diff --git a/src/utils/__tests__/git.test.ts b/src/utils/__tests__/git.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c1fadfa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/__tests__/git.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import { getLatestTag } from '../git';
+import * as loggerModule from '../../logger';
+
+describe('getLatestTag', () => {
+  it('returns latest tag in the repo by calling `git describe`', async () => {
+    const git = {
+      raw: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('1.0.0'),
+    } as any;
+
+    const latestTag = await getLatestTag(git);
+    expect(latestTag).toBe('1.0.0');
+
+    expect(git.raw).toHaveBeenCalledWith('describe', '--tags', '--abbrev=0');
+  });
+
+  it('logs a helpful error message if the git call throws', async () => {
+    loggerModule.setLevel(loggerModule.LogLevel.Debug);
+    const loggerErrorSpy = jest
+      .spyOn(loggerModule.logger, 'error')
+      .mockImplementation(() => {
+        // just to avoid spamming the test output
+      });
+
+    const error = new Error('Nothing to describe');
+    const git = {
+      raw: jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(error),
+    } as any;
+
+    try {
+      await getLatestTag(git);
+    } catch (e) {
+      expect(e).toBe(error);
+    }
+
+    expect(loggerErrorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining(
+        "If you're releasing for the first time, check if your repo contains any tags"
+      )
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/utils/git.ts b/src/utils/git.ts
index cb5536c5..210c8f8f 100644
--- a/src/utils/git.ts
+++ b/src/utils/git.ts
@@ -35,7 +35,15 @@ export async function getDefaultBranch(
 
 export async function getLatestTag(git: SimpleGit): Promise<string> {
   // This part is courtesy of https://stackoverflow.com/a/7261049/90297
-  return (await git.raw('describe', '--tags', '--abbrev=0')).trim();
+  try {
+    return (await git.raw('describe', '--tags', '--abbrev=0')).trim();
+  } catch (e) {
+    logger.error(
+      'Couldn\'t get the latest tag! If you\'re releasing for the first time, check if your repo contains any tags. If not, add one manually and try again: `git tag 0.0.0 "$(git log -1 --reverse --format=%h)"'
+    );
+    // handle this error in the global error handler
+    throw e;
+  }
 }
 
 export async function getChangesSince(