Compel your customers to click! How to write an effective Call to Action
Learn how to craft an engaging CTA, and see our favorite examples
You’ve worked hard to create the perfect piece of content, but what happens next?
If there’s something you want people to do after viewing your digital ad, blog post or email, tell them with a call to action!
When it comes to your marketing efforts, choosing the right call to action can make all the difference.
Here are our top tips for crafting a clear and engaging call to action that will compel your customers to click.
What is a Call to Action?
A call to action (CTA) is a piece of content intended to influence a viewer, reader, or listener to perform a specific act, typically taking the form of an instruction or directive (e.g. shop now or click here).
Where are Calls to Action used?
CTAs can be used across your digital marketing efforts to encourage people to take a desired action—such as buying a product, subscribing to a mailing list or filling out a form.
Calls to action are often found in the form of buttons on a website, text in online ads, and links on social media. They usually use imperative language like “Call now!”, “Find out more” or “Visit a store today!”
How do I write an effective Call to Action?
The best calls to action are clear and direct. They let your audience know what to expect, and how they will benefit, from clicking on your CTA.
Getting to the point also helps you dissuade the wrong users from clicking—something that’s very important especially when it comes to pay-per-click digital ads.
Keep your call to action short and sweet—you don’t have much space to get your point across, so make it count!
Using an exclamation point can help you make an impact, by bringing more urgency and excitement to your CTA. A word of warning: use them wisely, and only where they fit the tone of your business and your content.
Calls to Action for websites
Make your website forms more appealing by ditching the Submit button. Would one of these CTAs be a better fit?
- Request a Quote
- Schedule an Appointment
- Book Now
- Get My Free Resource
Calls to Action for blogs
Blog posts are a great way to show your industry experience, explain your services and feed your customers relevant, useful content.
Your goal is to keep visitors on your website for as long as possible, to build trust and expose them to what you offer. You should include a compelling call to action at the end of every blog post (bonus points if you break up the blog content with CTAs, too).
- Read More
- Get Started
- Get the Guide
- Sign Up Now
Calls to Action for emails
Depending on your business, your emails may be more informational or more sales-focused. Either way, email blasts are one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website—so an effective CTA is essential.
For informational emails:
- Read More
- Get My Free Resource
- Get Our Top Tips
- Find the Answer
For sales-focused emails:
- Shop Now!
- Get My Offer
- Unlock My Discount
- Get the Promo Code
Calls to Action for social media
On social media, your calls to action can be subtle or bold. It’s important to not bombard your followers with only sales-focused content: try maintain a balance between promotional posts and educational, entertaining content. Your CTAs can be part of your post’s description or they can be on the image itself.
- Visit Us Today
- Try Our New Drink Now!
- Tag a Friend
- Find Out More
Calls to Action for digital ads
This is where a compelling call to action is a must! You have very little time to get to the point, so the more direct you are with your CTA the better.
For Google text ads, make sure your headline includes a clear call to action. To maximize the likelihood of your ad being clicked, you should also include one in your ad’s description. Be sure to test different CTAs in your Google Ads campaigns to see which ones perform best.
- Shop Now
- Request a Quote
- Schedule a Tour
- Book Your Appointment Today
For Google responsive display ads, there are a selection of call to actions to choose from:
- Apply Now
- Book Now
- Contact Us
- Download
- Learn More
- Install
- Visit Site
- Shop Now
- Sign Up
- Get Quote
- Subscribe
- See More
If you leave the call to action field set to ‘automated’, Google will choose what it thinks is the best fit for your responsive display ad.
Facebook Ads also offer a variety of predefined calls to action to choose from:
- Apply Now
- Book Now
- Call Now
- Contact Us
- Download
- Get Directions
- Learn More
- Get Showtimes
- Get Quote
- Send Message
- Request Time
- Save
- See Menu
- Shop Now
- Sign Up
- Watch More
- Listen Now
- Subscribe
- Send WhatsApp Message
- Dial Code
- View Event
- Install Now
Choosing the right call to action for your content isn’t always easy, but by following these tips you’ll stand a great chance of boosting your click-through rate.
Need help with your digital marketing? We’ve been building winning digital marketing strategies for businesses like yours for over 14 years.
Read more:
How can Google Ads help your business?
6 social media marketing tips that will make your life easier
Hiring an advertising agency vs. doing it yourself
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