Creating Killer Calls to Action
Whether you’re looking for leads from your website or clicks from your Tweets, having a good, solid call to action is key.
A call to action is messaging that encourages the reader to do something: click, call, buy or download. Without using the appropriate wording, visitors to your site may be left not feeling the urgency you want them to, and they may leave. It’s important to catch them while they’re in the mode to do something further. Invite them to download your free whitepaper, sign up for a free trial, subscribe to your email newsletter or call for a complimentary consultation.
Your call to action should be:
- Short
- Easy to understand
- Urgent (“now!”)
- Highly visible on the page
- Encouraging people to click a link
- Throughout your site
Here are some great (and not so great) examples of calls to action from Boagworld. You can also use savings as a call to action, such as “Save 40 percent when you spend $50 today.” Remember to use wording that will appeal to people: What do your visitors want to do? Save? Learn more? Get something free?
Try not to bombard your visitors with too many choices for what to do next. For example, if they have the option to click, download and buy, they may be overwhelmed and leave. Instead, choose one call to action for each page. On the product description page, focus on a buying call to action. On the homepage, offer a free download. On Twitter, the call to action would focus on clicking your link.
And speaking of calls to action on Twitter and social media, you want to give people a reason to follow you, as this post from 10,000 Words explains. Prove your presence on social media is useful to them. It could be as simple as “Please RT” after an interesting blog post, or “Share your thoughts on this” after a poignant question. Engage readers with your call to action.
Experiment to see what call to action verbiage gets the best results. Consider doing an a/b test page using different calls to action. Whichever one gets more clicks is the winner.
About Susan Payton
Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, an Internet marketing firm specializing in content marketing, social media management and press releases. She is also the Founder of How to Create a Press Release, a free resource for business owners who want to generate their own PR. 
A great way to practice writing punchy calls to action is through Twitter. As an example, find an old post on your blog that was well received. Write 2-3 alternate headlines and tweet them out using a trackable shortened link (like bit.ly). Check the analytics the next day and see which headline got the most clicks. Fast and easy feedback.
Great idea, Robert! Although I’ll be honest, I don’t know how to get shortened links Twitter-style. Mine all look like the full link with “…” at the end. I’ll have to figure out a way to employ the tactic. What is your Tweet handle? I’ll look for you on Twitter.
Great article, Susan! Thanks for your “action” when we “called” you!
@Robert–
(you get the award for commenting the most on my posts!). I love the tip!
@Ashley–
No prob!
[...] Creating Killer Calls To Action Susan Payton for Small Business Trends [...]
Thanks for the tips Susan, I’m currently in the midst of a website and marketing material redesign so I’ve been thinking a lot about calls to action lately. It’s a bit tricker when you don’t sell a physical product, but getting visitors to convert on things like free whitepaper downloads is a great idea.
[...] In need of more response? The key may be a well composed call to action. You want your customers or online audience to do more than just sit there looking at your marketing content. How do you light a fire under them and get them moving? Read on. Small Business Trends [...]
[...] Creating Killer Calls to Action — While it may sound silly, almost every web page and piece of content should have some kind of call to action. After all, the idea is to encourage interaction at the very least, right? Susan Payton of Small Business Trends shows us how to write good ones. [...]
[...] Creating Killer Calls to Action (Small Business Trends) A call to action is messaging that encourages the reader to do something: [...]
Susan,
I appreciate you sharing your call to action tips. The key to any call to action to be effective is to follow the suggestions above. Keep up the great content.
Best,
Stacie Walker
[...] Smallbiztrends.com reminds you to keep your CTA short, urgent, and easy to understand. In just a few words, you need to communicate what your readers should do and what they’ll get out of it. [...]
[...] meet its sales and online marketing goals. The next time you are crafting or re-evaluating your online call-to-action, consider the following quick [...]
[...] newsletter, a brochure or any other type of marketing copy, the key to sales starts with a great call to action. What’s a call to action, Susan, you ask? It’s that tiny few words that encourage a [...]
[...] A call to action is messaging that encourages the reader to do something: click, call, buy or download. Without using the appropriate wording, visitors to your site may be left not feeling the urgency you want them to, and they may leave. It’s important to catch them while they’re in the mode to do something further. Invite them to download your free whitepaper, sign up for a free trial, subscribe to your email newsletter or call for a complimentary consultation…Whether you’re looking for leads from your website or clicks from your Tweets, having a good, solid call to action is key. Your call to action should be: – Short – Easy to understand – Urgent (“now!”) – Highly visible on the page – Encouraging people to click a link – Throughout your site [...]