All you need to know about call-to-action (Real examples + Tips)

From hitting the ‘like’ button on a social media post to hitting the ‘Buy now’ button while shopping online, call to actions play a crucial role.

But how does it help?

Well, from motivating users to take actions such as signing up for your newsletter to prompting them to buy your products, the call-to-action is an essential element of the content marketing strategy that you cannot afford to miss!

So, if you are looking to drive users to the next logical step in your conversion funnel, all you need is a killer call to action.

But creating a great CTA isn’t as easy as it seems!

Here’s everything you need to know about creating effective call-to-actions that drive users to take action on your website or app.

What is a CTA?

In simple terms, a call to action is a statement that encourages the reader to take some kind of action as a result of reading the article. It’s usually found at the end of blog posts, as well as advertisements, speeches, and books.

A call to action can be something simple like “Contact us today” or something more complex like “Join our mailing list for exclusive member-only deals!”

The effectiveness of your call to action relies heavily on its ability to provoke an immediate reaction from the reader while guiding them towards some sort of desired outcome. Let’s get into the details.

Why Calls-to-Action Are So Important

A call-to-action, or CTA, is a phrase or graphic that prompts visitors to take a specific action. They are used on websites and social media to drive traffic to your site and increase conversions.

Check out any guide regarding how to create a successful blog, and not a single will end without mentioning the CTA.

CTAs might look common, but there are various brands that overlook the power of a good call-to-action. However, the most successful brands have learned the value of creating clear, concise, and engaging call-to-actions that leave their website visitors with no doubt as to what they should do next if they want to purchase their products.

In short, CTAs are essential to any website because they drive visitors towards taking that all-important next step in the sales funnel.

How to Create a Great Call-to-Action

In order to create a great call-to-action, you’ll need to understand what makes a call-to-action ‘great.’ Essentially, a call-to-action is great if it achieves three things:

Clear - Your customers should be able to understand the message behind your call-to-action immediately. They shouldn’t have to work hard to decipher what you’re trying to say.

Concise - Nobody wants to read a novel on your website. Make sure to keep your CTA short, simple, and to the point.

Actionable - This is the most important thing. If a visitor takes your call-to-action, what are they supposed to do next? If you don’t give them clear instructions on what to do next, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to turn your website into a money-making machine.

And the best way? If you want to create compelling CTAs that drive conversions and boost sales, you can try Writesonic’s CTA generator. With just a click, it can craft a powerful CTA.

Types of Calls-to-Action

Now that we’ve covered what makes a call-to-action great, we need to dive a little deeper into the different types of calls-to-action you can use on your website. There are plenty of different types of calls-to-action you can create for your website and social media. However, some are more effective than others. Here are some of the most common call-to-action types:

Urgency - Urgency is one of the most powerful call-to-action types. By creating a sense of urgency, you prompt visitors to act now if they want to take advantage of your offer.

Curiosity - You can tap into visitors’ curiosity to get them to do something with a call-to-action that prompts them with a question.

Emotion - You can also tap into visitors’ emotions with a call-to-action that prompts them to take action because they want to feel a certain way.

Problem/Solution - You can also create a call-to-action that taps into visitors’ problems or challenges. You can then offer a solution to those problems or challenges with your call-to-action.

How many CTAs should you use?

Whether to include multiple or single CTA is the most frequently asked question in the marketing field. Well, every consumer behaves differently and has different browsing habits, so there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this. Here are a few things you should keep in mind when using multiple CTAs:

• Don’t overdo it. There is a thin line between giving choices and overwhelming people with too many options.
• Make sure that your secondary keyword complement and not compete with the primary keyword.
• Define your goals and write multiple CTAs after taking into consideration the interest of the consumers.

8 Killer Tips for Writing a Call to Action That Works

Making your audience take action should be the primary goal of any piece of marketing content. After all, why invest so much time and energy in creating content if it’s not going to do anything to advance your business?

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to encourage your audience to take action after reading your content. A call to action does just that. It prompts your readers to make some kind of response. Using a call to action in your marketing content is one of the most effective ways to increase its conversion rate. And CTAs are a great way to increase engagement on social media.

But just because we know that call-to-action buttons are an important element of any successful marketing campaign doesn’t mean we always have the words at our fingertips when we need them.

If you’re currently working on producing content but are unsure how you can incorporate a killer Call To Action, here are a few tips for you.

Ask your audience to take action.

When crafting a call to action, ask your audience to take action!

Well, this should be the very first thing you do, even before you begin drafting your piece, before you put any words on the page, or before you even pick a topic.

Ask your audience to take the kind of action that they’re actually going to do. Remember, there is a huge difference between asking your audience to “Subscribe to our blog!” and “Get our latest content delivered to your inbox.”

The first call to action is asking them to do something that they probably won’t do. The second is asking them to do something that they almost certainly will do. So, be very careful when writing a CTA.

Make a bold request.

Try to make your call to action as bold as possible. After all, a bold call to action is almost always better than one that’s more subtle and gentle.

Now you might be wondering why?

Well, it is because a bold request is more likely to actually be fulfilled. The more reluctant your audience members are to respond, the less likely they are to actually follow through.

So, try to incorporate a little boldness in your call to action. Ask your audience members to do something that’s a little outside their comfort zone. Make it a bold request, and you can bet that it won’t sit ignored.

Use short and direct language.

When writing a call to action, remember to keep everything short and direct.

If you want your call to action to be effective, you need to get to the point without any fluff or filler. Make sure there is no room for long-winded sentences or big paragraphs.

Instead, you need to use short and snappy sentences, and you need to keep it brief. If you have a lot to say about your call to action, break it down into a series of short paragraphs.

In short, if you want to write an effective call to action, you need to keep your content short and sweet. Your call to action should be no longer than a few sentences. That way, readers can quickly scan your content, glance at your call to action, and decide whether they want to keep reading.

Be transparent about the task.

There is absolutely no point in trying to be coy or sneaky with your call to action.

By doing so you can hurt your chances of getting a response if you try to hide the real action you want your readers to take.

So, make sure to be transparent about the task or the action you want your audience to take. Make it clear what you want your audience to do. After all, the more transparent you are about the action you want your audience to take, the easier it will be for them to do it.

Don't hide the task, be very clear about it.

Don’t be afraid to be blunt.

Some of the best call to action examples you’ll ever see are the ones that are blunt and straightforward.

There is no nuance or subtlety — it’s just a bold and direct call to action.

Additionally, there is no attempt at being coy or sneaky. There is just a bold request that your audience can’t ignore.

Don’t use “click here” or “read more.”

Want your call to action to be effective? Avoid the temptation to use “click here” or “read more” as your call to action.

This is lazy writing, and it doesn’t actually tell your audience what they should do. So, what to do?

Well, try to think of a more specific call to action that will prompt your readers to take the action you want them to take. To generate unique and compelling CTAs, you can try Writesonic.

Ask your readers to subscribe.

If you want to increase your email subscribers, use a call to action that prompts readers to subscribe to your email list.

You can offer a direct subscription by using a call to action button, or you can weave a subscription offer into the body of your content.

You can also use a banner image at the top of your blog post that prompts readers to subscribe to your email list. This will help you boost your subscriber numbers without having to tack on additional content. Remember to regularly clean up your list by verifying email addresses that are on it

Ask your readers to contact you.

If you are looking to get more leads or sales, try asking readers to contact you.

You can either prompt them to do so at the end of your content or include a link to a page that has your contact information.

Or, you can make use of both options by including a link to your contact page in the body of your content and a call to action button that says something like “Click here to contact us.”

3 Mistakes To Avoid When Creating Calls-to-Action

There are plenty of ways to create poor calls-to-action that actually turn off your visitors and reduce your website’s conversion rates. To avoid these, keep an eye out for these three mistakes:

Being vague - If you want to create an engaging call-to-action, you need to be specific. Don’t just say, ‘sign up to our email list.’ Instead, say something like ‘Sign up now and receive our latest offers and discounts straight to your inbox!’

Making assumptions - You may think that everyone knows what your call-to-action means, but everyone won’t. Be sure to create a call-to-action that’s relevant and timely, but don’t assume that everyone has read your latest blog post or knows what your product is.

Focusing on your product - If you want to create a call-to-action that is effective, you need to focus on your customers and prompt them to take action based on what is best for them. Don’t create a call-to-action that focuses on how great your product is, instead focus on how your product can help your customers.

8 Best Call-To-Action Examples Ever

GiftRocket

Here’s another fantastic call-to-action by GiftRocket.

Why just send a gift when you can send a GiftRocket?

GiftRocket’s CTA, “Send a GiftRocket,” is an interesting and exciting way to make the audience take action. The landing page is a perfect combination of killer design and compelling content.

The CTA is a perfect example of how you can resonate with your audience while keeping in mind your brand tone. It is obviously more effective than saying something very straightforward like “Shop now” or “Explore more.”

Sendible

Instead of “Learn more” or “Let’s start,” Sendible used a super-specific call-to-action that says, “Create content your way.” Plus, the call-to-action is a perfect add-on to the description of features just above it. Most importantly, the positioning is just above the images, which makes it more attractive and clickable.

The CTA “Create content your way” is very specific as it clearly shows what the audience needs to do once they click on the button.

Keyword Hero

A super-simple call-to-action with no commitments that says “Start for free.” The homepage design is subtle and simple, which makes call-to-action stand out from everything else on the page. Instead of mentioning “Try for free,” the brand mentioned, “Start for free.” This small difference made the call-to-action friction-free.

Full Bundle

For an effective call-to-action, you need something more than just a CTA button. Elements like background color, text, and more also matter. Full Bundle perfectly showcases this.

It’s important to showcase the work for better conversions, right? Plus, the CTA “Our Work” stands out against the dark grey background. The high contrasting color and a simple CTA increases the chances of conversions.

Uber

There are two types of people who sign up on Uber - Riders and Drivers. And both are looking for completely different things. Uber has two call-to-action, i.e., Sign up to drive and Sign up to ride. The CTAs are the exact thing that users want to do if they check the website. Both of them are simple yet effective CTAs.

So, in case you are targeting two different types of customers, you can try replicating Uber’s CTA.

Prezi

One of the biggest fears that most users have is committing to sign up for something, isn’t it? Like what if you end up not liking it?

Prezi has a minimalistic design, perfect color scheme, and a simple call-to-action that says, “Try Prezi for free.” Adding ‘free’ in your call-to-action can help is an excellent way to convince your visitors to take action. Plus, it helps to combat any objections that users might have regarding the commitment or price.

Spotify

If you check Spotify’s homepage, the first thing that draws attention is “Go Premium,” isn’t it? Well, their goal is pretty clear, they want to attract an audience who is willing to pay for the premium account. Secondly, the minimalistic design and bold text are what make the difference.

Also, people are reluctant to sign up as they have a fear of hidden costs. So, mentioning “free trial” has a great impact on boosting the conversion rates.

Spotify’s landing page is a perfect example of how simple a landing page can be while still providing insights about the product.

My perfect resume

My Perfect resume’s call-to-action says, “Create my resume,” which is very tempting for people who lack the time or necessary skills to build a resume. It is a perfect example of a simple CTA combined with amazing graphics, which makes it compelling.

My Perfect Resume clearly shows that you don’t have a restriction to use just one CTA. Instead, you can use more than one and that too the same CTAs. Just below the CTA “Create my resume,” they have added advantages of using a resume maker and have added another CTA which says “Build my resume.” After all, more CTAs mean more clickable options and an increase in sales.

Wrapping Up

Call-to-actions are some of the most important elements of your marketing campaigns.

From prompting your visitors to take action to help in driving more traffic to your website, it can help you with all. By not paying proper attention to the CTA, you risk missing out on a huge opportunity to turn your website into a money-making machine.

Create concise, clear, and actionable calls-to-action if you are looking to turn your visitors into customers.