What to work on before you work on your tagline

The Flat Earth Direct blog says taglines suck.

I wouldn’t go exactly that far. Even a bad tagline is unlikely to do a lot of damage.

But here’s the way taglines suck: They can suck up time and energy:

Don’t get fixated on encapsulating your next fundraising appeal or project on a few catchy words. It can become distracting and all consuming, putting aside the real issue at hand.

I’ve seen too many fundraising campaigns with really cool, creative taglines bite the dust. Because taglines have so little power.

Fundraising isn’t done by slogans.

It’s done by calling donors to specific, exciting, action.

It’s not easy to craft a strong fundraising offer. It takes time, creativity, knowledge, and energy.

If you’re all excited about your tagline, go ahead with it.

But the real work, the work that will motivate your donors to give — that’s the call to action. Put your energy there.