Read On! A Powerful Call-to-Action Unlocks Business Success

You've spent hours on a piece of content marketing. You've produced some perfect copy and ticked all the SEO boxes - but you've run out of steam with your call-to-action. A CTA that gets people clicking is a vital part of a strong campaign, but it is often overlooked or forgotten.

Maybe you've cracked the elements of design, content and SEO use, but your CTA button also needs to be irresistible. Follow our tips to get readers clicking, subscribing, registering, bookmarking and ultimately spending on your site.

What exactly is a CTA?

It's a short but very powerful piece of content that drives potential customers to your website or landing page. A call-to-action is an effective part of your content marketing arsenal and needs to be clear, brief and direct.

Create an attention-grabbing call-to-action

Every CTA component is vital - from vocabulary and punctuation through to its placement on the page and its colour. Colour? Yes, colour is a vital tool in content marketing. Many brand identities are strongly linked to specific colours, and colour is used to trigger desired actions. Click here for more information on colour branding and its importance for your call-to-action success.

Tell me what to do next

• Be commanding: you've just read several bossy or imperative verbs: read, follow, create, tell. Tell people exactly what to do and the chances are, they'll do it.

• Play on emotions: target enthusiasms, talk about dreams, say you'll improve lives or even trigger guilt! Use an exclamation mark for an extra emotional punch.

• Get personal: don't underestimate the power of personal pronouns. I'm talking to 'you!' not a nameless face.

• Dare to be negative: there's mileage to be had with a negative CTA. Don't say 'Get Fit Now!', trigger a click with 'Tired of having no energy?'

• Use numbers: the brain loves large discounts and cheap prices. The brain loves the word FREE even more!

• Place it effectively: CTAs don't have to be the last thing seen, put stand-out ones in the middle of a blog text.

• Use the power of FOMO: everyone's afraid of missing out on something life-changing. Pile on the pressure with un-refusable offers or time limits for action.

• See if it works: monitor the CTA. Is it working? Trial one CTA for a week or two, then try a different one. See which one triggers more button action for your product.

• Use your techie knowledge: customise CTAs for different devices and formats. Use click-throughs on desktops or connections to live phone or chat lines on smartphones. Short and sweet for adverts, longer for blogs but never more than six or seven words.

Text: Leonie Yeates
Image: johnkalinowski.com