You’re probably familiar with websites prompting you to act. Big buttons with statements like “Donate!” or “Try it free!” are all over the Internet. These digital prompts are known as calls to action, or CTAs. An effective call to action encourages your website visitors, newsletter readers, and social media followers to progress through your business pathways. Calls to action are a powerful tool to increase the conversion rates of your digital marketing efforts — here's what you need to know to use them effectively.
What Are Calls to Action?
Calls to action are marketing content that direct viewers to do something. They can come as “Buy Now!” buttons on eCommerce websites, clickable banners requesting your subscription to a blog, or any snippet of marketing material that tells you to act. Once you recognize CTAs, you see them everywhere.
Why Should I Use a Call to Action?
The ubiquity of CTAs in marketing is due to their effectiveness. Potential buyers often need a nudge to make a purchase, and CTAs can provide it. CTAs also allow you to tell your potential customers where you’d like for them to go next to become clients.
Plus, CTAs take the guesswork out of becoming a customer for your prospects. Most people aren’t going to click through every single tab of your website or read every word of your email newsletter. Instead, CTAs direct them to what’s important with little effort on their part.
Where Can I Use Calls to Action?
Most of your marketing content should have a CTA. Your travel agency website, marketing emails, and social media posts are all excellent places to feature CTAs.
Wherever you’re posting your CTAs, ensure that they’re prominently placed to draw the eyes of your visitors. It’s common to have CTAs in a bright, contrasting color compared to the rest of a page. Consider the perspective of your viewers when thinking about where to place a CTA – your website’s menu or the midpoint of a blog post are both places where you can expect viewers’ eyes to be.
A terrific CTA should stand out from the rest of your website, but still fit within your color palette. Overall, think about colors that will emphasize your CTA without making it feel like it doesn’t belong on your site.
The bright pink button here stands out from the menu – this is a call to action that demands audience attention.
How Can I Create Calls to Action?
While you’ll need to experiment to see what kinds of CTAs work well for your audience, there are some best practices to start with.
Successful CTAs are short and sweet: a “long” CTA is between five to seven words, while many effective CTAs are just a word or two. For instance, rather than asking for clients to “Submit Form to Schedule Inquiry,” ask clients to book a meeting. In this instance, your CTA could be “Book Now.”
Great CTAs use powerful language. Use action verbs when writing a CTA – don’t be afraid of (nicely) giving orders. Strong action verbs clearly and concisely direct readers to a specific action. “Register Here” and “Subscribe Today” are examples of CTAs that give readers a clear direction.
What Language Should I Use in a CTA?
CTAs shouldn’t just direct your audience; they must also be specific. Be sure that you’re clear in your messaging —if you tell people to subscribe to something, make it clear what exactly they’re subscribing to. If you have a CTA asking viewers to “Subscribe Today,” it should be preceded or followed by explanatory text about what exactly viewers will be subscribing to.
Or, if your CTA is asking your readers for useful information – like an email address – remember that you should offer information in return. Whatever you provide should attract leads who are interested in your business. A travel agent who specializes in cruises might send a cruise packing list to prospects who submit their email address to a CTA. And since only prospective cruise customers are interested in packing for cruises, this will attract prospects who are interested in a cruise specialist’s niche.
When you’re building out your CTAs, remember that your contacts may need a tap in the right direction to become customers. Strong CTAs are a tool in your marketing toolbox for turning contacts into leads and leads into customers. Adding CTAs to your sales pipeline can increase your conversion rates and bring you more sales.