Writing a compelling blog, a landing page, or a social media post is always a good idea, but the performance of your content depends on one thing alone. That little detail is known as a call to action (CTA).
It’s a critical content element that makes the difference between high-converting marketing teams and their less productive competitors, so it’s incredibly important to write an effective CTA that really inspires people to respond to your message. In this post, you will learn:
- Key facts about CTAs
- 8 tips to write a standout CTA
- Interesting CTA examples
The topic is interesting and extremely important, so let’s waste no more time on the introduction.
Key Facts about CTAs
By definition, a CTA is a next step the audience should take after reading your post. It sounds fairly simple – and it is simple – but it makes or breaks entire marketing campaigns. CTAs can take many forms such as buttons, links, and clickable images.
They can also contain only a word or two (Buy Now!) or even a sentence or two. This depends on your channel of communication, copywriting style, and the audience’s expectations and demands.
According to the study, more than 90% of visitors who read your headline also read your CTA copy. But that’s not the only relevant fact about CTA buttons:
- CTAs with a strong and personalized message can increase your conversion rates by over 200%.
- Emails with a single CTA have the potential to increased clicks by nearly 400% and sales by as much as 1,600%.
- Users prefer to learn about the offer before clicking a CTA, so placing a CTA above the fold can decrease conversions by 17%.
8 Tips to Write a Standout CTA
CTAs are obviously fundamental to the success of your marketing campaign, but how do you craft an attractive CTA? We can give you eight proven tips:
1. Keep it simple
The first rule of CTA creation is to keep it simple. The purpose of your CTA is to drive user engagement, but you cannot achieve the goal if you write a confusing and misleading invitation. The point is to write a straightforward CTA that clearly reveals the purpose of a given activity. That way, your audience won’t have any doubts and they will feel free to respond.
2. Align it with users’ expectations
What are the needs and expectations of your audience? You have to understand it before writing a CTA because it’s essential to align the copy with users’ expectations.
For instance, a given group of customers may be price-oriented primarily. In this case, you don’t want to focus on product quality and superiority over competitors. On the contrary, the best option is to focus on discounts and special deals because that’s what your customers are hoping for.
3. Stick to the usual brand voice
Another thing you should take into consideration is the overall brand voice and tone. If your marketing messages sound cool and humorous, there is no reason to make your CTAs sterile and authoritative. Stick to the usual brand style and it will make the desired effect.
4. Take advantage of power words
CTAs have to be actionable and attractive, which is exactly why you must take advantage of power words that sound compelling and encouraging. The list of power words is huge, so you ought to think through it and find the ones that match the criteria from the previous tip on our list. Some of the frequently-used power words are:
- Free
- Premium
- Special
- Exclusive
- Because
- Value
- Giveaway
5. Play the urgency card
Do you know that 60% of people make purchases because of FOMO, mostly within 24 hours? FOMO is the acronym for Fear Of Missing Out and it makes a wonderful addition to your CTA strategy. People react instinctively when they hear something like “Only 9 items left in stock! Buy now!” and you should exploit this weakness in your CTA copies.
6. Give them a reason to take action
Some of the best CTAs give customers a very specific reason to engage. It’s not a surprise because people want to know why they should act as suggested. In such circumstances, you should try and come up with a CTA that explains the purpose of the action. For instance, it can be something like this:
***Donate now and help save 100 trees this month! ***
It’s a straightforward CTA that clearly explains why donors should join the campaign.
7. Make it visible
CTA buttons are supposed to be highly visible, so you have to give them enough room in your landing pages, emails, and social media posts. There are a few easy ways to do it:
- Use whitespace to separate a CTA from other elements
- Make it bigger than other content components
- Use brighter colors to make an attention-grabbing CTA
8. Let it be super-simple to engage
Finally, don’t forget that CTAs must be very simple. Give users the chance to take action with one click only and do not add more than one CTA to a given post.
Interesting CTA Examples
We also need to give you a few practical examples of great CTA buttons because it will make it easier for you to figure out the logic behind this marketing element. Here are some of the finest and most common CTAs you can find online:
Simple and efficient:
- Sign up
- Subscribe
- Join us
- Try for free
- Learn more
Creative and inspiring:
- Say hello to the future. Order now
- Let’s start a new project together
- We make contaminated water safe to drink. See how
- Join the movement
- Get your score
FOMO:
- Sign up and save 15%
- Give $10, get $10
- Get your free cards now
The Bottom Line
If you want to lead customers subtly through the sales funnel, you must give them a very good reason to do that. The only way to achieve this feat is to craft an effective CTA that encourages readers to make their move. We showed you eight simple ways to do it easily, so it’s only up to you to follow instructions and write outstanding CTAs for your posts.