Tips for Effective Call-to-Actions

3 Mar

Ask a content creator what the number thing to include in content is and they’ll probably all say the same thing: a call-to-action.

It’s the tried and tested trick that taps into psychological programming to encourage readers to take action when they interact with your content. Tell them to do something and their brains will engage accordingly - leave it to their imagination and readers will either be confused or lose interest (or both!).

Whether you’re writing a blog post, a social media caption, a flyer, landing page or even a script for your radio ad, make your call-to-action compelling.

Here’s how to do just that:

WHAT IS A CALL-TO-ACTION?
It’s the directive you weave into your content or design that let’s the reader know what action you want them to take after interacting with your content: “call now!”, “learn more!”, “shop the sale” are ones we see most often.

WHAT DOES AN EFFECTIVE CALL-TO-ACTION LOOK LIKE?

It’s short and concise: the shorter the better - the punchier the better too
It uses action words: use verbs to tell your audience what action they need to take after interacting with your content: do you want them to call you? Email you? Read your most recent blog post? Listen to your latest podcast episode? Shop your featured products? Decide what the action needs to be and front load it in your call-to-action
It get's readers excited: use words that generate excitement and intrigue like “book your holiday today!” or “read more about how we solved this problem!”. Using an exclamation mark will help here too
It stands out: don’t bury your call-to-action in a long paragraph: give it some breathing room by putting It in bold, giving it a stand out colour, making it a larger font size than the other copy on the page or - in the case of digital call-to-actions - putting it in a clickable button.
It highlights the pros: what’s it in for the reader? A free consultation? A discount code? Free shipping? Build the benefit into your call-to-action to make it too good to pass up like “book your free consultation now!” - but… There’s a but….
It could also highlight the negatives: sometimes, a negative call-to-action will be more effective than a positive spin: words like “worried”, “confused” or “tired” can inspire follow through
It generates FOMO: fear of missing out is the ultimate motivator, that’s why call-to-actions like “shop now, we only have 3 units left” is more powerful than just “shop now”
It uses numbers: prices, discounts or offers are great at encouraging action: “shop now and get 15% off” is more effective than “shop now and get a discount”
It’s personal: including “you”, “your”, “you’re” is a great way to allow the reader to envisage themselves using, owning, trying, downloading, wearing, drinking etc your offer.

GET STARTED
(See what we did there?) Here are some call-to-action prompts you can use to get started:

Action words:

Learn
Compare
Book
Sign up
Share
Subscribe
Join
Get
See it in action
Read
Watch
Try
Grab
Start
Join

FOMO words:

End of season
Now
Limited edition
While stocks last
Exclusive
Don’t miss out
One-off
Must end
Biggest ever
Hurry
Offer ends

Emotion words:

Save
Discover
Uncover
Treat yourself
Enjoy

Show savings or discounts:

Enjoy massive savings
Get free shipping now
Claim your…
Start your free trial
Join today for free

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Get the lowdown

With your next piece of content you create, add a call to action and see how your audience interaction and uptake shifts:

If it’s a social post: try adding a call-to-action at the top of your post with an emoji to grab attention right from the get-go
If it’s a blog post: add a call-to-action button to the end of your piece, make it easily seen
If it’s a webpage: use call-to-actions in strategic spots throughout the content - use variations of the call-to-action to keep it interesting
If it’s a landing page: format it to stand out from the rest of the copy on the page

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