Marketers use the term Calls To Action frequently, but rarely do they stop to discuss what that really means. Basically, they are a short message that tells a customer exactly what a business wants them to do next. Realistically, they are a lot more than that. At the end of the day, a great CTA is what turns a passerby into a customer.
How Calls to Action Work
The basic idea is that a CTA is a simple phrase that prompts the viewer to take a desired action. This short phrase could be at the end of a blog post, social media post, video, newsletter, or another kind of content.
A great piece of content will start off with a compelling hook to draw the viewer in. Now they are curious and learning more as they continue through the content. The CTA goes at the end and tells them what the next step is. It calls them to buy the product, sign up for the newsletter, or sign up for a one-on-one phone call.
Why This Is Everything in Marketing
To understand why your CTA matters so much, consider the experience of a prospective customer. They’re a 24-year-old who really wants new red shoes, and they’ve just seen a pair while scrolling on social media. They stop and read the caption, which describes the shoes but doesn’t tell them where to buy them. The customer goes back to scrolling, trusting they’ll find something better later.
If the post had told that 24-year-old that the link to buy the shoes was in the bio, they would have clicked to purchase. Even though they wanted those red shoes, they didn’t want to take the extra step to search for them. A good CTA removes that barrier and makes a purchase a simple decision.
So It’s Just a “Buy Now” Button?
In the early days of the internet, a simple “Buy Now” button was what a lot of companies did. Honestly, even something as simple as a button saying “Buy Now” is usually a better idea than not having a CTA at all. However, there is definitely a lot more you can do than that.
For example, you may want to use your CTA to get customers to try your product for free. Other scenarios may be asking them to share on social media, join an online community, or even read similar content. Always ask yourself what it is that you want your customer to do next after viewing your content. That is your CTA.
When Do I Need To Start Considering My Calls to Action?
From the very start. When you are first creating ideas for content, you should be thinking about what the calls to action will be. If you want blog readers to join your newsletter, you’re going to create posts that compel readers to sign up.
Experienced digital marketers do this when they create a content plan for a client. They start with what the next step should be for the viewer. Then they create content built around the idea of who the viewer is and what they want.
An Example
Let’s say we want to get more people to sign up for a science-fiction book subscription service. It has multiple plan options, so they can sign up for weekly, monthly, or quarterly delivery. We create a blog post that talks about the top ten science-fiction books coming out this month. This topic would appeal to a reader of the genre who is always looking for a new book to read.
They click on the post, and at the end, they see a CTA. “Tired of searching for your next exciting science-fiction novel? We carefully weed through to find the best books coming out right now and deliver them when you’re ready. Find a subscription plan that works for you.”
What Sets Great CTAs Apart?
You have a good idea of what this compelling phrase should look like, its function, and why it’s so important. Let’s go over a few simple elements that will make your CTAs stand above the rest.
Audience Awareness
The writer of the CTA should know who they’re talking to and what it is they want. In the example above, the science-fiction reader began their journey by deciding to read a list of the top ten books of the genre. The natural assumption here is that they are looking for something good to read next. The content was created to serve someone who is having a hard time finding the next book to read.
The blog post then helpfully gave them some ideas to choose from. By doing this, the writer built trust with the reader, showing that they knew what the reader was interested in. Then, after reading about several options, the CTA offers them a way to solve their problem. The subscription service will give them new books, and they won’t have to search again.
Relevancy
The entire piece of content should naturally lead up to the next step the viewer is supposed to take. It should be relevant to their interest and hopefully relevant to a problem your ideal customer has.
Say that a company wants to sell repair parts for washing machines. They may create content that tells people how to replace a drain pump. At the end of the instructions, they helpfully include a link to the product page. This CTA is relevant, helpful, and generates sales.
Strong Verbs
You can definitely use the classic verb “buy” as part of your CTA. You can also use action words like join, share, sign-up, subscribe, learn more, get started, and download. And, of course, you can certainly use Amazon’s favorite: “Add to cart.”
Brevity
The reason the phrase “Buy Now” has worked so well is that it’s straight to the point. Because you know that your CTA is so important, it’s easy to think that means you should get wordy. Don’t complicate this. Even experienced copywriters will use “Buy Now” when that’s the most relevant way to put it.
In fact, there is a big downside to being loquacious here. If you use big words, like loquacious, and you write long sentences, you might confuse the reader. They may also get other ideas in their minds. A great CTA gets them to the next step fast.
Formatting
You don’t want to put your CTA at the end of a very long paragraph where your reader might miss it. Instead, you want to put it in a paragraph of two to four sentences.
Other options are to use a large, colorful button, a picture, or to bold text to make things more obvious. Buttons have been shown to considerably increase conversions, so don’t shy away from making your CTA obvious. You don’t need to get too flashy, but you want your most important sentence to be noticeable on the page.
We understand it can be surprising that this much thought goes into brief phrases at the end of quality content. This is the kind of thoughtfulness we love dedicating to our partnerships with local businesses. Contact LovelyPixels to discuss elevating your marketing today.
