HOW AND WHY YOU NEED TO WRITE EFFECTIVE CALLS TO ACTION

December 30, 2020

A call to action (CTA) is one of the most important parts of your marketing. It can be the difference between making or losing a sale. A good CTA urges your customers into taking action. But how do you write effective calls to action?

What is a CTA?

A call to action is essentially the part of your ad, social post, or web page that tells your audience exactly what to do next. You’ll find CTA’s on:

• Newsletters
• Emails
• Social media
• PPC ads
• Web pages
• Email options

A call to action can be anything from “Buy Now” to “Sign up here!” Your messaging is an important part of your marketing. Creating effective CTA’s will help you grow your business. Below are our top 5 tips for creating calls to action that sell!

5 Tips to Write Effective Calls to Action

1. Choose Words that Evoke Emotion

Because you want a strong response from your audience, you need to write a CTA that elicits emotion and inspires follow-through. If your CTA is excited, your audience should be excited. If you want your audience to be afraid they’ll miss out (a little FOMO never hurt), your CTA should cause concern or worry about missing the best deal of the year. No one wants to miss out!

Some of the most persuasive words to use in your calls to action include:

• You
• Money
• Save
• New
• Results
• Health
• Easy
• Safety
• Love
• Discovery
• Proven
• Guarantee

It’s important to know your audience so your messaging speaks to them specifically. In your email campaigns, consider using your customer’s first name to make it more personal.

2. Use a Strong Command Verb

To write effective calls to action, you need to be clear and concise. You don’t have the space to write a novel or explain in detail why your products are better than your competitors’. You need to make it short, sweet, and to the point. Here are some strong command verbs you might consider using in your CTA’s.

3. Give Your Audience a Reason to Take Action

You need to tell your audience what’s in it for them. How will buying your products benefit your customers? Will it help them feel good about themselves? Or maybe a stylish t-shirt will help show off their unique sense of style. Perhaps a funny mug will brighten their day. Tell them how they will benefit from purchasing your product.

4. Use Numbers Whenever Possible

Consumers love numbers. They’re used to seeing pricing, promotions, discounts, and more. An easy way to appeal to your audience is by giving them the information they’re already searching for in your ad or on your page. When you include pricing in your ad and customers click anyway, you know they’re serious about making a purchase.

5. Create Urgency

Consumers are used to seeing ads and offers everywhere, which means it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. Creating a sense of urgency is an important part of a highly converting CTA, but it must be used strategically. If customers know there will be a new discount in a day or two, there’s less incentive to purchase immediately.

Putting It All Together

By now, you should have some ideas and are ready to start marketing! To help you out, we created 14 calls-to-action you can use.

{Customer name}, exclusive offer! Shop now and get {percentage} off!

Discover {product/design}! Browse our catalog

You’re running out of time! Shop today.

You’ll be {emotion} if you miss this {sale/opportunity}.

Try {product} and get {free shipping/percentage off}

Savvy shoppers buy {product}

{Holiday} is around the corner! Have you started shopping?

Only {number} of days left! Shop now!

Act now and get {percentage} off your next order!

Go out in style with {shirt/facemask etc.}. Shop designs here.

Purchase {product} today and get {percentage off/ free shipping}

Free Shipping {period of time} only!

Are you ready for <event>? WE ARE!

Get ready to save <holiday> with this deal!

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