Sell me your story with a tagline

[Bramblethorn]

View attachment 2344428

So that's why they call it the demon drink.

 

[Bramblethorn]

True, but in this case it was Ashley, a female, who said it about her sister. To my knowledge DeNiro never acted the part of a woman.

 

[ZackRiley]

You're on your deathbed. We can grant you your greatest desire, but this will be the last thing you remember!

 

[yowser]

Here's two:

First cousins, Once clothes removed.

A walk in the bush, a hand in the shorts.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

One that I actually used and liked did not generate much attention.
"He's a telepath; she casts illusions. They fight crime!"
Possibly the reference is too obscure. It's also in SF/F, which is not known for high readership numbers. Shortly after I posted it I commented here somewhere that if it got 2000 views I'd call it lucky. It's at 1999 currently.

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-case-of-the-cursed-camera

But I already got the coveted two thousandth view!

 

[gunhilltrain]

Reverse psychology, I like it

"If that line don't fetch them, then I don't know Arkansas."

Give the credit to Mark Twain.

 

[Rustyoznail]

It’s hard to write a great tag line, but I think this was a good pitch to the IT crowd from https://literotica.com/s/its-wash-out

"Two virgins. Add booze and porn. Of course nothing happens."

 

[mrs_mackenzie]

I find the tag lines or short descriptions particularly difficult to get right. I think if it's too vague, it doesn't draw in readers, but if it's too direct, it doesn't fit the tone of the story itself.

I don't have a good one to share but I'm definitely reading this thread for inspiration.

 

[VallesMarineris]

7. The title and tagline should complement each other.

I try to follow this guideline in particular. Two of my own faves:

This was for the Geek Pride challenge last year:
https://literotica.com/s/the-shapeshifter
She can't be possible; he can't resist her.

This was for the recent 750-word challenge:
https://literotica.com/s/after-erotic-writing-class
Prof gives a talented student a special tutoring session.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The day the earth stood still.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.c...O4igzg7c2xgY/s400/TheEllipse_DayThe+Earth.jpg

Instead of flying around over West Virginia at night, those aliens should land in the middle of Washington and stop teasing us. So how does Klaatu speak English? If they could figure out interstellar travel, I'm sure that universal translations would be feasible.

 

[gunhilltrain]

So I should contribute something. For my upcoming Esther Smith's Confessions, something like this: Esther reveals her youthful secrets. (What's the Lit length limit: 35 characters?)

It will be clear who Esther Smith was. Not only is there a boy next door, there is also a girl down the block who plays an even bigger role. I should look at Google street view and pick a Kensingston Avenue address for that young lady too.

 

[AchtungNight]

I suck at taglines. I try to go for short summaries instead.

 

[onehitwanda]

View attachment 2344434

One of the greatest movies ever.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Thing is, do you want to encourage people to click on your story then click straight out again (possibly via the one-star button) when it's not what they hoped for?

Depends how likely the audience is to be persuaded, I suppose.

I agree rhetorical questions can work well, like Educating Laura ch.3 "He's not seriously organising a threesome in a tent – is he?"

Of course he is. But why and how? I actually got nearly twice the readers for ch.5 than ch.4 (both in Group) - the former tagline is "Four staff, one large tent, new experiences for them all."

Whereas ch.4 mentions names and feelings and (intentionally) only gets readers of the series clicking, because people wanting sex would only be disappointed.

Generally can't be too obvious. One of my favourites is EC, Chaperoning Matthew - the intrigue is in the title. Why? How?
The tagline is simply: "Four bisexuals get very drunk." The content is exactly that.

 

[intim8]

"I want to be more than a prop in her commemorative pictures" (In Romance).

"Naughty girls get more than they bargained for." (NC/R, Christmas)

"He was just a reflection in the glass, a black silhouette.". This one performed relatively poorly, probably because it was miscategorized, but I like that tag line a lot.

Tentative one for a WIP: "Two girls teach ex cult member what a woman is."

 

[Zootonius]

"A good mother believes in sharing."

Likely tag for my next story.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Click here for free hookers booze and drugs.

Seriously, some tips.

1 ~ Remember that your title and description are seen together and can work together. If your title is arty, metaphoric or otherwise vague, be more direct in your description. Candlewax and Moonlight ~ An impregnation ritual in the witching hour comes. Inversely, if your title is direct you can get more arty with the description. Orgy on the Beach ~ A group makes waves of their own. Readers generally want to know what they're getting into so make sure that either your title or your description tells them what the kink(s) is/are.

2 ~ Don't waste your description with redundancy. Girl Next Door ~ The girl next door pays a visit. The description here just repeats what the title indicates. The reader reads your title and thinks "Hrm, tell me more," and you totally epicly fail to tell him more. You just lost a click.

3 ~ Use a blatantly sexy word or three somewhere in your title or description. The Best Cocksucker on Campus ~ The girls in the dorm put their blowjob skills to the test. 'Cocksucker' and 'blowjob' will bring the readers in. If you can use 'fuck' or 'pussy' or 'cum' or 'sex' in some way and it's appropriate for the tone of the story then go for it.

4 ~ If your story is a stroke sheet, be especially blatant about it. Stroke readers don't care about your plot and don't mind spoilers. Whack them over the head with your content. My Mom Has Big Tits ~ I was playing xbox when Mom shoved her tits in my face. or I Knocked up My Sister ~ My sister wanted a baby and I gave her one.

5 ~ On the other hand, if your story has plot, don't spoil. Plot readers do care about your plot and don't want a spoiler. Home on the Range ~ Two ranch hands find love and ride into the sunset. That just gave away the ending. Home on the Range ~ Ranch hands ride together and find intimacy on the frontier. That's much better.

6 ~ Be mindful of category. If you're publishing in anal, everyone knows that the story will center on anal sex so you have more leeway, but if you're publishing in fetish the audience is wider and you have to tell them something more specific. Ten Little Piggies ~ I love my girlfriend's toes. This will bring in the feet people and let the bathroom crowd know that there's no pee nor poop.

If you think that some of these examples are a bit weak, they probably are. They were all ass pulls as I typed this up.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

"They had a good reason to make her disappear. He'll just have to make that reason disappear."
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength. Loving someone deeply gives you courage."
"The environment is fighting back and Earth’s inhabitants are dying."
"Getting revenge is sweet. Getting justice is sweeter."
"Where love and courage trump politics and treachery."
"He suspected that the road to a life-long love would be adventurous, but not this “Rockie”."
"She had been taught a lot of important things, but how to hide from the man she loves wasn’t one of them."

 

[Omenainen]

“Garden party with a swing. Swinging party with a garden.” link

“The lesser known risks of acting upon a dare.” link

“Twenty years of petty bickering finally pays off.” link

I thought mine were funnier but they’re really not now that I look at them. Oh well. They work better with the titles than on their own.

Like this one:

Pussyberry Smoothie
My favorite berry flavored beverage.

Without the title the tag line is just meh. Super proud of that title though.

 

[THBGato]

"Please go away; this story is not for you."

In all seriousness, I have a story planned entitled: The worst story ever.

The tag line will be: Don't read this story - you will fucking hate it.

 

[nice90sguy]

“Garden party with a swing. Swinging party with a garden.” link

“The lesser known risks of acting upon a dare.” link

“Twenty years of petty bickering finally pays off.” link

I thought mine were funnier but they’re really not now that I look at them. Oh well. They work better with the titles than on their own.

Like this one:

Pussyberry Smoothie
My favorite berry flavored beverage.

Without the title the tag line is just meh. Super proud of that title though.

All gems IMO

 

[VallesMarineris]

In all seriousness, I have a story planned entitled: The worst story ever.

The tag line will be: Don't read this story - you will fucking hate it.

This reminds me of that famous Altoids billboard, that said, "Maybe you should practice on other mints first."

 

[gunhilltrain]

One of the greatest movies ever.

What movie is it?

 

[onehitwanda]

What movie is it?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486655/

Star Dust

 

[StillStunned]

Do taglines for series count? In that case, I give you The Rivals: "They can't get on together, but can they get off together?"