Inspiring the desired behaviour in your readers can at times be a bit like herding cats, but once a customer is within your environment, you are largely in control of their experience. So, we’ve compiled five key takeaways for you to help you create compelling ‘calls to action’ (CTAs).
1. Use active voice
Make it clear what you want your audience to do, when and why. Use actionable language for your CTA.
For example,
Passive: “Your free report is available for download”
Active: “Download your free report now”
2. Clarify value
What will customers receive in return for activating?
‘What’s in it for me?’ is a question every user asks, whether consciously or subconsciously, when considering responding to a CTA. Clearly define the benefits of taking action right off the bat. For example, if you’re a charity calling for donations, provide tangible outcomes of what their money will do, how they will feel, and what they will be a part of.
“Click here to join our database!” is just not going to cut it.
Clearly stating the value to the user is going to elicit a higher response rate. For example, “Click here and $1 will be donated to cut carbon emissions.”
3. Avoid distractions – provide ample white space and make it look attractive
Make sure your call to action stands out from the rest of the content on your website or email. Of course you should maintain the look and feel of your brand, but make sure you are providing enough contrast that it pops.
A lot of research has been done to determine what colours are shown to be more effective than others, and in most cases the colour that has the highest response is red. But there are many factors that determine what works best for your particular site design, so testing is still a necessary step.
Make your button irresistible!
4. A/B testing
If you’re not happy with your conversion rates, experiment with button placement, size, colour, text, etc. and see which link gets the most clicks. Send two versions of an e-newsletter to segmented lists, and see which performs better.
Remember: It’s important to define measures of success from the beginning to properly assess results. Is engagement the most important thing? Is reach? Or is it strictly sales numbers?
Determine exactly what behaviour you want to inspire in your audience and see which variation has the best results for your goal.
5. Make it easy
Are you confusing your audience? It’s important to make sure you’re not requiring too many steps for your customers to take and that you are using the same language as is in your CTA. If you’re offering ice cream in your CTA, don’t offer frozen yogurt on your click-through!
Are people dropping off half-way through the purchase process? Maybe your e-commerce is in need of streamlining, or you’re asking too much of your customers and exhausting their patience. This is where handy tools like Google Analytics are your best friend.
We hope these tips get you on the right path to creating highly engaging experiences for your customers. What drives your potential customers to your business? Thinking like a potential customer or client might be a real eye opener, and will be one of the key ways in which you’ll stay ahead of the competition.
