Most content marketers spend lots of time and effort writing articles. But they aren’t getting the ROI they deserve.

Why is this? Is it because they’re poor writers? Is it because they picked the wrong niche? Do they just have bad karma?

No, no, and no. The reason why many content marketers don’t get an ROI is simply because they don’t understand exactly how to create more conversions from their articles.

It’s all in the CTA.

You can’t have a deal-closing article without a call to action (CTA).

The CTA tells the customer what you want them to do. If you want the customer to do something on your blog, you must have a CTA. There’s no way around it.

If you’re an old pro at content marketing, you already know this. Some marketers, however, haven’t made the connection between their blog and the customer’s action. They know they want more eyeballs, more traffic. But what happens to this traffic? Is it profitable?

In their mind, the blog is a great place for high-value information. Somehow, someway the user will find their way and make a purchase.

The fact is, it just doesn’t work that way. If you want the user to do something, then you have to tell them what to do.

How do they know what to do? How do they know where to go? How do you gain conversions? How does your content have an ROI? It’s all in the CTA.

I’ll provide more information on the CTA in the remainder of this article, but the point here is simple:  Your blog must have a CTA.

Put CTAs in your blog template.

It might sound a bit uncomfortable at first — the idea of creating a call to action in your blog articles. Isn’t that pushy? Salesy? Rude?

Let me first clear up a common misunderstanding about CTAs and blog articles:  You don’t have to write a CTA in every article.

If you did, it might get a bit tiring. But you don’t have to. Why reinvent the wheel with every iteration of article?

Instead, your CTAs should be somewhere in the blog template itself.

Let me provide some examples.

Wordstream creates plenty of content on a regular basis. You can read an entire article — just the copy in the article itself — and not hear a single CTA.

But on the right sidebar, you’ll see it:  

That’s the CTA. It’s really that simple. Your website — the template you use — needs to have a CTA somewhere on it.

Wordstream uses a CTA to the side of their article, but you can position the CTA wherever it makes the most sense for your existing format and template.  

Hubspot has not one but two CTAs at the bottom of most blog articles.

The basic principle of the CTA is that it should live somewhere within the blog template. That’s it. Put it up there, and let it work for you.

Place your CTA in the correct position.

Once your CTA is there, you’re good. But not good enough. You must place your CTA in the right spot on the page.

What’s the right spot?

Take a look at this research:

The CTR (clickthrough rate) of a CTA at the bottom of the post has the highest reported impact, at least in this particular study.

But why not use CTAs in all more than one place?

My blog uses a handful of CTAs. There’s one on the top right.

There are a few that live further down the page:

There are a few at the bottom:

Again, the idea is simple. Use CTAs, and put them wherever people are most likely to see and click.

Use Popups.

Popups get a bad rap, but not for any data-driven reason.

In fact, if you’re paying attention to the data, popups make a lot of sense. The reason why some users don’t like them is because it violates their perceptions of what makes a good user experience.

Marketers, however, take a different perspective. I believe that a good user experience is one that provides the user with what he or she needs and/or wants. I also believe that my product or service meets those needs or wants.

If the user chooses, she can click off my popup. (Make it easy to do so.) But if the user senses that the product or service is beneficial, then the popup makes it easy for them to convert.

Speaking of data, here’s what one marketer, Dan Zarrella, discovered. Using a split test methodology (popup vs. no popup), he tracked bounce rates and subscription rates.

The difference on bounce rate was negligible. But the difference on subscription rates was enormous. The popup allowed him to double his subscription rates, and it didn’t hurt his bounce rates either.

Conclusion

The fine art of creating a killer CTA is the realm of another blog post.

For now, the fact is clear:  You need a CTA on your blog post.

Make sure you never stop offering value through your blog. Your blog’s content is the only way that you can attract the right users who will then view your CTA and convert.

Regardless of how powerful your CTA may be, you can never rely on it alone. You must still create powerful, compelling, useful content.

Without a CTA, you’re missing out on an enormous amount of conversions. Improving your conversion rates is as simple as getting that CTA up there and letting it work for you.

How do you successfully persuade people using your blog CTAs?