Read this whole blog post and you will be rewarded with a million dollars!
If only it were that simple. Hell, all of our subscribers would probably read through more than once.
Let’s face it though, you could write the most effective, emotionally alluring, and efficient copy of your life but if your call-to-action isn’t clearly defined it won’t mean squat.
In advertising, a call-to-action (CTA)by definition is an instruction to the audience to provoke an immediate response, usually using an imperative verb such as “call now”, “find out more” or “visit a store today”. Once you have hooked your audience on your brand, they need to know what the next step is to take in order to obtain your product or services. A good CTA acts much like a trail of breadcrumbs leading your potential buyers directly to the feast of your business.
While focusing on conversions, your CTA and copy as a whole doesn’t need to be salesy or pushy. In fact, it should just come across as a conversation between you and your prospective customer.
Here are a few tips to create balanced CTAs that will result in new customers, newsletter subscribers, and even ambassadors for your business.
Create a personable experience
Like I said before, your copy or pitch should really just be a conversation between you and your audience. Speak to them as if they are a personal friend.
Say that you are promoting an eBook about do-it-yourself crafting for for money and you have written a detailed article on how easy it is to get started in that genre. Instead of ending your piece with “Those interested in learning more can click here to buy my eBook,” it’s better to say something like “Click here to buy this eBook and become a master crafter.”
The second example speaks directly to your audience as if they are a personal friend. This personal experience should take readers beyond the basic pitch and create a compelling reason for them to buy.
Give them a reason to take action
What’s in it for them? Will it help them lose weight, get a better job, earn more money, or even save more money? All of these examples tie in heavily with your unique selling point. A good example of this would be something like “call today to schedule your free consultation!” Not only have you stated the action you want the user to take (call today), but you have also provided them with a reason why they should take that action (a free consultation).
Keep it short and simple
Studies have shown that the best CTAs are under 150 characters in length. Don’t go so far as to end with a blunt “Buy Now,” that will most likely not convince your reader to do more than just click away from your page. Instead, keep your CTA short and sweet to help your public respond. You should aim for a 20% increase in font size between your call to action phrases and the rest of your copy. That of course means the font size used for the body paragraphs, not the headlines.
A call to action should usually be slightly larger than the surrounding paragraph text so that readers recognize it as something separate. This also makes it easier to scan and read. People don’t always take action right away; a large call to action ensures that they will find it easily if they look at the ad later.
How will you use this advice going forward?
