We are often told that to be more successful with our content based marketing, we need to have a clear call to action (CTA) on every piece we create. To get people to take the next step, they need to be guided along the pathway. This is done by creating a Call To Action that specifically tells your viewer what they should do next.

On the most basic of levels you could have your phone number or email address on each and every article, but this does not really guide the visitor on an action, it merely suggests they call or email you.

A clear call to action however will tell the visitor to do a specific task in a way that is compelling to them.

What You Need To Think About….

Exactly what do you want your visitor to do:

• Subscribe to your email list?
• Phone you?
• Fill out a form?
• Connect with you on Facebook?
• Comment on your blog?

If you are not 100% clear on this you cannot be clear on your call to action. It has to be just one thing, a clear call to action will not work if you ask them to add you to Facebook AND fill out your contact form. Each CTA should focus on only one task.

Different Call To Action Messages:

Simple – Please do this
Benefit driven – If you do this, it will help you to [benefit]
Time limited – This is only available for the next [time period]
Incentive driven – Subscribe now and receive [incentive]
Or a combination – Limited to [time period] only, download [incentive] and achieve [benefit]

Looking at a variety of different websites relating to your industry or interest will give you some insight on how to write your call to action more compellingly. Some people use a fear based compulsion to elicit an action; “You will never succeed without our product“, whilst others use a more positive approach; “Our product will help you succeed quickly and easily“. Each has its own merits and is effective in different ways.

Whichever style of Call To Action you use, make sure it has a clear message to take the next step. Your visitor will not always know what you want them to do, so you need to spell it out in a precise manner.

Using a button for the CTA is a good way to make it stand out from the page. Buttons entice the user to click them and adding a relevant message to it will help this even more. Instead of your button saying “Click Here”, you may like to make it more relevant. If you are offering a download, you could have “Download your free gift now” as your button text, or “Get Updates Now” for a subscription button. Just think along the lines of what would get you to click the button if you were on your page.

To summarise, a call to action is something that guides your visitor to take an action, it can be used for various things like email opt-ins, requests for comments or social media connections. It must be clear in its purpose and only be for one thing, it should entice the user to take the action, it must tell the visitor what the action will result in and should be benefit driven at the very least and it must stand out from the rest of the page.

Do you have a Call To Action on your website and does it work for you? Let us know your experience in the comments below.