One of the most important features of marketing copy is the presence of a Call to Action (CTA), a call to action—usually in the form of a link or button. What exactly is it, what is it used for, and how can it help increase sales? How do you create a CTA and ensure it's effective? Read on to find out!
Call To Action – what is it?
"Check out the offer," "sign up," "buy now," or even the aforementioned "read"—what do these phrases have in common? They can all be classified as calls to action . These are key elements of any advertising or promotional campaign. Currently, they're primarily associated with content presented online, but they've also been used in traditional advertising for years. A CTA typically aims to direct the user to where you want them to go. Online, it typically takes the form of a button or other active link that directs them to the appropriate tab, landing page, or store. It may seem like a small detail, but in marketing efforts, a CTA can be incredibly important. Therefore, it's a mandatory element of every campaign, website, or email ad.
Why is CTA so important?
You might be wondering how something as simple as a call to action can produce results. However, experience clearly shows that telling users exactly what to do significantly increases the chances of them taking action . A CTA can be thought of as a signpost that shows exactly where to go and guides the customer along the purchasing path. This element often leads to conversion, one of marketers' favorite terms for achieving a specific goal (most often making a purchase, but also, for example, signing up for a newsletter or submitting an inquiry).
Even if you think your website is clearly designed and there's simply no chance of getting lost, don't neglect CTAs. They should appear at every stage of the customer journey leading to conversion. It's worth choosing them carefully. For example, after adding a product to the cart, you can encourage the user to place an order or continue shopping. The cart itself should also include clear directions to the next steps. This will help prevent confusion and potential customers from leaving the site in frustration before converting. It 's also worth using CTAs to direct users to your website – for example, by including them in social media posts or meta tags. If you haven't used them before, you'll definitely notice a difference after changing your strategy!
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Why is it worth using a Call to Action? In short – because it pays off. Importantly, using calls to action doesn't have to be difficult. Just learn a few simple rules that will help you skillfully create them and place them in the right places to achieve the desired results.
Where to use CTA?
As mentioned, a CTA most often takes the form of a button or link. Use a call to action wherever you want to trigger a specific action. It most often appears on websites and in email campaigns. However, it's also worth using them in social media posts and in the page's meta description. The goals of a call to action can vary , for example:
- reviewing the offer or price list,
- purchase of the product,
- subscribing to the newsletter,
- signing up for a course, webinar, etc.,
- downloading a file,
- submitting a request for quotation,
- contact with the company,
- filling out a form or survey, etc.
It's not worth counting on users understanding the website creators' intentions and fulfilling their expectations without a specific incentive. That's why call-to-actions are used, as they precisely indicate a course of action and allow for a seemingly automatic decision. The power of a call-to-action is truly remarkable!
How to create Calls to Action that work?
Creating a call to action isn't difficult. However, it's important to use CTAs wisely! Equally important, remember that not every text will always work the same. Therefore, there's no single, universal recipe for effective calls to action . Content should always be tailored to the target audience. It's also worth testing its performance, comparing it with other options to determine the best solution. First, however, it's good to understand the principles of creating a call to action, which are primarily effective. What are these principles?
- Keep your message simple
The best calls to action are very simple. However, some people tend to overcomplicate this issue unnecessarily. The wording used as a call to action must be clear and unambiguous – it shouldn't create any confusion about what it refers to. Therefore, the button for adding a product to the cart should be simply called "Add to cart." Then, you can encourage the customer to "proceed to checkout" or "proceed to payment." Importantly, in some cases, the first person singular is used in CTAs, and this can be a very beneficial solution . In the example above, you could use buttons that say "I am buying," followed by "I am paying," or "I am ordering." Extremely simple, yet clear – exactly what a CTA should be.
- Focus on specifics
An enigmatic "proceed" or "click" button might not look bad at first glance. Some might even find it intriguing. However, these types of CTAs are usually not effective enough. Increasingly, they also fail to inspire trust. It's best to immediately inform the user what awaits them after clicking the button. Therefore, don't be afraid of phrases like "sign up" or "proceed to checkout." They are much more understandable and lead to higher conversion rates.
- Don't mention tasks to be completed
Many users are reluctant to proceed if they receive a message suggesting a task or tedious work. For example, the phrase "complete the survey"—simple and straightforward, to be sure, but is it encouraging? Who wants to waste their precious time filling out surveys? "Take part in a study," on the other hand, sounds much more appealing. Similarly, the sometimes used phrase "provide payment information" connotes a difficult task. Meanwhile, "pay" is not only simpler and shorter, but also doesn't imply any work.
Keeping the purchasing process as simple as possible is crucial and can significantly increase conversion rates. However, CTAs shouldn't be overlooked either, as they can undermine all the effort put into building a simple and user-friendly website if used incorrectly.
- Highlight the benefits
This point is somewhat related to the next one. Instead of emphasizing the difficulties the user might face in the next step, remind them of the benefits! It's often worth replacing "sign up" with "try it for free." Instead of "subscribe to the newsletter," you can use the first person singular again and use the phrase "yes, I want to know more about..." or "I want to receive information about promotions."
What else is worth remembering? A call to action alone won't do the trick. It should also be accompanied by text that encourages action. It's worth mentioning benefits and guarantees. It's also best to create a sense of urgency through your tactics. Sometimes, highlighting past success can be helpful (e.g., "join thousands of satisfied customers").
Not only the content is important – well-exposed CAll To Action
A successful call to action must combine two aspects: appropriate content and appropriate form. Therefore, once you've decided on the text that should adorn your button or link, consider how to highlight it so it doesn't get overlooked . In this case, you can also establish a set of rules, but remember that each situation should be approached individually.
- Visibility
Your carefully crafted CTA will be of little use if it's not visible enough. It's unacceptable for a user to have to scroll the entire page to reach the button. This applies to both websites and email campaigns. Ideally, the call to action should be placed at the top of the message, so that the user doesn't have to scroll. This is especially important in emails, as it's estimated that 8 out of 10 recipients don't delve into the content of marketing messages, reading only up to the fold line—the area visible without scrolling.
It's worth ensuring visibility by using color to highlight the button and using an appropriately sized button. The CTA should be designed so that the user knows it's clickable. Remember to use the first-person singular – this often helps increase conversions. Leave enough space around the button to make it stand out.
- One offer – one CTA
Using different calls to action on a single page or in a single promotional email can only create unnecessary confusion. Your message should be clear, so the recipient doesn't have to think about what to choose or click. If they can't make a decision right away, they certainly won't proceed. Therefore, you should always use only one CTA. However, they can be placed in different places on the page or in the email so that potential customers don't have to waste time searching for the button. In most cases, this is actually the recommended solution.
- Don't prolong it
Remember, CTAs should be short and unambiguous. Typically, calls of just 2-4 words are used. If you have more content to convey, place it above the button – the CTA should only address what awaits the user after clicking through . However, it's usually best to avoid clichéd and overly general phrases (like "check" or "click here") that don't convey much.
- Check out the links!
Finally, a small but crucial note: there's nothing worse than a CTA leading to an invalid or nonexistent page. So always check your links before launching a website or sending marketing messages.
Effective Call To Action – how to check it?
To create effective calls to action, it's worth keeping an open mind. Even if you think your approach looks great and will definitely be effective, in practice it may not be. Therefore, a good approach is to prepare several CTA variants and monitor their effectiveness . How do you do this? One of the simplest methods is to check your click-through rate (CTR). This tells you how many people who see your offer decided to click on the link. Therefore, if out of 100 people who visit your website (or 100 emails sent), 5 click the link, your CTR will be 5%. Constantly monitoring this metric can tell you a lot about both your call-to-action selection and the design of the offer itself.
Our CTA looks like this:
CTA on Verseo.plIt's always worth paying attention to conversion , meaning how website visits translate into finalizing a transaction—a purchase, a signup, a contact, etc. Unsatisfactory results can sometimes be the result of poorly chosen calls to action. Of course, a good CTA is useful not only for websites but also for email and Google Ads campaigns.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- CTA in a Nutshell: The Definition and Purpose of a Call to Action in Marketing
- Why is CTA necessary in every message?
