Calls to action are one of the most important piece of the marketing puzzle. If your readers don’t feel motivated to take action, your marketing isn’t doing its job. Whenever someone comes to your website, they shouldn’t leave without taking a specific action that you direct them to take, such as scheduling a free consultation, placing an order, downloading your free ebook, etc.
That’s where calls to action comes into play. See, people aren’t going to take action unless you tell them to do so. No one is going to sign up for your email list, unless you tell them “sign up for our email list.” No one will call you unless you ask them to call you.
Of course, just slapping any calls to action on your website doesn’t guarantee any results. Writing a call to action is part science, part art. Here are some tips to help you get it right.
The call to action on your homepage might be different than calls to action on one of your deeper product pages. Every page on your website is different. Each page has a specific purpose. Some pages are designed to get customers to place an order. Others are designed to pique the reader’s curiosity so that they request more information.
Understanding the purpose and goal of the page will help you write the right call to action for that particular page.
Don’t overwhelm your visitors by asking them to do too many things. Your calls to action shouldn’t read like this: Call 123-456-7890 today to ask about our special offers, and while you’re at it, sign up for our email list. Don’t forget to place your order for our 25% off sale, and click this link to forward this page to your friends.”
The more things you ask the reader to do, the less likely it becomes that they’ll do anything at all. You can’t demand too much from them, and you can’t overwhelm them with options. Keep it simple!
Let’s face it—people like to procrastinate. The average person puts things off until tomorrow, and then until the next day, and the next day. You have to snap customers out of that mindset. You need to get them to wake up and take action right now! Because once they leave your website, they may not ever come back.
Say what you will, but there’s a reason infomercials are so effective. They constantly push the viewer to take action now before it’s too late. Limited-time offers are a great way to create a sense of urgency. Also, using words like “now” and “today” serve to encourage the reader to act fast.
You have to make certain that your readers know exactly what it is that you’re asking them to do. If you’re trying to grow your email list, ask the reader to “Sign up for our email list…” If you want them to call you to set up an appointment, tell them “Call 123-456-7890 today to schedule your appointment.”
A good way to ensure your call to action is clear is to have a few others take a look at it before you publish it. If they have any doubt as to what they’re supposed to do, you need to go back to the drawing board.
Why should anyone take action? What’s in it for me if I do what you ask me to do? How’s my life going to be better? What do I stand to lose if I don’t take action?
These are the types of questions you need to answer when telling people to take action. If they don’t see a good reason to follow your advice, they’re not going to do it. Plain and simple.
