Creating the Call to Action
Published 27 Sep 2011
Call to action is a term marketers throw around a lot. It’s basically a fancy way of saying “What you want people to do.” What steps do you want someone to take from your message? In an email, an effective call to action should have a few components:
- A clear message about what they should do next
- A Reason why they should take that next step
- An obvious link to that step, without a lot of clutter around it
- No sales language. Avoid sales jargon, red lettering or highlighted text. Don’t go on for a page and a half about why they need you and your product and then tell them to click – they won’t make it to the link
- No gimmicks. Short emails with a link to a 2 page sales letter on your website is going to make readers run away, never to click again
A couple more things to take into consideration: make your message clear and commanding without being rude. “Visit my website for more information” is better than “My website has more information, if you’re interested” or “CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW!” (you laugh, but somewhere out there is a call to action that says that). Finally, make your call to action more about engaging your readers than about making a quick buck. The engagement factor will lure in a lot more clients than trying to outright sell them on something and it will provide priceless insight.