How To Craft Effective Call-to-Actions: 5 Simple Tips

What is a Call-to-Action?

A call-to-action is a phrase or sentence that encourages your audience to take some form of action. The most common CTAs are persuasive, directing people to buy a product or service. But they can also be more subtle, like signing up for an email list or following you on social media.

They can take the form of buttons, banners, and links. They’re typically found at the bottom of landing pages or within blog posts. Examples include “Download Now,” “Shop Now,” or “Sign Up For Free.”

The main purpose of a CTA is to capture the attention of someone who is interested in your product or service and nudge them farther down your sales funnel. It’s a way to tell someone what to do next and make it as easy as possible for them to take the desired action.

Why are CTAs Important?

CTAs provide potential customers with a sense of direction. They inspire, encourage, and direct people to take the next step in your sales funnel. They create a sense of urgency around what you’re offering and give customers an easy way to take action.

Great CTAs can be the difference between someone losing interest in your website and taking the plunge to buy a product or service.

For instance, a potential client may stumble upon your landing page or blog post. Your content intrigues them, but they don’t know how to take the next step. Without a CTA, your visitor may become overwhelmed and leave before making a purchase.

A well-crafted CTA can bridge that gap and guide them toward the outcome you want. It directs your visitor to a logical next step that can help you convert them into paying customers. And the best part? It only takes a few words to do it.

CTAs can also help you measure the effectiveness of your website copy, design, and overall strategy. By tracking clicks on your CTAs, you can understand which messaging resonates best with your audience and use that knowledge to optimize other areas of your marketing campaigns.

How To Write Effective Call-to-Actions

Now that you know the basics of CTAs, let’s dive into how to write ones that will actually get clicked.

You want your CTA copy to be eye-catching and compelling, so visitors are driven to click it. Here are some tips for writing irresistible calls-to-action:

Invoke enthusiasm

People are more likely to click on something if it stirs an emotion or taps into their interests. Using language that appeals to your target audience’s emotions can make them feel excited, curious, and even nostalgic.

For example, if you’re running a promotion on a specific product or service, use your CTA to highlight the benefits of the offer. Instead of simply saying “purchase now”, you can use action phrases that draw out an emotional response from your readers and makes them excited about the possibilities.

Try something like:

• Get fit and healthy with our 30-day free trial, sign up now

• Boost your productivity with our time management app, download it now

• Discover a better way to do business with our free e-book

• Save time and simplify your finances with our budgeting tool, try it today

This type of language encourages people to take the desired action, as they have something to look forward to rather than just a simple purchase.

You can also get creative by using humor or invoking nostalgia in your CTAs. For example, if you’re a retro gaming company, use a CTA like “Relive the classics” or “Go back to a simpler time”. If you’re selling a product related to sports, a compelling call-to-action example like “Score big with this deal” might be effective.

An exclamation point can also be used to emphasize emotion and excitement. While it’s best used sparingly, it can help draw attention to your CTA and increase conversion rate.

For instance, instead of “Try our product now”, use “Try our product now!”

See the difference? The added exclamation point conveys a sense of urgency and enthusiasm. And as we mentioned earlier, your potential customer will be more likely to click on your CTA if they perceive it as exciting and worth their time.

That said, here are some strong CTA verbs that you can use to invoke enthusiasm:

• Taste: savor, indulge, enjoy

• Experience: explore, immerse, discover

• Dream: imagine, envision, aspire

• Believe: trust, accept, embrace

• Conquer: challenge, conquer, master

• Save: secure, rescue, protect

• Unlock: open, reveal, uncover

• Support: contribute, champion, empower

Take Advantage of Numbers

Numbers are compelling because they tap into our psychology. Our brains are wired to process and remember numbers more easily than words.

Think about it, we can remember our phone numbers and addresses without a second thought, but a long block of text? Not so much. So when you throw a number into a CTA, it tends to stick in our minds and make the offer more memorable.

Plus, numbers provide specificity and clarity that can make an offer more appealing. When we see a specific number in CTA copy, it gives us a clear idea of what we’re getting and helps us make informed decisions. For instance, saying “50% off today only” is much more specific than saying “save money with our tool.”

Here are some number CTA examples you can use:

• Enjoy 20% off today only

• Get 3 free tokens with your order

• Take advantage of our 5-day sale

• Try our product risk-free for 30 days

• Free shipping on orders over $75

Overall, numbers should be used strategically when crafting calls-to-action. Try to use numbers that are specific and relevant to your offer, while also emphasizing the benefits of taking action immediately.

Leverage FOMO

The “fear of missing out” (FOMO) is a powerful emotion that you can use to spur people into action. FOMO is the feeling that you’re missing out on something important; something that others are doing or experiencing that you’re not.

By using language that suggests scarcity or urgency, copywriters can trigger that fear of missing out and encourage readers to take action quickly.

For instance, you might see a CTA that says something like “Claim our one time offer, sign up now and get a free gift worth $50!” That kind of offer inspires a sense of urgency because readers want to get the free gift before it’s too late.

Another example is a CTA that says “Join thousands of satisfied customers who have already signed up!” This plays on the fear of missing out on a popular trend or service that everyone else seems to be using.

Some creative FOMO call-to-action examples include:

• Act now or miss out on the sale of a lifetime

• Don’t hesitate – this offer won’t last forever

• Discover the secret before it’s too late

• Be one of the first to experience our new product

• Don’t be left behind – join now

• Start the journey today – don’t wait any longer

But, as with all marketing techniques, use FOMO ethically and honestly. False scarcity or overhyping an offer can backfire and damage the trust between you and your customers. Be clear and transparent about any limitations or conditions of an offer, and don’t create artificial scarcity if it’s not genuine.

Offer Incentives 

Let’s face it, we all have our own interests at heart when making decisions. It’s only natural to want to know what we stand to gain before taking any action.

That’s why incentives are so powerful. By offering an immediate benefit, such as a discount, free trial, free consultation, or special offer, you’re giving people a tangible reason to take action.

Offering incentives allows you to differentiate yourself from the rest. With so many competing options, incentives can help make your offer stand out and draw attention to it. They show your customers that you’re willing to go the extra mile to earn their business.

You’re also tapping into the reciprocity principle: the idea that when someone gives us something, we’re more likely to return the favor. When potential clients receive a free e-book, for example, they’re more likely to consider signing up for a paid subscription or engaging with your business.

But perhaps the most important thing about offering incentives is that it helps build trust and credibility with potential customers. By showing that you’re confident in the value proposition of your product or service, you’re building a foundation of trust that can be invaluable in the long run.

Make Your CTAs Eye-Catching

Even if your CTA’s copy is spot-on, it won’t have the same impact if you don’t make it visually appealing. The best call-to-actions are designed to grab the reader’s attention and stand out from other elements on the page.

Make your simple CTA more eye-catching by using an attractive color that stands out from the rest of your website or page.

A bright, bold color like red can draw attention to the CTA and make it stand out. Try to also use white space to separate your CTA from other elements on the page.

You can also emphasize the CTA buttons by adding a border or drop shadow around the button. Drop shadows will make your CTA appear to be “popping up” from the page, making it look more three-dimensional and noticeable. Try to include many CTA’s in your marketing emails. 

Also, use a recognizable icon to make your CTA more appealing and memorable. For example, an arrow icon pointing towards the CTA button can direct website visitors and increase their chances of clicking on it, while a shopping cart icon (on the second CTA) can remind them of the product they’re buying . These visual cues can help draw attention to your CTA, making it more compelling and effective.

Finally, use a larger font size to make your preferred call-to-action more visible and easier to read. Just don’t go overboard and make the font size too big – it might look tacky and be off-putting.

A good rule of thumb is to make the font size at least 2 or 3 points bigger than the font size of the surrounding text. That should be enough to make it stand out without being too overwhelming. Play around with different size options until you find the right balance. 

Final Thoughts

When crafted carefully, CTAs can be powerful tools for driving action on your website, incentivizing customers to make a purchase, or encouraging subscribers to sign up for an email list.

Use persuasive language, great visuals, and incentives to create CTAs that help you win more business. The key is to make sure you’re giving your target audience a clear, compelling reason to take the desired action. That way, they’ll be much more likely to click and convert.