A call to action is any prompt or statement that encourages website visitors to take a specific action. The call to action might ask users to subscribe to your email list, visit another page on your site, buy something, or take some other specific action. It’s a brief and concise statement that prompts your users to take a particular action. In this blog post you will learn what a call to action is, why it’s important, and different types of calls to action. Keep reading to get the expert tips and examples you need!
Why is a call to action important?
If you want your website to perform well, you need to get people to take action. The place where most site visitors abandon their journey is at the point where they need to sign up for an account or make a purchase decision. A call to action makes it clear to your visitors that you want them to take action. If you don’t prompt them, many of them might not do anything at all. A good call to action increases your site’s conversion rate, which is the percentage of people who take action on your website compared to the total number of people who visit the site. A high-converting website can boost your businesses’ sales and profits, and a low conversion rate can hurt your business significantly. A poorly designed call to action can actually hurt your conversion rates.
Which type of call to action should you use?
There are many different types of calls to action. Here are some of the most common: – Urging your visitors to act now. Urgency is one of the most effective ways to prompt visitors to take action. This is often used for sales or other time-sensitive deals.
- Asking a question. An intriguing question can prompt your visitors to take action and think about your website’s topic more deeply.
- Asking for feedback. Asking your customers for feedback after they make a purchase or take other action can help you improve your marketing and improve your product or service.
- Promoting your products or services. A call to action can help you sell more products or get more subscribers for your email list for free help.
- Asking for your readers’ input. In some cases, asking your readers for input can prompt them to take action and help you, the business owner, make better decisions.
- Providing useful information. You can prompt your readers to take action by providing them with information they need to take action.
6 expert tips for writing effective calls to action
Here are six tips for writing effective calls to action:
- Make sure the call to action is on the right page. If you want people to sign up for your email list, for example, the sign-up button should be on the email page, not the homepage. Otherwise, people might never see it.
- Use the right wording. Avoid “clickbait,” which is wording designed to trick readers into clicking. Instead, use clear and straightforward wording.
- Keep the call to action short. A long call to action can be difficult to read, especially if it spans multiple lines.
- Make sure the call to action is above the fold. A call to action below the fold on the webpage is almost guaranteed to go unread.
- Make sure the call to action is associated with the right visual. The button that prompts visitors to take the desired action should be associated with an image that’s relevant to the action.
3 examples of effective calls to action
To help you understand how to write effective calls to action, here are three examples:
- A headline that urges people to “Start your free trial now” is a good call to action for an online business that offers free trials for its products.
- A question such as “How will Brexit affect your business?” prompts readers to think about the topic more deeply and then click through to the website to find the answer.
- A headline that invites readers to “Ask us anything” prompts readers to submit questions and then click through to the website to submit their questions.
2 examples of ineffective calls to action
Here are two examples of ineffective calls to action:
- “Get your free trial now” is clickbait. It’s designed to trick people into clicking on the sign-up button.
- “Tell us what you think” is vague and hard to understand. What do readers think about what? This call to action doesn’t make it clear what people should do next. Keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules in marketing. What works for one business might not work for another. However, by keeping the tips above in mind, you can ensure that your call to action is as effective as possible.
Summary
A call to action is any prompt or statement that encourages website visitors to take a specific action. The call to action might ask users to subscribe to your email list, visit another page on your site, buy something, or take some other specific action. It’s a brief and concise statement that prompts your users to take a particular action. When writing calls to action, keep these tips in mind: Make sure the call to action is on the right page, use the right wording, keep the call to action short, make sure the call to action is above the fold, and make sure the call to action is associated with the right visual. A well-written call to action can help you boost your site’s conversion rates and get more people to take the next step after visiting your website.