Here are 12 slogan writing tips that are intended to make the process a little less painful for you. Remember: slogans may be small but they’re sneaky. They’re tricky to craft – and yet impossible to forget when done right. What’s needed is a mix of strategy, research and pure brain juice.

Tell a random stranger that you work in or near advertising and it won’t take long for them to reference Nike’s “Just do it” or Apple’s “Think different”. Tell a South African of a certain age and it’ll be Cremora’s “It’s not inside, it’s… onnnn top” or Morkels’ “Your two-year guarantee store”.

These are slogans. The first two are objectively brilliant. The latter two are so bad that they worked spectacularly well when combined with clever, sticky creative — and have since stood the test of nationwide nostalgia.

We’re heading for the slogan writing tips themselves. But first, some definitions.

Slogans are also known as taglines, straplines or catchphrases. They tend to be more campaign- or product-focused, while taglines are frequently more brand-focused and more enduring. In contrast, catchphrases are often more conversational or memorable, because they feature in ads and dialogue.

The biggest and best of the slogan writing tips: Strike a balance

With slogans, the writer must strike a balance between brevity and emotional resonance; overcome the challenges of space, audience assumptions, and product/service complexity; and incorporate memorable wordplay or linguistic techniques…

…all while trying to explain to the client why we don’t charge for slogan generation by the word. (Spoiler: It’s partly because of the paradox of simplicity, namely that, the smaller the word count, the bigger the stakes for getting it right.)

Slogans must clearly communicate your key message but also:

• Pack a punch in few words: The sweet spot is 5–7 words, although some of the most famous slogans contain four words or less. Think Smarties’ “Wotalotigot!”
• Trigger a feeling or connection: For example, by including a proverb, an idiom, a piece of pop culture or a well-known expression, like “I Think,Therefore IBM”
• Stand out from competitors: I stubbornly embrace punning, which the Neoclassicists called “the lowest form of wit”; look at Time Magazine’s “Understanding comes with Time”
• Stick in the audience’s minds: With rhyme, rhythm or a ring to it, such as Pringles’ “Once you pop, you can’t stop” or eBay’s “Buy It. Sell It. Love it.”

12 slogan writing tips, in steps

Here are 12 steps to follow if you’re trying to write a slogan yourself:

1. Start by ensuring that you understand — and can compellingly explain — the brand’s purpose, voice and target audiences.
2. Identify the single most important message to be conveyed.
3. Once the single most important message is out of the way, explicitly unpack all the key benefits to the user (you won’t use these in the slogan but it helps to have them written down).
4. Jot down notes on where the slogan is going to appear when it’s done. What’s it for? What’s the goal? Are there space, style or other parameters?
5. Consider longevity and scalability. Is it intended to last a season or decades?
6. Tell the reader not what you do but why you do it. Show them why they should care. Make a short list of why you’re offering this product, service, solution, etc, and a long list of why they should give a sh*t. It’s important to lift and separate from your competitors.
7. Either alongside or after the previous step, begin a broad brainstorm process…
8. …followed by a process of ruthlessly cutting down. When you’re cutting down, lean towards the more actionable words and positive framing.
9. Write down one short sentence (note: this is not your slogan). By shaving your facts and promises into a simple nugget, you may start to uncover an angle for the final slogan. Use as few words as possible. This will force you to think about what’s truly relevant and what might be unnecessary.
10. Write down the name of the product, service or solution. This ensures that your slogan complements your existing name but it also means that you don’t have to repeat words. If the business is called Online Sign Design, your slogan shouldn’t include “online”, “sign” or “design”.
11. Use a fresh sheet of paper or a new word-processing window to craft 5–7 options for your slogan. Choose the top three. Then, if you can, select a top two.
12. Test the words to see if they resonate. Start with real people in close proximity. Branch out to those who don’t know the specifics of the campaign. Go further out, testing with people who don’t really understand what you do. Finally, venture further out and test with people who don’t know the brand.

Slogan writing tips: Consolation

I’m hoping that step 12 (and, of course, the 11 slogan writing tips that precede it) gives you the direction you need to complete your slogan-writing task. If not, here’s my attempt at consoling you:

Slogans are tiny lines, yes, but they come with massive pressure. You can use the above slogan writing tips — more than once, if need be — to try your hand at slogan-writing, or you can hang tight for part 2 of this series, which contains tips for how to prepare the brief for the professional writer who’ll write the slogan for you.

’Til then, allow me to remind you that “[i]mpossible is nothing” (Adidas).