You’re in good hands with Allstate

1,000 songs in your pocket

A smile on every child’s face

These are taglines from three instantly recognizable big businesses. Complex businesses with many products and services and are able to impress us with a distinct image of what they do in seven words or less. Why are these taglines so powerful?

1. It’s all about you

Don’t you want to be taken care of? You buy insurance so that you, your family, your life will be safe and secure in unexpected situations. Someone will make sure you are OK. You will be in good hands. What a powerful and comforting image Allstate that is.

2. It’s an experience you want

You want your music whenever you want it and where ever you want it. Here you go! 1,000 songs in your pocket. Apple is offering you the experience of immediacy, flexibility and access to anything you want to hear in a sleekly designed, must-have, cool gadget.

3. It’s a relationship

Who would not want to make the child in their life happy? Disney wants to be part of your desire to do so by creating an empire of movies and themeparks for you to choose from.

Your tagline

Think of everything you are and everything you do. I have no doubt you are as complex and multifaceted as these businesses. Is there one thing you can extract, one thing you are especially good at that you can build an image around? What is your favorite version of yourself? And most importantly, what can you for others? In a recent post on Copyblogger, Lisa Barone writes,

Think niche. You can’t be known for everything. Pick what’s most important to what you do, break it down to its simplest core, and be it.

While Copyblogger has established itself as one of the Web’s top resources on content, Brian Clark has branded himself the master of headlines. It’s a tiny microcosm of the whole content creation space that he owns. It’s where he’s untouchable.

These are a few examples of taglines I have been working on for myself. They are intended to be used at cocktail parties, in elevators, to open budget testimonies, and to help me think harder about what I should be doing.

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Hoong Yee