A call-to-action, or CTA, is just what it sounds like. It literally calls the consumer to take action. What encourages your audience to act on your content. Whether that’s gaining a subscription, following an account, or promoting an interaction, a call to action helps complete a marketing objective. CTA’s are typically brief 2-3 worded sentences at the end of content, such as “Get Started” “Learn More” or “Sign Up”. 

CTA’s are important because they guide your users through the marketing funnel, clearly outlining what their next step should engage with your content. Some call-to-action best practices are:

1. Be brief

An effective call to action is short and sweet, quickly letting your audience know what to do next. Use a strong verb and end with an exclamation point. Register Now! Lengthier CTA’s should be avoided, but using a call to value can hammer in the benefits of your audience. For example, Register now and get 15% off your first order! 

2. Be urgent

Creating a sense of urgency in your call to action is an effective way to get conversions. Adding words and phrases such as “limited” “last chance” “back in stock” “just for you” and “ends soon” encourages individuals to act faster.

3. Get personal

Call-to-actions tailored to the individual receiving them, have been proven much more effective than generic “Sign up Now!” phrases. By accessing the data of the visitor, you can target CTA’s with their name, location, browser language, whether the customer is already registered/subscribed, etc. Personalized CTAs are proven to convert 202% better than the default.

4. Visual Appeal

Use a contrasting, bright color to get your site visitor’s attention and draw them to the CTA button. You want the CTA to be the first thing the user notices on the page: it’s the most important piece of information anyways. A button is much easier for the visitor to click rather than a hyperlink, graphic, or photo, and humans are wired to click buttons on the page. 

Using these tips to build your call-to-action will help your visitors filter through the marketing funnel and give them a specific step to engage with your content.