Using An Author Tagline

I gave a marketing presentation this evening and one of the things I talked about was how having an author tagline can be part of the foundation of your marketing plan. An author tagline is the free publicity that keeps on giving and I believe that. It's also a great starting point if you're just starting to build your marketing plan.

What is an author tagline you ask? An author tagline is three to seven words that describe your writing.  For example, my author tagline is Action-packed suspense with a touch of romance. Jordan McCollum's is Love, Lies, Secrets, and Spies. A tagline is just something short and catchy that leaves a memorable impression of what you write.

How do you come up with one? Brainstorm some words that you would want a reader to think of when they stumble over your books. Are they sassy? Funny? Fantasy with a twist?  What's unique about your love stories? Are they edgy historicals? Is there a running theme throughout your work? Once you have a pretty good brainstorm cloud of description words, pick the ones that jump out at you, the ones that will leave an impression on your writing and create the tagline that best describes your writing.

Once you have come up with your author tagline, you can pair it with an image (if you look at the header of my blog, author webpage, Twitter and Facebook cover pics, you'll see my tagline with my cover image. I also use it on my tote bags, t-shirts, and all my book swag) and voila! By combining a tagline with your image, you are creating a great foundation for name recognition and an author brand.

It is important to use your newly created tagline wherever you can and definitely on all your social media sites. Be consistent with it so that when readers hear it/see it they'll remember you. Make yourself memorable by focusing your readers in on what kind of experience they'll get when they pick up one of your books.  Like knowing that whenever someone picks up a Julie Coulter Bellon book, they're going to get a lot of action and a little romance, you know?

Having an author tagline is another way to connect with your audience---which, as we all know, is the heart of true marketing. So get brainstorming the amazing tagline that best describes your work and if you come up with something amazing, I hope you'll tell us about it in the comments!