Craft a Perfect Call-to-Action for Your Website With These 5 Tips

Whatever business you run, one thing is certain:
When people browse your website you want them to do SOMETHING – contact you, buy an item, register for updates, etc.

It’s nice people visit your site and browse around, but unless you’re making advertising revenue, it’s not enough.

What you’re really hoping is for your carefully crafted landing pages to actually generate actionable sales / leads.

That’s where your Call-to-Action (CTA) comes in.
Simply put – it’s an indication of what you want your reader to DO next.

How do you make that happen?
As the good book says:

“…Ask and ye shall receive…”
The Book of Matthew

It seems simple.
It’s obviously essential for every landing page.
…Yet in our experience most websites mess it up.

How To Craft a Powerful Call-to-Action

1. Be CRYSTAL CLEAR About What Your Prospects Should DO

A CTA should be simple and clear.

• Don’t be a smart ass.
• Don’t use highfalutin language.
• Avoid ambiguity like the plague.
• Don’t waste your visitor’s valuable time having them trying to figure out what you want. All that will happen is they’ll become bored and LEAVE.

Keep is as short and simple as possible:

• “YES – I Want to LOSE WEIGHT!”
• “Send Me My Free Trial!”
• “Help Me Become A Better Golfer!”

“…Poorly written CTA’s are the standard CLICK HERE or SUBMIT.
A good example would be ‘Get your $50 spa coupon,’
which clearly articulates what you will be receiving in exchange for your precious click…”
Unbounce

2. Back Up Your Benefit Statement (AKA Value Proposition)

Whatever your product or service, it (hopefully) provides a benefit to your customers.
As per the examples above, a smart CTA refers to this benefit and reinforces the advantage of following through on your offer. And keep in mind this handy jingle from consultant Steven A. Lowe:

“…C is for conversion. Call them to act.
The copy should lead them to something they lack!…“

4. Use First Person Copy

Research shows readers respond well to CTAs that use first-person copy, such as:
“Give me my free ebook”

3. Reassure

Encourage browsers by showing them how easy it is to complete your CTA. Examples would be:

• “Signing up takes two minutes and is totally free”
• “No credit card needed”
• “Receive your quote IMMEDIATELY”

5. MAKE IT BIG AND JUICY

Make sure people will easily figure out what to click.
Your CTA button should POP OUT on the page. It should be the first thing people notice when they browse and be in close proximity to a description of the benefits of your product / service. While eye-tracking testing can be very costly, services like feng-gui.com allow you to easily (and freely) test your design for impact.