Why Does A Website Need A Strong Call to Action
In the past few years, marketing has gone through a lot of changes. It is as if a new feature becomes available every week in the platforms that most people are already using. When the next month comes, there is a new platform that blogs and industry publications consider as the next game-changer in the industry. However, there are marketing aspects that remained constant.
One thing that did not change is how some call to action phrases are written. If you have spent the time reading on ways to increase conversion rates, you must have noticed the call to action phrases most businesses use. They are all the same, and there is nothing wrong with that. For many years, website marketers are doing the same call to action phrases. That is because a call to action is always intended to tell potential customers the next action to make.
What is a Call to Action?
It is a word, sentence, or phrase that influences readers to do an action and its abbreviation is CTA.
Having the right call to action persuades people to do a specific action when they read your emails or visit your website. These actions could be like asking them to download something, buy a product, read the full article, or share content. Most of the time, the CTA is a text on a button, but it can also be a link that has an anchor text.
If you want to run your own website, here is the call to action writing tips you can do:
Know What Your Audience Needs
Before writing a CTA, you must understand what to offer your audience, and why they need it. The best way to accomplish this is to analyze a problem your audience relates to, and your brand is the solution. This way, the CTA is more tempting to your audience because they have a reason why they should follow the instructions.
A powerful CTA gets its strength from what is surrounding it. If your information does not tell your audience why they will benefit from your product, they will not care about the call to action.
When your audience is convinced why they need your product, they will not think twice about buying it. Aside from that, they might even share the page with their friends and family who will also benefit from it.
Use Verbs
Words like “Sign Up”, “Shop”, “Try”, “Start”, “Watch”, and “Discover” are sample verbs to use. Verbs tell customers what they must do next, and you want them to help you reach your goal.
When choosing which verbs to use, you want to be specific with this. You also want to be clear on the instructions. For example, “You will get a one-time discount for new shoppers if you sign-up now.” The action you want them to do is to “Sign up”, and a person can carry this out. This adds to the possibility that they will sign-up. The descriptions you use must say what the benefits are to your customers so they will do the CTA instructions. “Start your 1-month trial today” is more inviting than saying “Begin your trial today”.
The Context Must be Appropriate
Where is the sales cycle prospect? A first-time home page visitor will not see the sense in seeing a CTA asking them to buy an expensive product right away. That is why it makes more sense to put one that says “discover”, “find out more”, or “request a demo.” Furthermore, content CTAs on your blog could assume more brand familiarity compared to guest blogs or content that is in third-party websites. However, with Google, you do not know where a first-time website visitor will enter.
Sometimes, when the context of the CTA is inappropriate, it could drive a visitor away. That is because they could think that your website is unprofessional and you are trying to scam them by asking them to buy an expensive product right away.
Decide if Your CTA Would be Positive or Negative
This is something that many people forget to consider. Your CTA can be positive or negative because both will be effective.
The pain points are leveraged by the negative CTA, and the solution is the product you offer to the risk aversions. For example: “Been having sleepless nights lately? Our chamomile tea is what you need.” Marketers remind them of something negative that can be solved by their product, which will make them follow the CTA instructions.
The positive statement could say “Our chamomile tea will help you sleep soundly every night.”
They are both effective, but reminding them of something negative makes them realize more about what your product is what they need. You can test them both to see which is more effective in getting customers to respond, then pick from there.
The Action Must be Easy
The reader must come from the CTA to performing the task directly, which is why you need to make sure everything they need to follow up is there. For instance, you should list your phone number if you want customers to call.
However, take into consideration the kind of phone number you will use and if it gives your customer a problem. Customers would rather call a local or toll-free number instead of a long-distance number.
Provide your website address if you want customers to visit. Another way is to provide your website QR code for customers who are using mobile devices so they do not have to type an address. This makes it a lot easier for them.
Focus on a Goal
Each ad must have a primary goal like maybe the purpose of your Facebook video is to spread awareness about your brand. This could work even for a cold audience. Even if the next results can happen because people click on the add to purchase from you, this should not be the focus to drive brand awareness. The CTA you put should clearly show that.
You want a CTA that reflects your one goal. You will choose a CTA button that says “Learn More” than “Sign Up” or “Shop Now.” However, running a separate campaign gets you conversions.
When you focus on one goal, you will create a CTA plan that is more achievable and will get you results.
Be Urgent
The CTA you place must create urgency to gain more conversions. This can be done by putting a message about what your audience will miss if they do not follow the CTA.
Tell them that if they delay, they will miss an opportunity because the time is limited. You can use the examples from sites like Amazon where the call action says “Buy now to get 40% off” which creates urgency.
A good approach is to give an introductory price and say clearly that they only have limited time before the price will go up. If you use words like “now”, “today,” immediately”, or “right away” does wonders because they give urgency to the customer.
Saying “Right now” is a lot better than “today” because it creates urgency, and the customers will know that you are not offering it forever.
Brevity
Brevity is prioritized in the best CTAs. This does not imply that there is a specific character count you must follow. However, it means the CTA and surrounding text do not have more words than what’s necessary. Too many descriptions can only confuse and distract users because they could get muddled.
For example: “Pay now your insurance anytime, anywhere. Download our mobile app”.
You must provide customers with what they are looking for to make them click, but do not overwhelm them. Maintain a good balance.
Make Sure it is Easy
There should be a seamless transition from CTA to doing the task. A CTA that is complicated will most likely fail. For instance, if you want customers to call, give your phone number.
You should also tell potential customers that it is inexpensive nor timely to convert. If you have a free offer like a free sample or free demo, make sure that you say that in your CTA.
In the same way, if you want visitors to sign up for your monthly newsletter, make sure they can easily complete the process.
It Should Not be Too Much
Even putting more than one CTA is recommended, make sure to not overdo it. If you do this, your site visitors will find it overwhelming. They might see this as insincerity or desperation. If your CTAs all seem different, it will imply the same thing and it will just confuse your visitors. This will only be bad for your business because it can turn away potential customers.
You must follow these tips when you write your CTA because you do not want to give a wrong impression. It will only make visitors sceptical about your website and they will end up not buying any of your products.
If you’re having trouble figuring out how to come up with the best sales pitch, you can hire our Singapore content writers. We’ll be more than happy to help you!
