{"id":134994,"date":"2019-03-19T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/?p=134994"},"modified":"2019-03-19T15:08:45","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T15:08:45","slug":"using-call-to-actions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/content-management\/content-marketing-tools\/using-call-to-actions\/","title":{"rendered":"Call to action: The how and where of CTAs"},"content":{"rendered":"

A call to action (CTA) is just a fancy marketing term for a button that entices the user to take a desirable action, taking them further down the conversion funnel<\/h2>\n

Have you ever signed up for an online subscription service (Netflix, Spotify, you name it) or downloaded a free resource from somewhere?<\/p>\n

\"Netflix<\/p>\n

Well, your \"action\" was the result of an effective call to action. These seemingly straightforward buttons are an integral part of a marketer\u2019s toolkit. They can make or break your conversion game, and be the difference between converting a lead and losing a potential client.<\/p>\n

A well-crafted call to action is a boon for both parties.<\/p>\n

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For the business<\/h4>\n

You can convince people who visit your site or read your emails to do something fruitful, like buying a product, downloading a gated resource, consuming more of your content, or sharing a piece of content on social media. It\u2019ll increase the user\u2019s interaction with your website and perhaps keep them coming back for more. In exchange, you can get their contact details and gain a new lead.<\/p>\n

For the users<\/h4>\n

They\u2019ll know exactly what they have to do next after going through your content. If there is no CTA, they\u2019ll probably just leave (and forget) your website without performing any specific task beneficial to them or your business. Besides, don\u2019t you want them to take a souvenir that adds some value to their lives and helps them remember you in a good light?<\/p>\n

According to Small Business Trends<\/a><\/u>, around 70% of small businesses don\u2019t have CTAs on their websites. If you are a part of this majority, it\u2019s time you upgrade your website and conversions by learning the fundamentals of creating a good call to action.<\/p>\n

Creating high converting CTAs is not rocket science, but it does take a bit of testing and basic psychology to get right.<\/p>\n

How to write a powerful call to action?<\/h3>\n

You could just design a button labeled \"Sign Up\", \"Buy Now\", or \"Click Here\" and call it a day. Sure, it gets the message across, but think about how many times you\u2019ve seen such buttons and actually clicked to perform what they ask of you.<\/p>\n

People don\u2019t like simply being \"commanded\" to do something. They want an incentive to click, an answer to \"what\u2019s in it for me?\". Moreover, a good call to action creates a sense of urgency in the reader\u2019s mind without sounding pushy.<\/p>\n

To write a compelling CTA, the first thing you need to do is define your goal. Do you want to:<\/p>\n