Effective CTAs: 6 Call-to-Action Tactics That Work

Subscribe. Buy now. Find out more. Consider all the times you've registered or purchased something online. Why did you do that?

They were most likely the outcome of a well-crafted call to action (CTA). You might not have taken any action if you hadn't been attracted by the copy or design of the CTA or led to the sign-up process.

As a result, your company must use effective CTAs to lead customers through the purchasing process.

This post will teach you how to develop a call-to-action that engages your audience, educates them, and increases conversions.

What exactly constitutes a "call to action"?

In its most basic form, a call to action is a phrase that customers may click on to know more about what they should do next. Calls to action (also known as CTAs) are similar to road signs in that they direct customers toward the desired action, such as making a purchase, subscribing to a service, or registering for a newsletter.

'Add to Cart' and 'Buy Now' are common CTAs, but the exact phrasing and design will depend on your products and brand.

Your call to action (CTA) presentation, just like any other part of your online store's design, may significantly affect the percentage of visitors that make a purchase.

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty of how to do it correctly.

1. Start your CTA with a powerful command verb.

If you’re using a button or an ad, you most likely have a limited number of words. And even if you didn’t, your CTA should be too long. So don't waste time - start the CTA with the desired action you want them to do.

• Do you run an e-commerce site? Use phrases like "purchase," "shop," or "order" to start your CTA.
• Are you promoting a white paper or a newsletter? Use phrases like "download" or "subscribe" to start your CTA.
• Do you want someone to request further information? Try "complete a form for..." or "learn how..."

If your CTA says, "Our new coats and T-shirts are now ready," you might not get a lot of clicks since people aren't sure what that button means. "Browse the new collection now!" is a lot more straightforward and informative call-to-action, which should help raise CTR.

2. Make it Benefit-Oriented

Your call to action must provide the customer with some sort of benefit. If you don't, your click-through rate could go down. This is because visitors will not click your CTA button if they are unsure of the value it will give.

Working with various clients has allowed us to experiment with various CTA buttons. Offering benefits in exchange for any action button has been quite beneficial in most cases.

For instance, if we were promoting a skincare brand, we might say, "Get visibly reduced pores in 10 days." After that, a CTA button should read, "Buy now" or "Learn more."

It's also important to consider the positioning and color of your call-to-action buttons. Most marketers have noticed that putting an opt-in box near the bottom of the copy works best, while others have found that positioning the button to the right of the opt-in field increases conversions.

Furthermore, the button's color should contrast well with the page's main color scheme so that the eyes are drawn to it.

3. Use of words that evoke strong feelings or a sense of excitement.

You want to be able to inspire an enthusiastic response from your audience. If you make your call to action (CTA) sound excited, then your audience will feel the same way.

For example, a CTA like "buy now and get fifty percent discount!" gets people excited because 1) there’s a sense of urgency and 2) who wouldn't be happy to get half off their order?

Now, let’s say you’re targeting expecting parents. A call to action (CTA) such as "What to pack in your hospital bag” with a button like, “BUY BABY ESSENTIALS NOW!” will pique their interest in what they need to bring and prepare before they give birth and encourage them to click on your advertisement.

And here’s a tried and tested strategy, put an exclamation point! Putting an exclamation point at the end of your call to action (CTA) is a simple change that may make a big difference in terms of how enthusiastic readers are. It really helps your CTA stand out and adds a little something more to it as well.

You can check this guide to help you find the most exciting and effective words to write your CTA.

4. Use FOMO to your advantage.

Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a very powerful way to get people to do things. People are quick to jump on board because they don't want to miss out on a chance that might not come around again.

Mentioning a limited-time sale or promotion your brand is running is one of the most effective ways to leverage the fear of missing out (FOMO) in your call to action (CTA).

This could be anything like, "Shop now! Sale ends in 3 hours." You might also see a few emails in your inbox that say, "Buy now while supplies last!"

It's hard to ignore a prompt like that, right? Especially if it’s a brand you like or if the time is right, such as when you’re doing last-minute shopping for the holidays. Like getting people excited, making people afraid of missing out will get them to click on your CTA.

5. Highlight a problem, then provide a solution

Most of the time, you need to know more about your audience to write a call to action that makes the customer click and do what you want them to do. This means you’ll have to know your customers, their wants, needs, and problems.

Here is a powerful copywriting formula for taking over social media and grabbing people's attention by Demian Farnworth:

• Identify a problem
• Make the problem known
• Offer a way out

Identify a Problem

Knowing your audience's biggest problem will make your CTA more effective. Remember that most of the problems your audience says they're having aren't the main problem. Most often than not, they aren’t mentioning the root cause.

For example, if you’re selling pest control services, you might say something like,

“Pests? The more you wait, the faster they spread. Book an appointment now.”

Remember that if your call-to-action fails to recognize your customers' issues, you will receive few or no clicks.

Agitate the Problem

In our example earlier,

“Pests? The more you wait, the faster they spread. Book an appointment now.”

We are trying to cause a sense of urgency and make the customer anxious about a dreadful possibility. To "agitate" someone is to awaken their curiosity or make them nervous.

Once you can identify your customers’ major problems, you should agitate them a bit before offering your product or services as a solution.

This way, you engage them emotionally while providing a quick solution to their problems.

If your target audience is unaware of the ramifications of what they are experiencing as a result of their problems, it is your role to inform them. It’s basic marketing. Solve a problem by providing a solution.

Note that the headline, subtitles, and bullet points on your landing page can all be used to agitate a problem. Each of these things will either increase or decrease the number of people who take the action you want them to take.

Provide a Solution

Here is the final part, and it can make or break your CTA. You need to provide a solution to the issues that your customers are experiencing.

You can't just point out the problem and make it worse; your job is to agitate them and then give them the solution.

6. Use numbers when applicable

As humans, we are quite receptive to numbers, especially when they represent price, discounts, promotions, incentives, and so on from a brand, we follow or are interested in.

It grabs our attention and then makes us evaluate if it's worth spending on products we really want but are not necessary for daily life.  Now it's easy to understand why this would appeal to your target market, right?

Incorporating pricing into your ad content and CTA is an excellent way to determine the number of customers that are truly interested in the product. They are already debating whether or not to purchase the merchandise. Now you know you've got yourself a valuable click and a better probability of getting a conversion.

However, suppose you don't include pricing information in your advertising. In that case, a potential buyer may click over to your site, enthused about your products/services, but then be turned off by your costs, resulting in a squandered lead and a wasted click.

Experiment with the pricing information in your CTA and any other numerical data that applies. A CTA like "Buy fragrances under $200!" demonstrates how little a user wants to spend on perfumes and also plays on the FOMO factor.

CTA is a must-have for any successful business.

If you've finished this post, you've undoubtedly realized that they all serve the same purpose which is to make your CTAs stand out to your audience.

No matter how you write, style, or position your brand's specific CTAs, they should be easy to spot and understand.

Here’s a brief outline of our guide to generate the most successful calls to action:

• Start with a powerful command verb to make them take an action
• Position your CTAs where customers will notice them.
• Use words that engage them emotionally
• Use FOMO effectively
• Provide a solution to a problem
• Highlight numbers when possible

Once you have a well-written CTA and well-positioned CTA buttons, you’ll find your consumers clicking and converting more than ever!

Let’s talk!

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