How to Write an Effective Call to Action (W/examples!)

Getting your audience’s attention and encouraging them to interact with your business might be difficult these days. There are numerous approaches and strategies available, but not all are successful. 

A Call to Action (aka CTA) is a great marketing tactic you can rely on to transform your business and achieve success. To write effective CTAs, you need to plan your strategy, use action words and phrases, motivate the audience to take action, and create a sense of urgency.

Do you want your audience to do more than just watch or read your content? Do you want to develop your digital marketing strategy and increase leads? What about increasing conversions? Or maybe building curiosity? If any of these questions resonate with you, then you have come to the right place. 

We have put together the best tips to help you find the secret formula to an effective call to action and take your business to a whole new level of success. 

Read also: Determining the Fair Cost: How Much to Pay a Writer for an Article

Let’s dive right in!

What is a call to action?

A call to action is the component of a webpage that serves as a guideline for the audience, telling them what to do next. 

A CTA usually appears as a button, pop-up box, or hyperlink and is presented as a command or instruction phrase, among which “Sign Up” or “Buy Now” are one of the most common action examples.

A user may not be aware of the next actions to take to make a purchase or sign up for a newsletter without a clear CTA, and they may even abandon the website before completing their goal.

A good call to action helps reduce friction as a potential customer moves down the sales funnel by making it clear what action they need to take next. If there are several desired actions for the user to complete, there may be more than one call to action on a page. 

Your audience expects to see a call to action. They’ve read your advertisement, are intrigued by your offer, and are looking for the CTA button to find out what to do next. 

In other words, between each stage of the buyer’s journey, the CTAs act as important transition funnels that instruct and prompt users to the subsequent steps. 

Some call to action examples include:

• Discover more
• Call
• Donate
• Get a free trial
• Sign up
• Install our software
• Join our event
• Share to social media
• Place in cart
• Checkout
• Add to your ‘Favorites

When the audience clicks the CTA, they are directed to a landing page where they may discover more about your company and make a purchase. 

Where should you include CTAs?

CTAs can be used in marketing efforts across all platforms and domains that your main demographic visits. These may consist of:

Your website

Make sure there are CTAs in various parts, such as your homepage, to provide visitors plenty of opportunities to click through and make a purchase. When you produce a blog post for your business, include CTAs. 

Start a blog if you don’t already have one and publish blog posts regularly to increase traffic to your website.

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Email campaign

When you send a mass email to your subscribed customers utilizing your email list, the CTA should be included in the email body.

Social media

Run sponsored advertising on sites like Facebook, which allows businesses to add a “Learn more” button with their CTAs.

Google ads

Run Google advertisements that appear when users search for your kind of goods or services. Insert your phone number in the message. In order to make it simpler for customers to contact you, Google will include a click-to-call option on mobile adverts.

What purposes do CTAs serve?

CTAs can serve many purposes, and the ones mentioned below are only a few of the many possibilities: 

Create leads

Businesses use CTAs to pinpoint their target market and create leads — potential buyers who have a general interest in what a company is offering. From this group, a business will compile an email list to continue sending them direct marketing messages.

Increase the size of the customer base 

By pointing visitors to their website, businesses increase brand recognition and encourage more people to learn about their business and products.

Generate revenue 

A CTA is a component of a sales funnel, a digital marketing approach that starts with raising awareness and interest in a business and ends with a transaction. Effective CTAs have a high conversion rate, or the proportion of visitors who respond to the CTA.

Read also: Avoid These Common Content Creation Blunders for Better Conversion Rates

Establish a clear path to the product

A call to action (CTA) makes it simple for someone to visit your website. A customer can arrive at your virtual door and make a purchase there with just the click of a link.

Best practices for writing attention-grabbing CTAs

Now that we know what CTAs are and where they are used, let’s find out how to make CTAs as strong and compelling as they can possibly be!

1. Plan your CTA strategy carefully

You can’t ask customers to take action before you know exactly what you want them to do and what would tempt them to do it.

You must determine the objective before you compose your CTA or plan where and how to incorporate it into your text. Start with the consumer behaviors that are now most beneficial to your company.

Remember that not all conversions have a financial impact. You can focus CTAs on your desired outcomes such as boosting website traffic, boosting lead-gen content downloads, enticing website visitors to sign up for your communities or expanding your subscriber base.

2. Use action phrases in your CTA button

Effective CTAs are clear and succinct. Start the CTA button with the desired action; tell your audience exactly what you want them to do.

With the word limit set at 35 characters per description line, you don’t have a lot of room in your ad to convey your message, therefore it’s critical to be concise. 

For example, if you work for a marketing firm and want to share your most recent advice and insights with your audience, make sure your users know exactly where to find the white paper. 

You might not obtain a high click-through rate if your CTA said something like “Our newest white paper is out,” as people will be confused about where or when they can anticipate getting it. 

But a far more direct, explicit, and instructive call-to-action, such as “Download our white paper now!” should increase CTR.

3. Use action words that provoke emotion or enthusiasm

Effective CTAs generate a powerful emotional response from the audience. Your viewers will recognize and share your enthusiasm if your CTA is enthusiastic. 

Consider a CTA like “Buy now and get 50% off!” Who wouldn’t be happy to receive their order for half off? Excite your audience with your offer, and see a boost in sales in less than no time! 

A CTA like “plan your dream family trip today!” will pique the interest of a potential traveler who is wanting to take their family on vacation and encourage them to click on your advertisement. 

Adding an exclamation mark to the end of your CTA to convey that passion is a simple yet effective part in this. It provides your CTA a little more oomph and makes it stand out.

4. Motivate your target audience to carry out the intended CTA 

People will want to know what does exactly the CTA means for them Will it enable people to work more effectively, get in shape, or save money? Use a CTA that motivates them to take action.

This will be closely related to your value proposition or USP. Making a fantastic USP/CTA mash-up is a good approach to increase clicks because your USP is probably one of the most crucial components of obtaining new leads.

Here, a nice call to action would be, “Call now to arrange for your free consultation!”

You have not only mentioned the action you want the user to take; you have also given them a rationale and a purpose for doing so.

5. Know your (and your target audience’s) gadgets

Besides using compelling words in your call to action, it’s also important to adapt your CTA to the device that your audience is using.

Due to their similar screen sizes and common use cases for search, Google treats desktop computers and tablets as one and the same device. An illustration of this would be a person watching a TV commercial for a product while relaxing on the couch at night. The next likely action is to take out their tablet or laptop and do a search for additional information.

However, users on mobile devices frequently behave differently and have different search intentions than users on desktops and tablets. Therefore, it is wise to adjust your CTA according to the device.

On average, users who conduct searches on their desktop or tablet are still conducting their due diligence and are not yet ready to commit. However, people using their mobile phones to conduct searches frequently seek “immediate satisfaction” or quick outcomes.

For mobile device ads, create CTAs that are more focused on phone calls. Consider using language like “call immediately to get started” or “call us today for additional information” to encourage your audience to perform the desired action.

6. Get creative with your CTA button 

Just as you should with your overall ad language, it’s critical that you keep your CTAs timely, interesting, and relevant. To find out which CTAs get you clicks and which CTAs get you frowns, digital marketers often run a good, time-tested A/B test. 

Although you should always employ tried-and-true calls to action, you really can’t tell how well a CTA works until you actually try them out.

Your calls to action are no exception to the rule in PPC; it is undoubtedly a game of trial and error.

What can be regarded as a “surefire CTA” may not be warmly received by your target audience, which is enough to make you want to rip out your hair. Use your imagination and experiment with various CTAs. You might as well try thinking outside the box a little bit if your target demographic isn’t responding favorably to your advertisements!

7. Use numbers when possible

Seeing figures, such as price, discounts, promotions, incentives, etc., makes customers react favorably. If a user clicks over to your website after seeing your pricing information in your ad or content, you know they are still interested in the good or service you are providing. 

Exact figures enable them to decide whether it is worthwhile to spend money on things that they really want but are probably not necessary for day-to-day living. 

Why not use that strategy to reach your target audience when the chance presents itself?

However, if you don’t include your rates in your ads, a potential customer may go over to your site, thrilled about your goods or services, only to be turned off by your costs. In this case, your situation is less than ideal.

Try playing with the pricing details and any other pertinent numerical data in your CTA. “Only today: Shop for washing machines under $400!” not only sounds like a great and financially profitable offer, but it also creates a sense of urgency and therefore prompts the potential buyer to immediately click the button. 

8. Create a sense of urgency

Urgency is a powerful motivator. People are incredibly quick to react when they believe they might miss out on a good offer or event that might not happen ever again. 

Mentioning a deal or promotion that your business is running and that will end soon is one of the best ways to leverage urgency in your CTA. 

You likely receive emails with this type of material frequently. “Buy now! Sale ends on Friday,”  “Purchase now while supplies last!” “15% off. Today only!” are all examples of CTAs that create a sense of urgency and drive the audience to take action immediately.  

It’s difficult to overlook offers like these, especially in a circumstance where you’re pressed for time (e.g. a festive season or a long weekend). Inciting urgency in your call to action and incorporating a sense of ‘deadline’ will most often increase clickthrough rates, getting you better results than you ever expected!

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Examples of effective CTAs that convert

An example is worth a thousand explanations. So let’s take a look at some real-life CTA examples to inspire your own CTA strategy! 

Successful Facebook Ad CTA: Hootsuite’s call to action example

Hootsuite keeps it short and sweet with a few extremely focused CTAs.

Why is this one of the best call to action examples?

The call to action buttons are all concentrated toward the bottom of the content, whereas benefits are highlighted at the very top. Moreover, the “Learn More” button leaves all the additional important information for the landing page, keeping the post concise and straightforward! 

Successful Instagram Ad CTA: Elementor’s action example

From an event-type ad perspective, this is definitely a successful one. It presents all of the pertinent details about the event. 

Why is this one of the best call to action examples?

The headline and the CTA button are the two parts of the advertisement that capture the most attention. Both of them have the same striking hues that contrast with the deep background.

The CTA buttons for “Save Your Seat” and “Book Now” are both clear and straightforward.

The ‘save’ icon next to the CTA button has an old-school feel that is likely to appeal to the target audience (i.e. to the technical people who would be interested in the event). 

Successful email CTA: Black Illustrations’ action example 

Black Illustrations, a design firm, favors using numerous CTAs in their email marketing. You may test this method on your own, but if your email is particularly lengthy, it makes total sense to include a few supplementary call to action buttons. 

A hyperlinked CTA is also included by Black Illustrations in order to encourage viewers to take action. 

Why is this one of the best call to action examples?

In a lengthy email, including multiple CTA buttons (as well as links) might improve conversion rates. “Free with a subscription” is well emphasized and makes the user aware of the key message.

The button’s color selection complements the brand perfectly while still standing out in the larger visual. 

Successful Landing page CTA: Leadfeeder’s action example

The lead generation landing page for Leadfeeder is straightforward and has a distinct value proposition. You can read the ebook’s summary on the left. You must fill out the form on the right with some basic information before clicking “Get the Guide” to send your request.

Why is this one of the best call to action examples?

The only thing on the page that is green is the CTA button, making it stand out. Additionally, users are drawn in by the actionable “Get the Guide” offer. These simple characteristics make this example one of the most powerful calls.

Successful Website CTA: Smartlook’s action example

Smartlook is a tool for analyzing user behavior. They adhere to recommended practices for websites by including a “hero” section (tagline+description+CTA) above the fold. The website’s primary objective is to get users to sign up for a free trial.

Why is this one of the best call to action examples?

The colorful and bright call to action button stands out sharply from the gray and blue background, drawing the viewer’s attention right away. The button’s use of the colors red and yellow encourages both enthusiasm and hope in apprehensive website visitors

“Create free account” is the content that appears on the call to action button, while the accompanying text that appears beneath it reads “No credit card needed.” 

Both copies are meant to dispel the subconscious reservations that potential customers may have (Will I have to pay? Will they charge my card?). They have made it clear that this is a free offer, and that’s the key to success of this particular example. 

Why is it important to have a good call to action?

Whether you run a B2C, B2B, or eCommerce organization, there are several reasons to use CTAs. Here are eight of them:

CTAs clear up uncertainty in decision-making

By providing your audience with a straightforward directive statement (a CTA) to tell them how to proceed and where to go next, you make it easier and more time-efficient for them to make decisions. 

Your call to action should resolve any ambiguity so that the website visitor can proceed to the proper next action.

CTAs boost your sales and exposure

Whether it’s “Follow me on Twitter” or “Submit payment,”  you can use CTAs to leverage your business needs. Depending on what’s most essential to you at the time, your call to action will change. 

Every piece of content that contains a CTA transforms into a potent marketing weapon, regardless of whether it is a social media post, a blog post, or static landing pages.

CTAs address your users’ wants

A well-written CTA will leave no doubt as to what your content is about. 

Your content generates interest and excitement, so your CTA should persuade the reader to learn more or buy something. If you’re unsure about the needs of your readers, your digital approach may need to be revised.

If your call to action is clearly stated and leaves no room for ambiguity, the reader won’t click away from the information out of confusion or apathy. 

CTAs increase the significance of each new piece of content

It is normal to feel pressured to produce content so that your website will always have something new and fresh (blog posts, videos, podcast episodes, etc.). 

While updating your material is crucial, it should also have some sort of utility. Every new piece of content should include a clear CTA to encourage readers to take action. This will help you expand your audience and increase the number of customers you convert.

If your company has the appropriate roadmap, it will succeed. Setting goals and objectives, analyzing business aspects, and putting plans into action are all part of the process of building a strategic marketing plan.

CTAs boost conversion rates

We included CTAs in our blog post on ways of achieving the best SEO results for a reason. A good CTA will help boost your website’s performance and maximize conversion rates. 

CTAs enhance user engagement, which is crucial for any website. They do so in a multitude of ways, such as bringing a customer’s demand and product/service availability together and making it easier for the client to locate goods and services. 

As content is made instantly accessible, potential customers’ anxiety and irritation are reduced. As a result of improved usability and lowered discomfort, consumer loyalty in turn is increased, helping you build long-term customer relationships and meaningful connections.

CTAs stimulate your sales funnel

CTAs and sales funnels go hand in hand. Calls to action function as phase transitions in the buyer’s journey. 

Instead of leaving your audience to assume and wonder what to do next, you provide them with the solution in the form of an engaging, vibrantly colored button that directs them to the following step of the purchasing process. 

Customers demand call-to-actions

Calls to action are crucial for businesses as well as for their customers. People frequently rely on the CTA at the end of the page to guide them toward the next action. By omitting the CTA, you risk confusing readers and decreasing conversion rates. 

Without a CTA, a potential consumer may not know where to go to keep engaging with your brand, which increases the likelihood that they may leave your page or site in search of another option, such as one of your industry rivals.

So feel free to prompt your clients to take the action you want them to take by employing CTA buttons. They gain from that, and so does your company.

Remember, your brand should occasionally be predictable. Being dependable and easy to work with helps your business. Being both logical and predictable pays off with CTAs.

CTAs help digital advertising be more successful

You don’t always get to make a lasting impact on your target market, so when you do, make the most of it! There is no time to waste when it comes to PPC ads and other types of digital advertising. 

If you overlook even the smallest opportunity, customers may choose the rival brand instead of yours. Make sure your marketing staff recognizes the significance of a compelling call to action when developing advertisements.

Evaluate how users are responding to your calls to action on your website

To start, check whether visitors are seeing (or even better — interacting with) your CTAs using heatmaps and scroll maps.

You can see how far down your page visitors scroll before leaving using a scroll map. If you notice that your prospects leave before reaching the bottom of the page, you may want to make the CTA a callout at the very top of your post.

You can determine how frequently people are responding to your call to action by using a heatmap. Your call to action button should be bright, warm red rather than chilly blue if it invites readers to click and learn more.

In order to understand why users are responding to your CTA the way they are, you may also employ visitor session recordings.

You can watch someone’s real-time movements on the screen in a recording. Ask yourself things like, Are people getting stuck anyplace in particular? Does it appear that they are unsure of what my CTA’s next actions are?

You should also be regularly split testing your CTA buttons and hyperlinks. You must A/B test a solution after determining what you believe to be the issue with a CTA button. You can publish two variants of the same CTA copy and compare their performance using an A/B test.

You can test different positions to discover which is more efficient if, for example, your CTA button appears to be in the incorrect location.

Consider your CTAs and consider the questions, “What am I attempting to accomplish here?” “How does my CTA messaging motivate users of my website to accomplish that goal?”

Usability and testing tools may also assist you in producing the greatest CTAs once you have provided answers to the two inquiries above.

Last but not least, initiate a personal and meaningful conversation with your clients and ask them what they themselves would like to see in your content. 

You will come across as more approachable, your clients will feel like their opinions matter, and your business will benefit significantly as your solutions will now align with your audience’s wants and needs.

Takeaway: Go ahead and convert leads into sales!

Although marketing has undergone significant changes recently, the overarching objective has remained constant. You want to motivate customers to act. CTAs are necessary to do this. Therefore, it’s imperative that you develop excellent CTA skills as a digital marketer.

If you are making your first steps into the realm of CTA, or simply need some guidance in your existing strategy, you can get a free content audit here to turn your content marketing into an absolute success! 

Get expert advice from digital marketers, and focus your own efforts on delivering the best service or product for your beloved customers.