Writing a call to action can often make or break the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. A call to action or CTA is a statement intended to convince a viewer to take a desired action.
A blogger might use a CTA to convince readers to check out the rest of their blog; a small business owner might use a CTA on a social post to convince viewers to check out their website.
The point is, your content needs to have a purpose and the CTA is there to underscore that purpose.
Check out a few more points about why your content needs a CTA, along with some tips to ensure you’re creating a CTA strong enough to inspire action.
Why is a CTA Important?
Business owners create content for various reasons. Often, it’s to show off different aspects of their business — highlight the benefits of their product or service. Sometimes, it’s simply to relate to or entertain their consumers.
While this is good content that keeps the consumer engaged, a CTA takes things a step further.
A good CTA brings everything together in a statement that encourages the viewer to DO something. The content pulls the viewer in and then the CTA makes the direct connection from that content to exactly what it has to do with your business.
A CTA is a chance for you to motivate viewers into becoming customers or clients, and that’s what every business wants – no matter your niche.
What Does a CTA Look Like?
CTAs can be found almost everywhere, even in places you may not realize.
Check out one of our older blog posts “Social Distancing, Sesame Street, and CTAs” to see how they’re even included in kids’ television programs!
In our everyday life, you’re probably used to seeing things like: “Buy now” or “Download now.”
Surprise! These are CTAs.
They are phrases that are short and sweet, but are always directives to do something. They can also be much longer than those examples; the possibilities are endless. A CTA can come in the form of a …
A quality CTA gives meaning to the content you are posting.
So, how exactly do you write a good CTA?
Tips to Write a Strong Call to Action
- Short phrases with strong action verbs are the way to go. Not only is this approach more persuasive, but also convenient if you have a character limit. A short line such as – “Subscribe to our email list today to never miss a blog!” – is more than enough.
- Provoke emotion or get the consumer excited. By adding things like numbers, adjectives, and promises you can evoke an emotion that will make people more likely to complete your desired action. For example, “Lose weight in just one month with our fitness program!” is more enticing than “Join our fitness program today!”
- Make sure the desired action is clear. You want to be as straightforward as possible. The purpose of a CTA is to get your viewer to do something, which is why you must make sure you are clear with what exactly you want them to do.
- You aren’t limited to only one CTA. While CTAs are often implemented at the end of an advertisement or copy, that isn’t the only place they can go. Many marketing agencies will actually embed CTAs within the content. Here is a list of examples, try and see how many calls to action you can find in just a single post!
- Include a sense of urgency. People are more likely to act immediately if they think something is urgent. Even if something isn’t for a limited time only, you can make it seem that way for the purpose of getting people to act on it. Check out this article full of ways to trigger urgency in your CTAs.
Our team loves crafting strong CTAs — along with any other content you might need to boost your business.
Feeling a little lost when it comes to CTAs or any other content creation?
Contact Waypoint Writing when you’re ready to put your brand on the map.
