Tips for Writing Effective Call to Actions

Do you use call to actions? One of the most important elements to consider in any marketing campaign, blog or website page are your call to actions (CTA). A great CTA can be the difference between a visitor simply browsing your site or taking action like making a purchase or clicking a link.

So if you're finding that your marketing campaigns are failing to deliver it could be that your CTAs aren't providing the right message or even being noticed. In this blog post I provide some tips for creating effective CTAs.

What are call to actions?

Call to actions are key words and phrases in any marketing or advertising campaign, blog or website text. These words and phrases guide a potential customer to take an action this can be to click a link, make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, complete a contact form or receive a lead magnet.

They can be in the form of either a button linking directly to the product or webpage and are 1 – 2 words like ‘Find out more’ or ‘Free Trial’. They can also be slightly longer statements that are found within a blog, website or email. For example, ‘Sign up NOW to our free webinar to find out more about how you can get started with Google Ads’ or ‘Click here to get 15% off your first purchase’

Be specific

Make sure your call to action clearly states what you want readers to do. If you want them to purchase a product, make sure you say something like ‘Buy today’ and have a button or link clearly displayed near the text. It needs to be as easy as possible.

If you are directing people to a landing page, make sure it’s been optimised correctly. It’s no use taking your time to create great CTAs if the landing page you are sending them to is a mess. Click here to read this article from HubSpot about landing page design.

Make it stand out

Use contrasting colours, bold text, arrows, boxes and/or larger font size to make the CTA stand out from the rest of the content. This is more easily done when using buttons.

Make it prominent

Place the call to action prominently on the page, such as above the fold, so that it's easy to find and make sure it stands out visually (above the fold of a website is the bit you can see before you need to scroll down).

You can see from my own website that I have used a CTA above the fold. It's in contrasting colours and clearly explains what will happen when they click the link.

Keep it short and simple

Keep your CTA brief and to the point. Use simple language that is easy to understand and remember to use language that can be easily understood by your audience.

Include a sense of urgency

Adding a sense of urgency will motivate readers to take action. Try using words such as 'now', 'today', or 'immediately' in your call to action. Having time-limited offers can also get people to sign up there and then rather than leaving it for another time when they might forget.

Use persuasive language

Using persuasive language to convince readers to take action. Use Action words like “Sign up”, “Download”, “Subscribe”, “Join”, “Shop”, “Book”, etc.

Make it exclusive

Offering something exclusively for readers who take action will motivate them. Try offering a discount code or a free gift.

Make it relevant

Make sure your call to action is relevant to the content of the page. If you're talking about a product, make the call to action about buying it. And make sure it aligns with the user's needs and interests.

Personalize the message

If you are sending an email campaign then get personal! Use the person's name or other personal information to make the message more relevant and engaging. Try using words such as 'you', 'your', and 'yourself' to make the call to action more personal.

Test and optimize

Use A/B testing to determine which call to action message and placement works best and then make changes as necessary.

Don't be spammy

We want to avoid being spammy as people will leave the webpage if they feel they are being oversold. Instead, focus on one or two CTA per page in different formats ie a button and text.

Creating effective call to actions is an essential element in any marketing campaign.

Following these tips to keep your CTA simple, action-oriented and prominent will help you to significantly increase your chances of success.

Did you know that I now offer a Google Ads ‘Power Hour’? Click here to find out more information and to book.