Calls to Action – why are they so important?

Are you aware of what it is that encourages you to buy something? Is it always something you want or need? Is it good marketing and a sneaky discount code? How about a call to action?

Call to actions have a super important job, their role is to get the prospect to act.

In this blog we are going to dive deeper into what a call to action (CTA) is, look at the different types, figure out how to create them, consider some examples plus stats and learn about what makes high performing CTA’s as awesome as they are.


What is a Call to Action?

A CTA encourages your prospect to do something. To perform a certain act, it’s a directive to your prospects and helps you convert a visitor into a lead.

We will get into different types of CTA’s in a bit but for now;

CTA’s are all about driving potential customers to take a specific action that’s related to where they are in the customer journey.

How do I write a CTA?

Rather than just sticking a CTA on the page because it’s the right thing to do, invest some energy in making sure it’s going to be attractive enough to your prospects to do its job.

It’s easy to get ahead of yourself here, but before you crack on take some time to figure out your goal.

  • Are you trying to grow your list?
  • Do you want them to buy something?
  • Would you like them to consume more of your content?

Once you have a clear goal in your mind, you can move on to what the CTA needs to convey to get your prospects psyched up enough to click it.

There are three golden rules to be really clear on to make sure that you are hitting all the sweet spots and making it easy as pie for your prospects to be confident in acting.

  1. 1. Help your prospects understand that there is minimal risk. Tell them there is no contract or they don’t need to share their credit card info. 
  2. 2. Be clear. Don’t be clever. If you can be clever in a clear way, then go for it. The priority is clarity. 
  3. 3. Benefits, benefits, benefits. Sing about them, highlight them, share them. People like to know how the action is going to work in their favour, so let them know.

The CTA has to be strong and persuasive enough to convince the prospect to act immediately and confidently. 

You want your CTA to acknowledge the awareness level of your prospect and then move them onto the next level of awareness. 

You want your prospects thinking...

                                          “Yes I think this great and yes I do want to click on it”

Did you know that CTAs with a strong personalised message can increase your conversion rates by over 202%...

Types of Call to Action

There are loads of CTAs and we’re going to highlight just a few that get people taking action.

Sign up

The most generic CTA that can be used to get people to sign up for a course, event, product, updates, newsletter - the list goes on. Not the most exciting option but if you want it to do the job, make it exciting!

Subscribe

A non committal CTA, this doesn’t commit to buying but rather to those updates companies want to get out to build a relationship with their list. Subscribe now and get a weekly blog…also blehhhh but you can make it more valuable by adding strong verbs and showing prospects what value they will get from you!

Try for free

These work. People love having the opportunity to trial a service. They can figure out whether it’s worth their time before they put down their money. 

Download now

Offering a value add like a PDF or video will show your prospects that you are dedicated to forming a relationship and not just about the cash money. 

Learn more

Offer more information, answer frequently asked questions, overcome their hurdles and give them the content they need to get them to commit.

Join us

If you have an online community or exclusive group, this is a great CTA. 

Call to Action Examples

CTAs across industries can be so different so to really draw an accurate comparison we are going to look at streaming services, namely;

  • Netflix

  • NowTV

  • Hulu

  • Amazon Prime Video

Netflix

Netflix has 139 million users and costs £5.99 per month. 

The CTA is the priority on the homepage. Right there in your face.

Netflix’s CTA highlights a free trial, convenience of watching anywhere and no risk in being tied into a contract.

Hulu

Hulu has 23 million users and costs $5.99 per month.

The CTA is also on the homepage and can’t be missed.

Hulu’s CTA focuses on the convenience of TV in one place but isn’t entirely clear on cost nor is there clarity on how long the trial is or whether there is a contract or not. 

Now TV

NowTV costs £7.99 per month. Users unknown.

CTA is smack bang on the home page. 

NowTV’s CTA is exciting. It draws attention to the fact that there is no contract and offers more information if you aren’t ready to commit.

Buy now is fierce. It’s in their face, it’s a direct instruction - it cuts through all the noise. Don’t think about it, just buy it. I love this - I think it shows decisiveness and people like immediate supply for their demand. 

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has 26 million users and costs £7.99 per month.

Also the first thing you see is the option to start your free trial.

Amazon’s CTA is the most clear. It offers the free trial and shows how much it will be after the trial period. It also states that there is no contract and teases how many shows and movies are available which draws the eye. The colour of the CTA is proven to make a difference. Strong contrasting colours work best as it makes them pop which is why the orange is so powerful here.

Whilst similar in some ways, these streaming powerhouses have approached their CTAs differently. 

They all have prime real estate on their homepage but some are clearer than others, people like clarity. 

Which one speaks to you? 

Why does it speak to you? 

What works and what doesn’t?

Is there anything that you would change?

The answers to these questions will help you approach your CTA with a fresh perspective. 

Top CTA Tips

We’ve covered a lot about call to actions and I hope you’ve learnt a bunch.

Did you know that 70% of businesses don’t have a CTA on their website...if you were one of them I’m sure you’re changing that now.

So what the top takeaways to create CTAs that get your prospects to act?

1. Have a goal - know what you want to achieve before you try and achieve it

2. Minimise risk - don’t scare your prospects off, make them feel safe

3. Be clear - don’t be tricksy. Use action words, be succinct.

4. Show them the benefits - help your prospects see why they should take action and why it’s the best c5. oice for them

5. Be aware - know where they are in their journey and use this to nudge them to the next awareness level

6. Location - having your CTA as the welcome has a conversion rate of 10-25% as opposed to the 0.5-15% of the generic end of post CTA.

7. Colour - there are proven colours that get more action. Orange for example is a big yes for action. 

8. Test - if you aren’t getting the results you wanted from your CTA then try something else, test, run reports and use what you learn to get it right the next time.

Call to actions are huge in making a positive impact on achieving goals. Are you getting it right for your business?

If you need a little help with your CTA's, our Marketing Automation Academy is filled with all of the marketing goodness you can imagine. You'll find a community of people just like you, lending a hand and learning how to market like a Ninja.

Or, you can take it a step further and book in a call to discuss the ways we can help you out. We're ready when you are!