“A call to action (CTA) is a statement designed to get an immediate response from the person reading or hearing it.”
-Mindy Lilyquist, Founder of Epiphany Marketing Management
You can have one of the most amazing ads the world has ever seen, but no reader will be inspired to follow through with contacting you if there isn’t a compelling Call to Action (CTA). The problem is that many businesses feel that they shouldn’t include one in their advertisement because it’s too cheesy or salesy. This is a myth! Everyone needs that extra push, and your CTA is the exact push that customers need when looking at your ad, regardless of whether it’s digital, print, media and so on.
Here are a couple of CTA examples:
- Make it yours. Buy now!
- Get 20% Off
- Call now for your free consultation
- Read more…
- Share with your friends!
- Subscribe to our newsletter.
- Sign Up Now
As you can see, they are all different, but what they have in common is that they all begin with some sort of action. “Make,” “Get”, “Share”, and “Read” are all actionable things that a potential customer can do. Plus, they all direct the potential customer to invest in your business. This is the key to conversion marketing.
While it’s often underrated, your Call to Action is like the lungs of your marketing strategy. How you position and compose it will make an enormous impact on your customer conversion results, and yet so many don’t know this at all. Viewers don’t want to be lost in your website. They want to be clearly directed to where they will get their needs met. If there isn’t a clear CTA, then it’s likely that they will get frustrated and look elsewhere.
Now that you know the importance of having a clear Call to Action in your conversion marketing strategy, let’s discuss how to make yours actually convert customers!
Have a Good Lead-In
Usually, before you see any type of Call to Action, there will be some introductory copy or text that leads readers into your suggested action. This is equally as important as the CTA itself because it will compel the reader to follow the presented action by telling them why they should contact you.
This example is taken from Vistaprint, a platform for online graphic design services. As you can see, you probably wouldn’t want to click “Shop Now” if it was completely alone, as there wouldn’t be any reason to unless you knew exactly what you wanted. Instead, the preceding copy reminds you that, since it’s the holiday season, you’re probably in need of Christmas presents. This is also an excellent example because they are providing a discount off of their products with a promotional code as extra incentive to view their catalog.
Always remember to precede your CTA will some kind of incentive or compelling text to remind the reader why they want to pursue your product or service.
Get Right to the Point
Clarity is a very important aspect of CTAs. In a fast-paced world, people want simplicity as well as immediate solutions to their questions or needs. A great way to convey that you can provide what they need quickly and easily as well as boost customer conversion is by having a clear and concise Call to Action.
Pandora, a music streaming application, conveys simplicity through their CTAs. On the left you can see option #1, and on the right is option #2. Both have a clearly written button that states “Start Free Trial.” You know exactly what you’re getting when you click this button based on the text as well as the concise bulleted list positioned right above it. The fact that they are side-by-side makes it easy for the viewer to compare them to one another and choose which option they would prefer.
Keep your CTA short, concise and clear. Try not to be vague or leave out information. “Start Free Trial” is much more informative than “Start Now.” Position yourself as the reader and make sure that you know what you’re getting.
Design It Beautifully
The copy is important, but the design has equal significance. It needs to work in conjunction with your compelling text. Sometimes, a CTA can get lost, especially if it’s in tiny letters at the bottom of a magazine page. Design your Call to Action so that it stands out and is the first thing the eye moves to upon seeing your ad or website. Factors to consider include distinguishing colors, large text, attractive typeface, interesting shape and so on.
AloMoves is an app that provides fitness videos from world-class fitness instructors. On their website, not only is “Start Your Practice” the first thing you see upon visiting their website, but it’s accompanied by a beautiful video of a woman doing yoga in the background. It draws you in.
You want your CTA to be in stark contrast to the rest of the page so that it’s guaranteed to be seen. Also, it’s a good idea to be consistent with your design in all of your ads so that, over time, people know exactly what to look for. That is part of creating your brand identity as well.
Position It Well
After you’ve created your beautiful lead-in copy, your customer action and your design, put your CTA in the best place! Placement is crucial since, more often than you would think, viewers can’t find the correct button to click or information to contact. All too many businesses allow their navigation to get lost within the sea of their website, make the letters too small in their flyer, or put their contact information on the back of their brochure rather than inside of it. The result? Low customer conversion. Also, believe it or not, you can have your CTA in more places than one! In fact, put it on every single page of your brochure or website. It’s not obnoxious…It’s helpful.
Asana, a task management system, does what many websites do…They put their CTA at the very top of their homepage so that it’s the first thing a visitor sees. On top of that, they precede the very clear, “Start Your Trial” button with large copy explaining why you need their tool. If you look closely, you can see that the same button is also located in the upper right-hand corner of the website. Both buttons, although different, are in blue while the rest of the page is in black and white. This is an excellent example of strategic placement as well as design.
Putting your Call to Action at the top of your page or print ad is always a safe bet. If you’re running a radio or TV ad, make sure that you speak very slowly and clearly so that no information is missed. It’s little things like this that make all the difference in your conversion marketing strategy.
If you need assistance with identifying your specific audience, defining their needs, and developing an effective marketing strategy for your business, contact Kudzu Brands. It’s our mission to help businesses grow and get seen in the market. Call (828) 357-8350 or email katlyn@kudzubrands.com
Heather Johnson is the senior principal at Kudzu Brands. As a skilled marketing professional, her expertise is in crafting compelling narratives and strategic guidance that elevate brands and connect them with their target audiences. Heather is passionate about every client’s success and works alongside businesses and nonprofits to deliver expert marketing plans designed for growth and sustainability.