How To Write The Perfect Call To Action

The call to action (CTA). It’s something that all business owners know they need to include in their copy but writing an effective call to action that connects with your target audience isn’t always as easy as it seems. Catching the attention of your reader and getting them to take the action you want takes skill but, if you get it right, it can have a huge impact on your business.

What is a call to action?

In simple terms, a call to action is the part of your message that tells your reader what to do next. Whether that’s click on your website, send you an email, sign up to your newsletter or make a purchase, the principle is the same. The call to action is the part of your copy that shows the reader what action you’d like them to take next. Popular calls to action that we’re all familiar with are things like ‘subscribe today’ ‘buy now’ or ‘start a free trial’. If you can get your call to action right though, your readers won’t just take the desired action, they’ll also feel pretty excited about it too.

Why is it important?

The customer journey should be as simple and straightforward as possible and spelling out the action that you’d like your audience to take is a key part of that. A clear call to action not only helps your business achieve the desired result, it also makes the process clear and convenient for your customers too. The tough part of any CTA is getting your audience to feel inspired enough to take that action in the first place and churning out clichés like ‘buy now’ and ‘subscribe here’ just isn’t going to cut it. Using such uninspired phrases tells your audience what you’d like them to do next, but it doesn’t give them a reason to take action, which is absolutely essential in any good call to action.

Tips for writing a call to action

So how can you get it right? Well, when you’re planning your call to action always think about what’s important to your ideal client and use language that is going to appeal to them. What is going to make them feel compelled to act when they read your CTA? You need to give them that reason to take action. It’s important to provoke emotion and enthusiasm in your reader so think carefully about the language that you’re using. Using adjectives, strong action words (shop, join, click) and emotive language (‘treat yourself’ ‘book your dream trip’) helps to provide an emotional hook. Including numbers in your CTA can also be useful (50% off, 8 out of 10) and I always think that including pricing information is really helpful as people are more likely to take action if you’re transparent about exactly what you’re offering.

Creating a sense of urgency also works well, ‘offer ends at midnight’ ‘only four places available’ people hate to think that that they could be missing out and creating that sense of FOMO can sometimes be just the right incentive. Don’t forget to emphasise your unique selling point and what your business can offer that people just can’t get elsewhere, what makes your brand different? Be creative. Put your thinking cap on and see if you can come up with something special that your audience won’t have seen before.

Where to include a call to action

Once you’ve written your perfect CTA, it’s important to make sure that you make it as easy as possible for your audience to take the desired action. In a nutshell, the easier the action is the more likely your audience will be to take it. If you’re writing copy for your website, you might include a call to action in a pop-up box or banner or at the end of the copy on each page of your site. If you want your reader to drop you an email, make that a clickable button on your website that will open an email straight to you. If you want them to check out your Services page, make the text a clickable hyperlink that will take your reader directly to the relevant page.

As well as including CTAs throughout your website, you’ll need them at the end of every blog post or email newsletter and you’ll also want to include them anywhere else in your copy that’s relevant. If you’re putting out a new blog post and you’d like your audience to also check out another relevant post you’ve written previously, mention it and include a hyperlink straight to it. Don’t forget you’ll also need to include a call to action in your social media posts and any print campaigns that you might be running. Whatever purpose you’re writing for, the principles for creating an effective call to action are the same.

If you’re feeling a little stuck when it comes to content creation for your business, it’s time to talk to a freelance copywriter. If you want to find out more about the packages and services that I have on offer, just check out my Services page or drop me an email and let’s chat!