Elevating Your Digital Marketing: Keys to Crafting Effective CTAs
Your complete guide to crafting compelling CTAs that resonate with your audience, boost conversions and drive sales.
A well-written call to action (CTA) is the most important part of your digital marketing strategy. It’s what tells your readers what to do next.
Unfortunately, 70% of small businesses miss the mark by forgetting to include a CTA in their digital marketing (1).
In this digital era, capturing your reader’s attention is getting harder. People spend an average of 8 seconds on a website before leaving (2). That means your website has 8 seconds to grab your reader’s attention with a CTA that’s clear, concise, and compelling.
That’s a lot of pressure for those 8 seconds.
This guide covers all you need to know about CTAs. You’ll learn how to craft effective ones that stop your readers in their tracks and motivate them to take the next step.
Why Are CTA’s Important?
The Role of CTA’s in a Digital Marketing Strategy
How to Write an Effective CTA
How a Copywriter Can Improve Your CTAs
My name is Mary and I’m a digital marketing strategist. I help business owners clarify their messaging and improve their online marketing efforts.
Don’t leave money on the table because you failed to tell your customer what to do.
Transform your messaging. Schedule a Free Strategy Call. I’ll do a comprehensive review of your current CTA strategy. You’ll walk away with specific and actionable suggestions for improvement, leading to:
Better Engagement
Decrease in Bounce Rates
More Conversions
Writing a CTA is more than just “Sign Up” or “Download Now.”
This article teaches you how to write CTA’s that are:
Compelling: A compelling CTA needs to evoke interest and grab your reader’s attention in a “powerfully irresistible way.”
Concise: CTAs are direct statements intended to guide your reader to do a specific action with plenty of info in only a few words.
Clear: CTAs need to be easy to understand and interpret without any confusion or roadblocks for your readers.
Let’s begin by understanding why CTAs are important, especially with your online marketing strategy.
Why Are CTA’s Important?
In marketing, a call to action refers to the next steps or specific actions a marketer wants a customer to make.
Common CTAs include:
Learn More
Shop Now
Claim Your Offer
Register Now
Send Me More Info
Start Your Free Trial
When someone lands on your website, make it very clear what you want this visitor to do. Do you want them to subscribe to your email or schedule an appointment? Making this next step obvious and easy to do converts a potential lead into a customer.
CTAs influence the customer decision-making process in a few ways, including:
Provides Clarity and Direction.
A well-written CTA informs the customer what to do next with clarity. This eliminates confusion and frustration. As a result, they move through the buyer journey with ease.
Eliminating uncertainty takes your customer from awareness to consideration. Allowing a smooth transition into the decision-making stage.
2. Creates a Sense of Urgency.
Incorporating a sense of urgency or scarcity into your CTAs can encourage customers to make quicker decisions. Using language such as “Limited Space Available” or “Last Chance” can push any customer who might be on the fence about making a purchase.
Setting a deadline with your offer is another way to create a sense of urgency.
3. Showcases Your Value Proposition.
A value proposition tells your customers the benefits and values of your product or service.
CTAs can highlight your value proposition by explaining how you solve your audience’s problems or ease their pain. Stating the benefits your customers gain by taking action helps reinforce the value of your offer. For example, “Start Your Free Trial and Boost Your Productivity by 50%”.
The call to action is to start a free trial, and the benefit of taking that action is increased productivity.
4. Keeps the Journey Smooth.
The journey from prospective customer to actual customer is filled with lots of potential drop-off points. A potential customer can easily lose interest, get distracted, or get lost in the buyer process. This is what you want to avoid.
CTAs act as signposts. They guide your customers through the buying process accurately and smoothly, thus reducing the chance of losing them.
5. Triggers Emotional Responses.
You know it’s a good CTA when it triggers an emotional response. The fear of missing out (FOMO), excitement, curiosity, anger, or happiness are effective emotions for motivation.
Since 70% of decisions are based on emotions (3)(Gallup), evoking one with your customers is the best way to encourage them to act.
6. Provides Immediate Gratification.
In this digital world, gratification is immediate and highly desired.
CTAs that promise instant results feed this desire. It’s hard to resist a promise that says “Download Now and Start Improving Your Skills Today!”. Instant gratification is a powerful motivator in the customer’s decision-making process.
7. Builds Trust and Confidence.
Creating CTAs that are consistent with the rest of your messaging and content builds trust with your audience.
You can use CTAs strategically to establish your credibility during the awareness stage.
For example, “Join 10,000+ Happy Customers - See the Difference Yourself!”. Another way to build trust and confidence is by reducing the perceived risk by using a CTA that offers a money-back guarantee.
When a customer knows that your brand is trustworthy and will follow through, they’re more likely to take the desired action. And the more you understand your audience’s needs, desires, and pain points the more valuable and relevant your CTAs will be.
Let’s explore how CTAs impact your digital marketing strategy.
The Role of CTA’s in a Digital Marketing Strategy.
A digital marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan outlining how a brand plans to use online platforms to achieve specific marketing goals. These include:
Websites
Emails
Social Media
Search Engines
Mobile Apps
A successful marketing strategy targets a specific audience, engages with potential and current customers, and encourages specific actions to occur.
CTAs act as a bridge between user engagement and conversion. The CTA tells the user what to do next and provides direction within your digital marketing strategy.
Let’s imagine you own an organic skincare salon. Here’s how an effective CTA can impact each marketing funnel stage.
Stage One: Awareness and Interest.
This is the top of the sales funnel. It’s where potential customers become aware of your brand.
You make a post about the “Benefits of Turmeric Scrub on Dry Skin” on your social media channels. This post captures your audience’s interest and attention. Now it’s time to direct your audience to the next step.
Your CTA asks the audience to “Join Our Newsletter for More Glowing Skin Tips”.
People read this post and find it interesting enough to join your email list for more valuable content.
Stage Two: Consideration.
Surrendering their email moves them to the funnel’s second stage – consideration. Here, they view your products and services as solutions to their dry skin problems. As more people see your post on the “Benefits of Turmeric Scrub on Dry Skin” your email list expands.
Each new subscriber is sent a welcome email introducing your brand, products, and services. This welcome email has a specific job and an intentional next step you want your readers to take.
You ask them “Join the Organic Skincare Revolution. Download DIY Beauty Recipes That’ll Transform Your Skin!”.
This CTA offers your new subscribers a free and helpful resource you know they’ll appreciate. This positions your brand as trustworthy and credible in the skincare industry. Your CTA speaks to your ideal client and makes a promise that their skin will be transformed with your DIY recipes.
Throughout this stage, your audience grows to like, know, and trust your brand. They’re more willing to take the actions you want them to take.
Stage Three: Evaluation.
It’s in this stage of the marketing cycle that your readers evaluate your brand and decide if they’re going to make a purchase.
After a new subscriber receives your welcome email with the free download, they receive your weekly emails. Each provides valuable information and establishes your brand as an authority in the organic skincare industry.
You include a call to action in these weekly emails that says “Don't Miss Your Chance to Glow! Reserve Your Exclusive Spot for a Complimentary Skincare Session Now!”. You tap into your reader’s emotions with an exclusive opportunity to get the chance to glow.
Adding personalized messaging in your CTAs addresses your audience’s individual needs and questions. Moving them closer to a purchase decision.
Other ways well-thought-out CTAs contribute to the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategy include:
Drive conversions by prompting users to take action.
Clarify the next steps and streamline the path to conversion.
Improve the user experience by encouraging your readers to interact with your brand.
Help segment your audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Increase lead generation by offering something of value, like a free webinar.
Boost the effectiveness of your content by doing more than educating and informing.
CTAs need to be more than buttons or links. They’re strategic parts of a digital marketing strategy that have the power to strengthen your brand by reinforcing your message and values to your audience.
CTAs serve as reminders about what your brand stands for and its benefits. They invite your audience to align themselves with your business’s marketing and sales goals.
So how do you write an enticing and motivating CTA? Keep reading.
How to Write an Effective CTA.
Successful CTAs are short, to the point, and grab your reader’s attention. A CTA answers the question “What do I want my readers to do next?”.
Here are five tips when crafting winning CTAs.
Use Action-Focused Language.
Action verbs in CTAs work well because they grab your reader’s attention.
Commonly used verbs include “Get, Subscribe, Download, and Join.” Overuse of these words becomes monotonous for your readers. Stand out from the noise and incorporate clever verbs in your CTAs.
Festive and creative verbs to use include:
Unleash: “Unleash Your Creativity”
Discover: “Discover Your Hidden Potential”
Ignite: “Ignite Your Passion”
Transform: “Transform Your Morning Routine”
Elevate: “Elevate Your Marketing Strategy”
Dive In: “Dive Into Your Free Trial”
Unlock: “Unlock This Exclusive Offer”
Embark: “Embark on Your Mental Health Journey”
Navigate: “Navigate Menopause With Ease and Clarity”
Action-oriented CTAs motivate, captivate, and encourage your audience to take action. Verbs paint a clear picture of what can happen when they move forward.
2. Create a Sense of Urgency.
Using words like now, hurry, offer ends soon, while supplies last, today only, or limited supply creates a sense of urgency. These words tell your audience to act now before it’s too late.
Creating a sense of urgency prompts a psychological response by tapping into FOMO. This compels people to take action rather than miss out on an opportunity. Urgency makes it hard for people to procrastinate making a decision. Limited-time offers result in quicker conversions.
Words to create a sense of urgency include:
Now: “Act Now”
Today: “Join Today”
Limited: “Limited Spots Available”
Hurry: “Hurry Before This Offer Ends”
Last Chance: “Last Chance to Sign Up”
Instant: “Download for Instant Access”
There is a caveat to this tip – only use urgency when it’s true.
Overusing this strategy reduces its effectiveness. Your audience won’t believe you if you use this all the time. And if your audience feels they’re being manipulated or pressured, it can damage their trust in your brand.
3. Offer a Value or Benefit.
Offering a value proposition or benefit in your CTA tells your audience what they stand to gain by taking the action you’re suggesting.
This could be a direct advantage. For example, your customer receives an immediate benefit when they take action. Such as gaining knowledge, solving a problem, or getting a discount.
It can also be an enhanced value proposition. This kind of CTA amplifies the appeal of the offer by showcasing the unique advantages or positive outcomes your customer can expect.
Or it can be a user-centric focus. Rather than focusing on your business’s goals, you focus on what your customers will receive. For example, a business focus CTA says “Help Us Reach 20,000 Subscribers!”. A user-focus one says “Join Over 19,999 Happy Subscribers for Exclusive Access to Tips and Tricks!”.
Words to use in your CTAs when offering value or benefit include:
Unlock: “Unlock Your Full Potential”
Discover: “Discover the Secrets to a Healthier Gut”
Earn: “Earn Rewards”
Enhance: “Enhance Your Marketing Strategies”
Access: “Get Immediate Access”
Transform: “Transform Your Closet”
Master: “Master Techniques from the Pros”
Gain: “Gain Insightful Strategies”
Communicating value or benefit in your CTAs comes down to being specific, knowing your audience, and showing rather than telling. Imagery, social proof, or testimonials combined with your CTAs can increase conversion rates by 68% (3).
4. Make It Visually Appealing.
A CTA is of no use if it’s hidden on your website.
Using colors that stand out from the rest of your page creates a high contrast between it and the rest of the text and background. Keep your CTA buttons large enough to be seen, but not too large that it overwhelms the rest of the content.
The placement of your CTA matters. Here are some tried and tested placement strategies:
Above the Fold: Make sure your main CTA is seen before scrolling.
At the End of Content: Blog posts, videos, or articles should include a CTA at the end.
Sidebar or Floating: These CTAs move down the page as your reader scrolls so the action is top of mind.
Exit-Intent Pop-Ups: Just as a reader leaves your website, a pop-up appears with one last chance to take the desired action.
A visually striking CTA is more than looks. It’s about effectively directing your users to take the desired action with as little trouble as possible. The design, placement, and usability of your CTAs grab your audience’s attention and improve their experience.
5. Keep It Short and Sweet With Personalization.
Personalized messaging makes your customers feel you are talking directly to them. And only them. Personalizing CTA’s can increase conversion rates by 202% (3).
A personalized message uses language that resonates with your customer's beliefs and interests.
Keeping CTAs short and sweet lets your users scan your content and easily understand the next steps to take. Clear CTAs reduce buyers' decision time and increase engagement. For example, rather than “Click Here to Start Your Journey To Health and Happiness” try “Start Your Health and Happiness Journey!”.
Achieving personalized messaging in your CTAs comes down to knowing your audience well.
A few tips include:
Use data from past interactions, preferences, and behavior with your customers.
Segment your audience based on demographics, past purchases, and interests.
Create CTAs based on where your customers are in the buying process.
Personalized and concise CTAs make your customers feel like the offer presented is made specifically for them. This builds trust. And enhances the perceived value of your product or service.
How a Copywriter Can Improve Your CTAs.
CTAs are one of the most important parts of your marketing strategy.
A compelling CTA is the deciding factor between your customer taking the desired action or not. It needs to capture your audience’s attention and motivate them to interact with your content and brand.
How can you create CTAs that resonate with your audience and entice them to take the next step? Partner with a professional copywriter like myself.
I create connections, drive actions, and elevate your marketing campaign with strategic CTAs that:
Focus on the benefits of your products and services.
Leverage FOMO responsibly by using phrases that encourage immediate action.
Speak directly to your audience’s needs and desires.
Are you ready to take your CTAs from generic to gripping? Schedule a Strategy Call today.
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