A call to action is a sentence that instructs a reader to perform a task. If you have these sentences on your blog posts then you’re trying to get them to share your blog post, if you have them on your sidebar then you’re trying to grow your email subscriptions.
A call to action tells people they have to do something so if you’re not getting a huge chunk of your visitors to take action, they’re not working.
Here are a few tips to get those call to actions working:
1. Know What Your Audience Wants
If someone lands on a page to learn about driving traffic to their website, don’t write a CTA that directs them to an eBook on Facebook ad tips, unless that method will work in their industry and you’ve given an intro in the post.
Don’t write a CTA that has nothing to do with your posts. But if you’re working on a sticky banner in your sidebar, then your CTA should relate to your brand’s theme.
If you provide hosting for e-commerce sites, don’t instruct your customers to click to get WordPress hosting. Yes, you can run e-commerce sites on WordPress but you should make it clear it’s e-commerce you’re talking about.
2. Use Power Words
Your CTAs should have enough verbs included to make people click. Words and phrases like “Call” and “Click here” should be in your copy because they let people know they need to do something.
Power words enforce action and there are many ways you can use them.
Start by using fear. What are people afraid of in your industry? Do they fear ad blockers? Are they afraid they may never get enough on their product descriptions to convince buyers? Then use words that connote fear. Tell them not be a “slave” to that ad network and how you can help them. Tell them losing traffic because of poor copy can be “disastrous.” Let them know they need you to escape the average rankings “trap.” So confront their fears with a solution, you.
Then play to their greed, their need for more. Admit you know where they can get a good service for “cheap.”
Talk about how your agency provides the “best” product on the market. And let them know how you’ll “skyrocket” their traffic just like you did for the others.
Finally, remove any roadblocks or resistance to completin the action. Tell them there’s any “money-back” guarantee on the offer. Show that you care about their “privacy.” And talk about how you’ve been “endorsed” by the big guns in your industry.
Your CTAs should convince people to take you up on your offers. And if you’ve not been following up to this point, the words between the quotes are examples of power words you can use in your calls to action.
So don’t make people guess if you’re good at what you do, use power words to show control.
3. Use Clear Writing
Don’t use ambiguous grammar. Visitors should be able to look at your copy and get what you’re talking about. Let’s help promote “visitor referrals” will take a few seconds to understand but “boost traffic to your site” gets the message across faster.
When they take you up on your offer, you can then talk about how using referrals is the best way to get that done.
No fancy fonts, you don’t want that on your CTA. Use text that’s bold and easy to read with a glance.
You may have a lot to talk about, but your CTA should be short and still be able to convey the most important message- how your offer will benefit a reader.
4. Make The Action Easy
Don’t give people a form to fill before they can access your product or offer. If your CTA is on an opt-in form, try to ask for just their emails, or that and their names.
Other details can be gotten when that first line of communication has been established.
Don’t provide a seven-step list of instructions for people to do to get your offer. Say “click here to get it” or “call now to set up an appointment.”
If your CTA presents a hard task, people postpone it for later. And that’s not good for you ‘cause if they forget to come back, you’ve lost that prospect.
5. Give People Something To Lose
Apart from hard tasks, another factor that makes visitors postpone taking action is the absence of limitations.
When your offers are not time-bound, there’s nothing to lose if they’re clicked on in a week (that’s if anyone remembers by then).
Don’t just say “click here” when “click here now” is better. Using a statement like “click here before 11:59 to qualify” creates a sense of urgency so people are aware they can fill in their details at a later time but they’d have lost out on an exciting offer.
So, “get this electric shaver” isn’t as good as “get this electric shaver, supplies are limited.”
6. Work On The Design Around The Call To Action
How the words and images you use around your CTA are arranged would have an effect on the frequency of clicks you’ll get.
Start by rewriting your CTA and repeating them on different spots around the original one. Getting people to see the CTA more than once would arouse their interest.
Use colors and graphics that can be related to your brand. Include arrows and bullets in your copy that’ll help draw attention to the CTA.
Use text that’s slightly larger than normal to get people to read and leave white space around your copy ‘cause it makes your text easier to read.
7. Promise You’re Waiting For Them
You should have a thank you page for those who actually take action. Direct them to your FAQ page for those who have questions. Promise to call or send an email to follow up on your offer.
