If marketing copy is the bait to get people hooked, then the call to action (CTA) is the rod that reels them in. It’s the final piece of copy that tells users what to do and, hopefully, gets them to follow through and convert to customers.
Understanding how to write CTAs is a must for any digital marketing strategy. Let’s explore this subtle yet potent tool and how you can start producing great CTAs that get customers clicking.
In this post:
What is a call to action (CTA)?
A CTA invites a customer or user to act in some way. Whether you realize it or not, CTAs are everywhere—the “Add to Cart” button when you’re online shopping, a “Start Your Free Trial” website banner and even that “Schedule a Call” button you see in the upper right corner of this screen—these are all examples of CTAs.
The purpose of a CTA is to persuade a user to interact with your business. CTAs might invite customers to:
- Purchase a product
- Submit a form
- Contact a sales representative
- Sign up for a newsletter
- Claim a free product or service
- Share something on social media
- Start a free trial
- … Or something else!
Digital CTAs often take the form of a clickable button with accompanying text, but they may also appear on website banners or directly within a website’s content, such as text-based hyperlinks. They aren’t a one-size-fits-all tool—businesses should tailor their CTAs to fit their unique brand and goals for the most effective results.
Why CTAs are important
CTAs aren’t just an optional marketing tool—they’re a necessity to get people engaging with your business. Without them, your marketing copy loses much of its efficacy. That blog article, email or social media post may tell people about your business, but they’ll leave the customer wondering what to do next if there’s no clear directive.
Consider some of the benefits that effective CTAs have to offer:
- CTAs help convert users into customers which can increase revenue for your business
- CTAs that also serve as requests for information (RFIs) such as an email address allow businesses to collect valuable data on their customers that they can follow up on later
- CTAs provide opportunities for customers to interact and engage with your brand
- CTAs direct users on how to take action on your website
How to write compelling CTAs
The best CTAs are going to vary depending on each type of business and their goals, but there are some best practices worth keeping in mind no matter what you want your CTA to achieve.
Know your audience
The first step in crafting a CTA is to identify and understand your target audience. Maybe you want your CTA to appeal to all potential customers, or a specific demographic group. These kinds of insights can help determine what kind of writing style and tone you should adopt to resonate with your audience.
A luxury beauty brand, for example, may want to evoke a sense of opulence and exclusivity in their copy to appeal to a higher-earning customer base. A family-friendly resort may want to lean into playful, adventurous language to entice people with kids to take their family on vacation. Understanding who exactly you’re trying to attract can help steer the way towards an effective CTA.
Use action words
CTAs are meant to inspire action, so it should come as no surprise that strong action verbs are your friends here. CTAs should be direct and tell the user exactly what to do:
- “Claim your offer”
- “Download our insider guide”
- “Book a call today”
- “Sign up now”
These are all examples of fairly basic CTAs that can be modified to fit your brand and marketing goals. CTAs may be short, sweet and simple—sometimes the best ones are—but you can also incorporate more descriptive adjectives to craft a statement that is more persuasive, compelling and memorable.
Appeal to emotions
We are emotional creatures. Tapping into psychology and playing on customers’ emotions—both positive and negative ones—is a marketing strategy as old as time. But it does require tact and nuance—if your copy comes across as overly dramatic, sinister or disingenuous, it can turn customers off.
Start by asking yourself what you want customers to feel. Do you want them to feel listened to? Excited? Relieved?
Here’s a simple example of a CTA that channels hope and confidence:
- “Open a savings account today and make your financial dreams a reality”
Creating a sense of urgency is another strategy to get people clicking:
- “Don’t miss out on these limited-time savings—claim your discount now!”
You might also appeal to peoples’ emotions in your CTAs by identifying a problem and then proposing a solution.
Here are a few basic examples:
- “Say goodbye to a messy home with our professional cleaning services.”
- “You deserve peace of mind when it comes to your furry friends. Our top-rated pet insurance is here to help.”
- “When life throws you curveballs, our financial services are here to help you navigate them with confidence.”
Run tests and adapt your strategy
Though CTAs may accompany longer marketing copy, CTAs themselves are typically very short. Don’t be afraid to swap out different iterations, run some A/B tests and see what users respond to the most. For example, you might try out different verbs, different button colors or different messaging entirely. Either way, you don’t want your marketing strategy to stagnate. Tests can provide invaluable marketing data that helps you understand your customers’ desires and behaviors.
Don’t forget user experience
Writing an effective CTA is the first step, but you’re not done quite yet. You also have to figure out where on a page the CTA will live and ensure that it’s optimized for a positive user experience. Here are some tips to consider:
- Use contrasting colors so that the CTA is eye-catching and readable.
- Where possible, place CTAs above the fold for the best chance of being seen by users.
- Don’t be afraid to place multiple CTAs on a page, but don’t go overboard, either. A good rule of thumb is to ensure that at least one CTA is always visible to the user.
- Make sure your CTA is mobile-friendly and is clearly visible for users accessing your website from a mobile device.
- Utilize white space around a CTA to help draw readers’ visual attention.
What’s next?
CTAs aren’t restricted to any one type of digital marketing channel—they can be found just about anywhere. Whether its long-form content, pay per click (PPC) ads or marketing emails you need help with, the team at All Star Digital can help incorporate CTAs that work. Schedule a free consultation with one of our team members to find out how.
