Write an Elevator Pitch / Tagline [closed]

Question

We closed the domain naming thread (click for details).

Instead, let's start with a killer "elevator pitch!" Joel will be blogging about the elevator pitch approach to naming, but to get you started:

The Elevator Pitch

This isn't as easy as it sounds. Imagine the user who will never read your FAQ and you have two seconds to grab their attention. It should be catchy but descriptive. It should be thoroughly clear but painfully concise. Make every... word... count.

Here are some creative examples:

• Gawker: Daily Manhattan media news and gossip. Reporting live from the center of the universe.
• Gizmodo: The gadget guide. So much in love with shiny new toys, it’s unnatural.
• Autoblog: We obsessively cover the auto industry.
• DumbLittleMan: So what do we do here? Well, it’s simple. 15 to 20 times per week we provide tips that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane.
• Needcoffee.com: We are the Internet equivalent of a triple espresso with whipped cream. Mmmm…whipped cream.

Use it as a Tagline

A shorter elevator pitch can be used as a tagline — something you can display in the header at the top of the page. If it doesn't fit, consider shortening it or creating a separate tagline. Here are some great examples:

• Slashdot: News for nerds. Stuff that matters.
• Lifehacker: Don’t live to geek, geek to live!
• The Simple Dollar: Financial talk for the rest of us.

The Motto (don't forget your logo)

A logo begs for it own little, short tagline — like a motto. Maybe the tagline inspires the logo; Maybe it's the other way around. Mottos make good t-shirt, bumper stickers, and other marketing material. Either way, you'll recognize a good motto when you see it:

• Just do it.
• Think Different.
• The Uncola.
• Intel inside.
• Like a rock.
• The king of beers.

…and perhaps all this leads to a proper name and domain for your site… eventually. So let's start from the basics. Come up with a killer elevator pitch, tagline, and/or motto!

Answer 1

This isn't originally my suggestion, but the original post isno longer here, and for historical reasons, I think this should be archived.

The tagline/Elevator pitch for the site should be (and, in fact, is)

Ask Different

Answer 2

The hook

Mac users think differently, we work differently, we use our computers differently... why then should we get answers the same way everyone else does?

The line

Why not Ask Differently?

The sinker

That's what we are, a different way for Apple users to connect with each other to find solutions to their problems and answers to their questions from a trusted community of fellow users.

---

ok, the above follows an approach to the "elevator pitch" I learned a long time ago in school. Three parts: hook, line and sinker. When presented the hook and line always go together. If you got anything resembling a positive reaction, you followed up with the sinker. (yes, it's a poor analogy to fishing. The sales guys that were teaching that communications class could never give a good answer for why those names were used when the first two should be reversed.)

Hat tip to the folks on the domain name thread for 'ask differently'.

options: "Apple" or "Mac"... I ended up using both, not sure if we've got a clear definition of which we want here. The work item could come out of the hook to tighten it up, or if you have space it could be expanded to add in a play clause... or any other verb, similar to the PS3 "It only does..." hook.

Answer 3

I am not a PC.

pretty horrid but it expresses my disposition :P

Answer 4

The Different Answers

That’s how we try to do it anyway… :)