By Carla Kroger
As you grow your online presence and begin generating traffic, one of the things that you have to master is capturing this traffic and building your platform.
You do this with your call to action also known as a CTA. You may know what a CTA is, which is great, but you need to make sure that you are using them effectively. This will give you the edge you need to convert your traffic into an engaged audience and increase your engagement.
1. Speak Directly to Your Readers
When you’re designing your CTA, the most important thing to remember is that you are putting this together to grab the attention of your readers and encourage them to take the next step in your marketing strategy. Therefore, you need to make sure that you are reaching out to them personally.
Use the second person (“You” instead of “I”) and make sure that you are always making it clear that it is for them. For example instead of saying “Grab My 7 Point Checklist” you can say “Grab Your 7 Point Checklist.”
2. Use Verbs and Add Urgency
It may be tempting to be subtle, but you do need to be direct and portray action words to encourage your website readers to take action. Action words encourage action, which is exactly what you should be looking for. Here is a list of some verbs to incorporate into y our call to actions:
- Download
- Learn
- Start
- Claim
- Increase
- Call
And since you have their attention, you will also want them to take action now so add some words that encourage urgency:
- Now
- Today
Here are examples with action and urgency:
- “Reduce Your Back Pain Today”
- “Start Your Free Trial Now”
- “Click Here For Your Fairtrade Chocolate Sample Pack”
3. Hint at What’s Waiting for Them on Your Landing Page
It’s all well and good to have a great message on your CTA but if it doesn’t match up to what is on your landing page that your visitors are being directed to, you will lose credibility and they will feel as though they have been tricked.
This is definitely something you want to avoid. So, to avoid your website guest feeling tricked, be sure to use real details about what you are offering on your landing page or where ever you are sending them to.
4. What’s In It for Them
Make sure you explain in short and precise phrases why they should take action. Highlight a benefit of what they will find on the other side of the click that would be valuable to them.
This is not the time to be overly promotional. Just quickly explain why your particular resource/solution/service/product is going to improve their situation or help their research. Remember people skim so make your content count.
5. Color Choice and Font Style
I should also note that you need to make sure that you are careful with your color choice and font style. Your colors should match your branding but slightly different to catch the eye. You should also make sure that the colors do not distract from making the text readable like white text on a yellow background. Lastly, remember that there are people that are color blind and colors that are just shades apart from each other will not be as readable.
Fonts should be easy to read, Stay away from styles that are compact, overly ornate, or very fine. As people are scrolling, you want them to be able to read what you have for them. You will also want to make the size is large enough to catch the eye of those who are scrolling down the page. And use a “click to…” button that actually looks clickable. As in, don’t make people wonder whether that is actually the button or not. Make it clear how to proceed.
6. Successful Placement
Most people do not know what they can do next with you unless you let them know. So, every communication piece you produce should have a relevant call to action attached.
Here are some areas you can include a call to action:
- Your company blog, put it at the top of the page, at the end of an article, or on the side bar. Your readers may want to take the next step after reading your content.
- On social media channels, optimized for each one. Be social first and share how to get more great information from you.
- If you offer an eBook, add your CTA and make it clickable.
- Add a brief message in your videos.
- Email signature.
If you are currently using CTA review where you can improve their efficiency. Now you should be on your way to capturing your traffic and keeping your audience engaged.