A call to action or CTA is a very important part of a website, email, e-book or blog. It can push an online browser who has finished reading an article to take action and buy before they move on to something else, whether the offer is something as a big as a purchase or something as simple as downloading more information. An effective CTA however is more than posting “Click Here to Buy.” Boooooooring. An effective must have a number of crucial elements to attract a potential customer.
What elements should be a call to action?
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Design - the CTA must stand out for it to be seen and responded to. You can make it standing out by making it a flashing one, putting it in colors that contrast those on the rest of that page and putting it in larger font.
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Catchy copy - Your CTA must have words that prompt or encourage people to act. It is not enough to say 'Click Here'. Go further and say, ‘Download a free copy of our eBook,” or “Join our email list.” People like descriptions and knowing exactly what they’re going to get.
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Be clear - Indicate to the reader what they will get if they act on a CTA. Is it more information, contacts, subscription to a newsletter or a link to purchase the product or service they were reading about?
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A landing page with one stage of the sales cycle -The most effective CTA is one that takes a reader to a dedicated landing page after clicking on a link. The reader should be directed to the home page or page they were browsing before they clicked on a link. An online user should not be directed to a random page.
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Be focused - You should also create CTAs that will get you the desired action. If you want readers to take the action to make a purchase, ensure that the link you put with this CTA will take them to a page where they can browse through the options, put their purchases in a shopping cart and then go a payment gateway.
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Add creative tools where a buyer can magnify an image without leaving the page and choose it or continue buying. Make it as fast and easy for a browser to take the action that you wish them to take. Too many interruptions and disruptions will put a reader off.
An effective CTA will get your intended audience to take the action that you wish them to take. This is key for the success of any product or theory being promoting online. Just make sure the call to actions to make work, are honest and attractive.
Questions and Final Thoughts
How have you designed your call to actions? If so, are they working for you?
