines are finicky little suckers. And your first couple ideas may not be the greatest. Get feedback from fellow editors, branding specialists, and other people who know you and your business. Tweak until you find something that is unique and accurately reflects who you are and what you stand for. Then pretty it up with fonts and colors.
If you’re looking for ways to stand out from other editors, it’s often found in the little things. A tagline is a great way to make a first impression. Don’t be afraid to step out and SHINE Beyond.
Whether she’s wielding a fantasy writer’s pen or a freelance editor’s sword, Ralene Burke always has her head in some dreamer’s world. And her goal is to make it SHINE! She has worked for a variety of groups/companies, including Realm Makers, The Christian PEN, and as an editor for a number of freelance clients. Her first novel, Bellanok, is being published as a 4-part serial.
She is wife to a veteran and homeschooling mama to their three kids. Her Pinterest board would have you believe she is a master chef, excellent seamstress, and all-around crafty diva. If she only had the time …
You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, or at her website.
