26 Apr The Importance of CTAs

You’ve written scintillating copy, designed a creative and imaginative leaflet, posted a funny and informative blog… but you’ve not included a CTA. A phone number, a link, an email address; nothing to encourage your reader to take their interest in your product or service to the next level.

So, what is a CTA? A ‘Call to Action’ may sound dramatic, but it’s actually just a short sentence of encouragement. It provides your copy or website with an endgame – a focus. If you know what your CTA is going to be, then you know what your blog should be encouraging. Your blog is presenting a problem, and your CTA is providing the solution.

Though a simple step to put into practice, it’s not to be underestimated. In that sense, I suppose it could be considered dramatic!

A consumer’s mindset is a fickle place – in today’s world of online shopping where any service or product (and ten more like it) can be found just a click away – a CTA can be the difference between a website hit and a concrete lead.

It is your job as a supplier to make investing in a product or service as easy as possible. You need to provide the easy option. Presenting a button, link, or phone number in a clear manner does just this. You need to assume the mind of your reader and predict what will make them take action. Will they want to know more information? Is there a discount they can take advantage of? Is there limited availability that requires immediate action?

You need to make it easier for the reader to click than to navigate away.

“A call to action should drive customers to act now, not make them think about maybe acting later.”

Susan Gunelius, Entrepreneur.com

Part of this is making your CTA stand out from the rest of your copy. It shouldn’t be hidden away amongst text and distracting images, it should be in a space of its own where it’s easily visible.

Here are some common examples of CTAs:

• Don’t miss out. Call ***** ******
• What are you waiting for? Call ***** ******
• Book Now
• Take the next step
• Get this exclusive ***** now
• Want to know more?

Remember, it’s not just about providing the next step to take, it’s about motivating the reader to take it.

More Top Tips for CTAs

• Use the first person (I, You, me)
• Use adverbs such as ‘now’ to create urgency
• Be succinct
• Make it stand out
• Use it more than once
• Spellcheck and test links

Sources:

Entrepreneur

Boagworld

AdEspresso