How To Name Your Course And Create A Tagline That Sells

Course creators mostly either think names are all important… 

Or completely irrelevant.

The truth, as often, lies somewhere in the middle — names are moderately important. Taglines, on the other hand, are IMO much more critical for getting prospects curious about your course.

Still, even the best, super enticing name & tagline won’t do you much good without a compelling offer.

But if your offer is great, they can ensure you get people’s eyes on your course, eager to get more info.

You really can’t ask for more out of the two. 

Today, I want to show you a naming & tagline creation approach that skyrockets your chances of getting this best outcome.

Let’s dive into it.

Your Course’s Name Tells… And Your Tagline Sells

The above is the gist of why taglines are more important. Sure, your name should instantly get the prospect thinking about an outcome they want…

But the tagline is what shows HOW you'll get them there. 

And the more compelling and believable it is, the bigger the chances that your prospect will dive into your course’s sales proposition.

That's why this article goes through how you can create a tagline that sells first, and then circles back to naming your course.

So, let’s start with the tagline.

The 4 Essential Elements Of Compelling Taglines

First, always include the outcome and/or transformation in your tagline. (The only difference between the two is that transformations also include the starting point. Which can be ultra powerful but isn’t always appropriate to mention in the tagline.)

Don’t get hung up on the features, no matter how proud you are of them.

People want benefits and a promise of a bright future. Imply that with your tagline.

Second, never use language your ideal customer doesn’t instantly “get.” You don’t want them wondering:

“What the heck is that?”

Instead, you want to seamlessly plant the vision of the ideal outcome in your prospect’s mind.

So, don’t sacrifice that and clarity just to show you’re an expert and know the jargon. Do this in other ways.

Third, clear and direct ALWAYS beats trying to be clever. Leave the latter for your course name, if it fits and you love it.

But a tagline that sells is, once again, first and foremost, clear and direct. So, add clever to the equation only if it doesn’t affect these two.

Finally, your tagline should, if possible, address and remove the main objections your prospects have about your course or reaching their dream outcome. 

Not every tagline can (or should) have all of 4 of these elements to be successful. But using them as a checklist to evaluate the power of your tagline will help you boost its selling power.

Ok, now that you know the 4 most critical tagline elements, let’s play a game together. Try to select the better-selling tagline between two real ones for courses in the same niches.

Taglines That Sell Vs. Taglines That Don’t

Here’s the first example — for two actual jewelry-making courses:

Obviously, the tagline on the left is super feature-focused. But the one on the right offers a clear outcome — you see exactly where you’ll be at the end of the course.

Next, we have two courses selling in the build a podcast niche:

The tagline on the right is feature-centric. While the one on the left turns a feature (“a step-by-step course”) into a clear outcome for the ideal audience.

Finally, we have two examples of courses I stumbled upon in the photography niche:

Notice how the left tagline offers a clear outcome while tackling common objections. In contrast, the one on the right highlights features without creating a clear vision.

That’s the end of this little game. Now let’s show you how to approach creating a powerful tagline for your course.

Ready-To-Use Frameworks For Crafting Taglines That Sell

You’ve seen what compelling taglines look like. But creating one from scratch can be a daunting task.

This is where one (or more) of the following 4 frameworks can help:

1 - Outcome + Benefit(s)

You simply show the outcome and add benefits on top. An example can be:

“Learn to play your favorite songs on the piano and impress your loved ones every day.”

2 - Outcome + Time

Here, you add a specific timeframe for the realization of the promised outcome. Like this:

“Learn to play the piano in 21 days.”

3 - Outcome + Without Objection(s)

You promise an outcome while showing that common objections won’t stand in the prospect’s way. Like this:

“Learn to play your favorite songs on the piano without boring drills or sheet music.”

4 - Some combination of the above

Have fun mixing the frameworks and come up with many ideas that cover the elements from above. Then choose a winner among them.

That’s it for taglines. Finally, it’s time to show you how to approach naming your course.

Ready-To-Use Frameworks For Naming Your Course

Here are 4 frameworks you’ll detect in the names of most successful courses:

1 - Topic + Power Word

These are pretty common — you simply add a power word on to your topic. One of my students, Christina Umarez, has a course about starting a Print-On-Demand (POD) business called:

“POD Accelerator”

And my friend, Tim Shields, has a course called:

“Photography Transformation Masterclass”

2 - Topic + Time

This is similar to the relevant tagline one. Some guy Jacques used this very framework to name his later best-selling course:

“Piano In 21 Days” 

There’s also a course on learning foreign languages called:

“Fluent In 3 Months”

3 - Topic For Who

 Simply add who your course is for after the topic to get their attention. Like my brother-in-law Mark who named his course:

“Sales For Introverts”

Or one of my podcast guests who has a course called:

“Jewelry Making For Absolute Beginners”

4 - Outcome Based

Just highlight the outcome in the name. Like Michael Hyatt’s:

“Your Best Year Ever”

Or like one of my other podcast guest’s course:

“Become A Podcast Manager”

Again, feel free to throw many options out there. Then, get them in front of friends, communities, your ideal audience, etc., and choose a winner.

Conclusion

Remember, your name & tagline are there to catch your ideal prospect’s attention…

And have them saying: 

“I have to check out this course!”

You should now have everything you need to come up with multiple name + tagline combos that do exactly this.

Here’s to finding the one that really clicks with your target audience.

I’m rooting for you,

Jacques