If there is one secret that seems to have remained constant among top marketing professionals, it’s the power of a great call to action. We have analyzed hundreds of calls-to-action for this guide and we’ve learned about a few interesting places where CTAs are hidden.
But what does a “call to action” actually mean?
When you make a call to action, you inform your prospect what you need from them. That particular word or phrase is what prompts the potential customer to take a particular step.
It is intended to be the next most intuitive step that your reader or audience should take. How can you create buttons loaded with that meaning? How do you drive people’s attention exactly where you want?
Here are some captivating CTA facts:
- A call to action included in a mail piece enhances sales by 1617% and click-through rates by 370%.
- Calls to action that are text-based boost conversion rates by 120%.
- Verbs are used in about 94% of website CTAs.
- Conversion rates for CTAs in the form of buttons are 6.5% higher than for images.
- 380% more people click on a CTA in a video than on a standard sidebar CTA.
- More than 90% of those who read a headline will also read the CTAs that follow.
- What are the finest call-to-action strategies we can employ, though?
What does it take to optimize those? READ ON.
1. Your marketing email should include a call to action.
Adding a call to action button to your emails is a no-brainer. Even the simplest one can significantly increase your bottom line. Stats say it can improve:
- Your clickthrough is up to more than 370%.
- Your click rate led to a 1617% increase.
Apparently, 70% of small and medium-sized businesses don’t have any kind of call-to-action buttons.
What does it say? Successful businesses know what power CTAs hold in their email marketing strategy, while most start-ups or small businesses still fail to realise this.
This is essential for a successful digital marketing plan, according to the data. Without a CTA in the body, an email marketing campaign is incomplete and completely meaningless.
The reader has to be directed as to what to do next and what to anticipate. In the best-case scenario, your CTA also explains what is in it for the reader.
2. Target the audience through their emotions by using powerful, compelling words in your call to action.
- CTAs in forms: Accordingly, signups increased by 34% when significant advantages are highlighted next to CTAs.
- Using social proof: Adding photos of clients/customers to their experience increases conversion by 10%.
Make sure your CTAs are engaging and reliable – making them relevant to your audience’s experiences, problems, and/or pain points. Targeting problem-solving benefits is a great way to win their trust by showing empathy for their situation and needs with your clear message + compelling CTA.
If you’re a dermatologist marketing your product or service that combats hair loss, you may want to use a phrase that empowers your CTA from your clients’ problematic situations and touches them emotionally.
So instead of saying “Book an appointment with me now”, say “End My Struggle with Hair Loss”.
3. Put a personal touch on your calls to action.
Make it personal.
The foundation of your data-driven marketing strategy relies in the quality of data you use for targeting. The better your data is, the better your results will be.
Analysing your audience’s preferences and the whole conversion process can be challenging. However, it pays off in the long run by improving your click-through rate.
Here’s why:
- Personalised calls for actions deliver 200% greater conversion than clickable images.
- Targeting your audience with personalised CTAs leads to 42% more visits converted into leads compared to using untargeted CTAs.
- Personalised CTAs in the form of a button lead to 6.5% higher conversions than images – 2.6%.
4. Call to action is, of course, verbs!
Using verbs and clear calls to action can make a world of difference. People are more likely to respond when they know exactly what they’re supposed to do.
Even though most people won’t take action, you should still have a confident call to action in place. That way you drastically increase your chances of getting the right people interested in your offer.
5. Equip your campaign with buttons
Why use buttons?
Simply put, no CTA is clearer than a button!
Email buttons are an effective way to prompt recipients of a message to take action by completing the desired task – whether it’s to sign up for your mailing list, take advantage of a coupon, or do anything else the business wants the recipient to do.
Here’s why:
- Button-like CTAs increase clicks by 45%.
- When compared to CTAs that use links, call-to-action buttons have a 28% higher click-through rate.
- Customers are 16 times more likely to share the news about their purchase on social media if there is a CTA button on your post-purchase page.
Nowadays, there are so many CTAs that it is important to stand out in order to get seen. Give careful consideration to how your CTA buttons will look and function. It’s an opportunity for you to boost sales, subscriptions, and leads.
Here’s what you should do:
- Make sure the CTA button really does look like one! Otherwise, you run the risk of confusing your audience, which may drive them off instead.
- Make your CTA buttons clear enough whether your audience is on desktop view or mobile, but not too big that it will block other more important information.
- Use colours that will highlight your CTA buttons from the background. This will make your message more noticeable.
6. Use first-person in your CTA message
Speak from your audience’s point of view.
Did you know?
- CTAs like “Yes, I want to receive more information” generates 90% more clicks than “Subscribe to receive more updates.”
- Text-based CTAs boost conversion rates by 120%.
Don’t be afraid of longer calls to action. Be creative and entice your readers!
You can use longer sentences or even parts of your content as CTAs to guide your visitors to the next step. The important thing here is that you help your visitors understand how they will benefit from taking this next step.
What else might help is showing readers what’s in it for them? Show that you have a solution to their problems and that you’re there for them. Make them feel you’ve been there and gotten results anyway. It’s a matter of gaining their trust.
Here are great samples you can take inspo from:
- Tell me more!
- Show me how to increase my sales
- Teach me how to grow on Instagram
- Yes, I’m ready to scale!
- Yes, I’m ready to glow up!
7. Do not use too many CTAs
Don’t put a CTA on every block – give it enough space before introducing another to attract attention.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Be specific and keep it simple. It’s a good idea to have separate CTAs for different tasks on one page. This will help you increase your click-through rate.
- Stack no more than two steps in one CTA and have only one or two CTAs on any given page. A higher click-through rate may result.
- To avoid cluttering your landing page with too many CTA buttons, select only a few CTAs with similar tones that don’t conflict with one another. This will ensure you’re happy with the results and that conversions flow accordingly.
8. Use persuasive writing to encourage customers to take an action.
- Blogs and other content websites have a bounce rate of roughly 50%.
- By switching to “Gimme” from “Get It Now,” Sumo saw an increase in conversions of 182%.
Persuasive writing drives conversion rates. It’s more engaging and generates conversions.
Call-to-action examples in persuasive writing could be:
- Join the club
- Join us now
- This is my feedback
- Any sentences which suggest some incentive.
- Avoid wording that implies any effort from the reader, like invest or submit.
When you’re creating a call to action, you want visitors to have the impression that they get value from your website and that subscribing to your newsletter is an easy decision for them.
9. Create a sense of urgency and exclusivity by building the value of your offer.
- More than 90% of those who read a headline will also read the CTAs that follow.
- Landing pages with long scroll-down content generate up to 220% more leads than those with short, above-the-fold content.
What does this mean?
Do not rush your readers to act immediately. Nor should your offer as soon as your readers jump on your site or open your email. Instead, introduce some benefits of your exciting offer first before your CTAs.
Pushing a product or a service should be a fun process to them. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture of what you are offering before trying to persuade them to spend their money.
Now, create a sense of urgency and exclusivity after building the value of your offer to entice your readers/potential customers.
In CTA copywriting, you can use words like “now”, “immediately”, and “today” to create a sense of urgency. Such words are brief, clear, and precise—perfect for drawing the reader in to act right away.
Now think of words that communicate exclusivity, like “exclusive”, “elite”, and “private” etc.. Then, combine these words with the urgency and excitement of your offer.
And voila! Your CTA is ready to go!
Here are some samples you can take inspiration from:
- Get my exclusive offer immediately!
- Get my early access today! Or Get my exclusive access today!
- Join our VIP list now!
- Become an elite member today and enjoy exclusive access
- Upgrade my membership now
10. Optimise your emails and landing page
If you want more conversions, make your campaigns mobile-friendly. The key word here is optimising them for all kinds of customers.
Here’s why:
- Statistics show that most people now use phones to check emails and this has increased by 180% in the last three years.
- Most readers decide whether to open or ignore at least 35% of emails they receive solely based on their subject lines.
- Starting In 2018, 52.2% of all website traffic around the world came from mobile phones and this has increased to 59.4% as of August 2022.
Sites that are mobile-responsive have a higher conversion rate for marketing campaigns. Also, it’s important to create separate landing pages that are to be featured on phones and tablets.
Final Thoughts
Some call-to-actions will work better than others. You’ll have to experiment to see what works best for your business or marketing plan.
As you set out to increase sales, remember that CTA’s are not limited to buttons on a page. Videos, photos and even product packaging can be used as a powerful form of advertising.
Look for ways to creatively engage customers and interested parties with unexpected advertisements, product delivery, or invitations for special events. By doing so, you’re giving visitors more reasons to buy products from you.
Not sure where to start?
Book a no-obligation call with our strategist now! Stay tuned for more marketing tips and tricks! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest!
