Sarah
Looking for ways to increase engagement with your content and boost sales? Try adding a CTA.
A call to action, or CTA, is a short phrase or piece of content that is used in marketing to encourage customers to take a specific action. That action can be anything from making a purchase to signing up for a free trial or subscribing to a newsletter.
A strong call to action can increase sales, grow your customer base, and help you generate highly qualified leads.
In this article, we’ll explore how to strategically use CTAs to impact your business for the better.
Where Might You Find a CTA?
A CTA can come in many different forms and lead the customer to many different places. Listed below are some examples of effective locations for CTAs:
- Buttons on your landing page that call people to make a purchase or sign up.
- Pop-ups on your website encouraging people to subscribe to a newsletter.
- Clickable links in an email directing people to your webpage, product descriptions, or articles.
- CTA phrases at the end of blog posts directing people to contact your business.
- Paid social media ads and organic social media posts with CTAs in the text descriptions.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. CTAs can be utilized on any and all platforms that your business has a presence on, including video and image-based platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
How To Write a Great CTA
Many businesses hire B2B copywriting services to get the language just right in their calls to action. Sales copywriters can help you capture the right tone and can also help you fit CTAs into your content channels in a way that feels natural. For example, professional blog content writers can help you fold CTAs into your long-form content seamlessly, and email content writing services can help you do the same for your email marketing campaigns.
With that said, you don’t need an expert copywriter to create a compelling CTA. There are qualities that all strong calls to action have in common, and if you incorporate them together, you’ll be on the right track.
To write a CTA that converts people into customers, follow these tips:
Identify Your Goals
Not all CTAs are created equal. It’s important to have a clear idea of what you need customers to do with the information you’re providing.
For example, do you want them to “add to cart,” or do you want them to share your business on social media? Whatever your goal is, keep it at the forefront of your mind as you’re building out your CTA structure.
Use Action Verbs
Starting a CTA with an action verb makes it sound more authoritative and ensures that the message is clear from the get-go: You want them to be doing something. To spur people to action, use strong verbs such as “join”, “call”, “create”, “apply”, “buy”, “sign up”, “start”, etc. There’s no reason to be passive in a call to action.
Create Urgency
When trying to convince someone to do something, it’s helpful to add an incentive. A sense of urgency can make people more inclined to take action. You don’t have to be pushy to create urgency, but rather nurture the fear of missing out (or FOMO) that comes when a great deal is on the table or a lot of value is being offered. An example of this would be: “Shop now to get a free X with purchase—only until the end of the month!”
Offer a High Reward With Low Risk
Of course, the goal of a CTA is to bring in more customers and more revenue, but pressing a button shouldn’t immediately tie someone into a commitment. Instead, frame your CTAs as a pressure-free opportunity for the customer to learn more, look around, and benefit from the value you’re offering.
Free trials, a sample chapter, or a demo are great low-pressure CTAs that can encourage people to engage with your content and get to know your brand better.
Use Language and Graphics That Stand Out
A CTA should not blend in with its surroundings. Visually, the font or text size should be distinct, and the location should be easily visible. Colors and design choices can help draw attention to a CTA button on web pages and in emails.
The language itself also matters, of course. The tone of a CTA should be persuasive and direct, which might differ from the tone of the content surrounding it. The language used in a call to action is often more concise and straightforward than other text.
20+ Examples of Strong CTA Phrases
A good call to action catches attention and brings in business. Just like any marketing material, CTAs change often as new campaigns are launched and new deals come and go. Here are twenty examples of real-life companies and their CTAs that pack a punch and get people to click. As you go through this list, note the use of action verbs, the powerful, persuasive language, and the sense of urgency created in many of these examples.
1. Uber
- “Get in the driver’s seat and get paid”
- “Sign up to drive”
2. Purple Mattress
- “Get free sheets and pillows when you buy the only mattress with the soft, supportive, and adaptive GelFlex™ Grid”
- “Shop Mattresses”
3. HelloFresh
- “Take the stress out of mealtime”
- “View our plans”
4. Planet Fitness
- ”Deal extended! $0 enrollment. $10 a month. Cancel anytime. Ends January 14th!”
- “Find out more about our 2,000+ clubs worldwide”
- “Join us”
5. Wix
- “Create a website you’re proud of”
- “Start now”
6. eharmony
- ”Start free today”
- “Join now”
7. Xbox
- “Discover your next favorite game”
- “Join Xbox game pass”
8. Purina
- “Find the best food for your dog or cat”
- “Find my pet’s food”
9. Canva
- “Share with pride”
- “Design your vision”
- “Start designing”
10. Content Cucumber
- “Get an outrageously helpful writer”
- “Get a Demo”
11. Lyft
- “Hop in. Crack a window. Let’s get back out there.”
- “Apply to drive”
- “Sign up to ride”
12. Le Creuset
- “Settle in with our traditional wintertime favorite”
- “Shop dutch ovens”
13. White Claw Hard Seltzer
- “SUBSCRIBE TO THE WAVE. Sign up to the latest updates from White Claw® Hard Seltzer.”
14. Folgers
- “JOIN THE WAKIN’ UP CLUB® Receive emails filled to the brim with Folgers news, recipes, and other exclusive content.”
15. IKEA
- “Turn unused corners into organized closets”
- “Shop storage solution systems”
16. Peacock
- “Enter your email address”
- “Watch for free”
- “Plans start at Free—no credit card required”
17. Lululemon
- “Stretch your limits”
- “Shop leggings”
18. AutoZone
- “Pick up today or delivery tomorrow. Free service either way.”
19. Nikon
- “Unlock the future with the power of light”
- “View products and solutions”
20. Spotify
- “2021 Wrapped is ready. But it’s only available in the Spotify app. Download it now to discover more.”
- “Get Spotify Free”
How to Get the Most Out of Your CTA
As we mentioned above, the goal of a call to action is to get people to click and to act. There’s no place for shyness or hesitancy in a CTA, as it’s your chance to tell the customer exactly what you want them to do.
Be Bold And Track Your Results
Use the above examples and tips to create your own unique call to action for your email campaigns, landing page, or social media posts, and remember — be bold, clear, and concise.
The CTA also doesn’t have to be the same each time. Explore different ways to convey your ideas and test out varying ones. This strategy can help you identify whether your current CTA is working or whether you need to switch things up to increase CTR (click-to-open) rates.
A/B testing can give you important metrics to track that will help future-you create more effective CTAs over time and boost your sales. Whether you use software analytics or do the math yourself, you’ll be glad you took the time to keep track of it all.
Optimize Each Step of the Process
Keep in mind that your CTA is just part of the marketing plan. If you have a beautifully laid out CTA action plan that is a slam dunk, but you haven’t optimized the page that button or pop-up takes you to, you could be losing people on the next step.
Making the entire process as simple as possible for your customers is one of the best ways to eliminate frustration and compel them to take action.
Fine-Tune Your CTA
Make sure your CTA is relevant, fits your brand and campaign, and gets people excited about your offering. It may take you some time to find the perfect verbiage, and that’s ok. Some trial and error may be necessary to nail exactly what you want to say.
At the end of the day, a professional writer may be your best friend when it comes to crafting an effective CTA for your business. For more information on how a content writer can partner with you on your marketing efforts, check out our blog page here.
