What Is A Call To Action & How To Write A Great One ????

What Is A Call To Action & How Do You Write A Great One?

Introduction

The goal of every marketing campaign is to convince your audience to take a certain action. The action you choose may be different depending on the type of business you have and the goals of your campaign. What remains consistent, though, is that all campaigns should include a call to action (CTA)—a clear directive telling your audience exactly what they need to do next. So what makes an effective CTA? It’s simple: A compelling CTA offers benefit and value while clearly outlining the next step in your customer’s journey with you. Of course, it’s not always easy to craft a pitch-perfect CTA. To help get you started, here are some tips for creating calls-to-action that drive results:

What is a "call to action"?

A call to action is a demand made on the reader. It's a directive that compels them to take an action—like visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, or making a purchase.

A non-clickable call to action is one that doesn't require any sort of click or other interaction with the reader. For example, if you have an email newsletter opt-in form on a page of your site and want visitors who see it to sign up for the newsletter (the goal), then using "Sign Up Here" as a CTA would be appropriate since all readers need to do is scroll down and enter their email address into the form field (the action). You could also add some copy like this: "Get our latest articles by signing up today!", which tells readers exactly what they'll receive by subscribing—more information about whatever topics are covered in each issue of the newsletter.

Why do you need one?

Calls-to-action are a form of marketing and are an essential component of any good marketing strategy. Calls-to-action also help you drive traffic to your website, get people interested in your product or service, and sell it.

Calls To Action Are Really Important

Why? Because they're the only thing standing between someone reading your article on a cold winter evening with a mug of hot chocolate and them clicking off to watch funny cat videos on YouTube instead (or whatever else people do online when they're bored).

There are 6 best practices for creating effective calls-to-action.

Here are six best practices for creating effective calls-to-action:

• Start with an action verb. Instead of using “click here” or “learn more about our services,” write something like “Start your free trial today” or “Get a quote now.” Using action verbs encourages prospects to take the next step in their buying process as soon as possible.
• Keep it short and simple. When writing your call-to-action text, use short sentences and words that are easy to read, so readers don't have trouble understanding what they're being asked to do by looking at the page. If possible, avoid technical terms and jargon altogether when possible; instead, focus on getting people interested in taking action right away (see #11).
• Include a call-to-action button (CTA). Adding a CTA button with some type of text on it will help guide prospects through the buying process by making it clear where exactly they need to go next without having them click around or guess which link might be relevant based on context clues alone—and since humans tend not to look past first impressions when trying something new online unless they're specifically searching through all available options until they find one that's good enough... you know what? Never mind! I'm rambling again! The point is: adding CTAs acts as another layer of reinforcement between what you want visitors to do when visiting your website—whether that means checking out specific pages within an ecommerce store before buying any products online using Amazon Prime membership benefits; completing forms; watching videos about how certain procedures work; or whatever else could possibly be relevant here.

Step 1: Write a compelling copy

As a writer, you have access to the power of words. Use them well.

You can write your way into someone’s heart and mind by using descriptive words and phrases that paint a picture of what you want them to do. For example,

• Are you writing an email? Try describing how they will feel when they do what you want them to do, such as “Feel more confident in your ability to perform at work” or “Relax on your next date with our new product line.”
• Do they need motivation? Descriptive words are key here-try something like “We guarantee that our products will help you sleep better than any other pillow on the market today!”

You don’t have time for boring copy! Your headlines should be short, bold, and written in a way that grabs attention immediately – without overwhelming readers with too much information at once (a common mistake). Similarly, with calls-to-action: if possible, we recommend keeping these simple by limiting choices to the simplest one possible—i.e., asking users whether they would like more information about something specific rather than letting them choose from multiple options where possible (although there may be some exceptions).

Here are some examples of good headlines:

• Do You Want to Lose Weight Fast? We Have The Solution For You! 2) Sell More Products Than Amazon With These Secrets From Our Experts 3) Get Paid A Million Dollars Today... And See How It Works In This Video 4) Start Your Own Business Without Debt Or Risk Of Failure 5) Get $1 Million From Investors With Our New Financial System

Step 1. Pick the right button color.

Once you’ve decided on the best button color, you need to consider its contrast. This is going to be a little bit of trial and error, but here are some guidelines to help you out:

• Contrast is important because it helps guide your users’ eyes toward the call to action. It works like a lasso, drawing their attention toward the CTA and away from other areas of the screen. This makes it easier for them to spot what they want or need when they arrive at your site or landing page!
• Use visual weight as another indicator of prominence and importance on your page. A good way to think about this concept is “bigger equals more important,” but not just any bigger—we mean visually bigger! For example, if one element has been bolded or italicized, this already adds weight; if two elements have been bolded or italicized, then even more so (and so forth). You can also use size differences as cues, such as when one item fills up an entire column while another will only fill half (or less).

Step 1: Target your audience.

Targeting your audience is the most important step in creating a successful call to action. You need to identify what kinds of people will be most interested in what you're selling, and then narrow down the list even further by finding out where those people hang out online. The more specific you can get, the better off you'll be.

Here are some things you should know about targeting different segments of your audience:

• Demographics: age, gender, location, etc.
• Interests: Hobbies and personal passions; topics of interest; things they like to do (e.g., travel).
• Behaviors: Where do they shop? What do they buy? How often do they make purchases online or offline? Which apps have been downloaded by each individual user? How often does each person visit a particular website or app?

Step 1: Use directional cues.

One of the best ways to make your CTA stand out is to use directional cues. These are visual cues that point the reader's attention towards your CTA, making it more visible and therefore more likely for them to click on it.

Most commonly, directional cues come in the form of arrows pointing at or away from a specific element (or just toward/from any element at all) to draw attention towards something you want people to act on. For example,

• You could have an arrow pointing directly at your call-to-action button saying "Click here."
• Or you could have an arrow directing readers away from a sentence or paragraph, saying "No thanks."

While these are great ways of drawing attention towards what you want people to do next, they're not always ideal because they can look like buttons themselves if used incorrectly (which we'll go over later). So how do we know when directional cues should be used? Well...

Step 1: Make sure it’s clear what happens next.

Step 5: Make sure it’s clear what happens next.

This is the most common mistake in writing CTAs—people are so focused on making their call to action stand out that they forget to make it clear. When a reader lands on your page and sees the CTA, will they know what to expect next? If you want them to click on it, make that crystal clear!

Step 1: 6. Test, test, test!

This is an important step to take since you want to make sure that the CTA you choose is as effective as possible. If you're not sure what your best CTA is, try testing a few different ones on the same page or on different pages and then see which one gets more clicks. You could also use a variety of CTAs for different audiences or products/offers (e.g., "buy now" vs "learn more").

Crafting an engaging CTA could be the difference between making a sale or losing a lead!

Crafting an engaging CTA could be the difference between making a sale or losing a lead!

Most people who have used the internet have seen CTAs. They are the words or phrases that encourage users to click on them and take some kind of action, such as “Install Now” or “Sign Up Free”. But did you know that there are different types of CTAs? If not, don’t worry — we’re here to help. In this article we will discuss what makes a great CTA, how to write one, and how it can help increase sales through conversion rate optimization (CRO).

Conclusion

If you take the time to craft your CTA with these six guidelines in mind, you’ll be well on your way to creating an engaging and effective call-to-action. Remember, though—you can’t just throw a CTA anywhere on your page hoping it will magically get users to convert. It takes some strategy, testing and fine-tuning of copy to make sure it’s working in the best possible way for your audience!