Think of all the things you’ve signed up for in your life — newsletter subscriptions, webinars, eBook downloads, emailing for a free consultation, and more. In all of those instances, you were likely led to sign up (or download, purchase, call, and so on) because of certain text: the call to action.
The same is true for your business. If you want customers to take a certain action, you have to lead them there.
Typical call to action text includes:
- Sign up for our newsletter.
- Download our free eBook.
- Call us today for a free consultation.
- Schedule a training.
But what can you do if you already have calls to action on your website only they’re not getting much response? You might be getting traffic to your blog, to your website, to your Inbound campaign, but that traffic isn’t converting into leads.
If that’s the case, you need to revisit not only the text you are using in your CTAs, but also their design.
Here are five ways to spruce up your calls to action to make sure they’re getting, well, more action:
- Think About More Than Just the Text
While CTA text is undoubtedly important, there are other considerations that could influence the effectiveness. Two of the most significant are page placement and CTA button colour.
CTA buttons should be easy to see and click. The placement on the page depends on the business — some have found that they get more clicks with the button at the top of the page, others do better with an opt-in box below the text, others with a pop-up, etc.
The same is true for button colour. It sounds small but can have a big effect. For example, when SAP switched their CTAs to orange, it boosted their conversion rate by more than 32%.
In general:
- Make sure your CTA design is clear and clickable.
- Choose a colour that contrasts with the rest of the page.
- Match page placement with the ask. Do you want leads to call you? Perhaps put a “Call Us†button at the top of the page. Do you want leads to sign up for an offer? Consider placing the opt-in box below a brief description of the offer.
- Make It as Simple as Possible
Another common reason CTAs fail is that there are too many steps involved to take advantage. Consider the user experience when designing yours.
For instance, if you want a client to “Call Us Today,†is there a way to hyperlink the CTA button so that if a user clicks it on a mobile device, their phone app automatically opens up with the number pre-loaded?
If your CTA is asking clients to send an email, you might make it so clicking the button automatically opens up their email — but you could also take it a step further and pre-populate the to-address field, the subject line, and even the email body text.
If you are asking clients to download an eBook, what information do they need to submit for the eBook? Try to keep it to the bare minimum necessary. Also, consider how many steps the download takes and try to make the user experience as seamless as possible.
- Embrace A/B Testing
While there are general best practices for crafting effective CTAs, often they can also be very individual and depend largely on your audience.
A good method for finding out what types of CTAs are resonate most for your business is to conduct A/B testing. For instance, you could test out some CTAs with a red button and others with a green button.
With A/B testing, you can change out variables such as text, button placement, button colour, button shape, image, and more. This can help you identify what elements your audience likes best.
- Consider the CTA Offer
It’s also possible that the action you’re seeking with your CTA is too big for your audience at this point in the conversion process.
For instance, let’s say that you are selling a SaaS program and your ultimate goal is to get users to buy the software, so you are asking clients to purchase in your CTA. If they aren’t familiar with the program, they’re probably not going to make the investment right away. But they might be willing to download a promotional video or sign up for a free trial.
This can go as small as necessary. Another example might be for an insolvency company who wants people to call them for a free consultation, but calls aren’t coming in. Perhaps that is too big of an ask for clients at that stage — they aren’t ready to admit they have a problem yet — but they may be willing to sign up for a newsletter about ways to save money or download a free eBook about debt management.
If your CTAs aren’t resonating, ask how you can make the desired action smaller — it may mean a longer sales funnel is necessary, but it could ultimately lead to more conversions.
- Make Sure Your Text is Clear and Persuasive
We saved the most obvious for last. CTAs are, of course, copy-driven and if your copy is falling flat, your CTA likely won’t resonate either.
Have your ask stand out by:
- Impressing urgency. E.g. “Call Today†vs. “Call Anytime.â€
- Making it personal. Try using “you†and “your,†such as Grey Goose’s “Discover a cocktail suited to your taste.â€
- Looking at the lead-up text. What copy is coming before the CTA? Is it connected to the CTA, or disjointed?
You want your text to appeal to both your client’s logic and emotion. What problem are you solving and how does your solution fix it? If you can answer that, you are halfway to a great CTA.
Creating effective calls to action can take time, but the effort can be well worth it. CTAs can get you more leads and ultimately more sales.
Are your CTAs as effective as they could be? Pulsion Marketing can help you find out. We can review your calls to action, help you assess page position, button colour, text, and more, and build an A/B testing strategy.
Contact us today to get started. Call 1-888-701-4441 or visit www.digiforcemarketing.ca.
How do you craft your CTAs? Let us know on social media. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.