Are you wondering why your website traffic is high but visitors aren’t clicking on your call to action? You may be experiencing a similar situation with your email marketing – good open rate but a weak click through on the call to action to download a white paper or sign up for a webinar.
The problem may not be your offering; it may be that your call to action isn’t clear or conveying the right message to encourage your customers and prospects to click through. In order to achieve the marketing results you want, a call to action needs to motivate your targets to act immediately on whatever you are inviting them to do.
An effective call to action needs:
Strong words: There should be no confusion or misunderstanding about what you want your audience to do and what they will get by clicking. Language that inspires action includes:
- Book now
- Buy now
- Download white paper
- Sign up for presentations
Value: The call to action is about what your customers and prospects gain by acting; it’s not about what your business does. “Always on surveillance safeguards your home 24/7 – learn more.” is more powerful than “Learn about our about our new home video security system.”
Immediacy: Create a sense of urgency to inspire your audience to click on the call to action as soon as they see it. “Prevent cyber criminals from taking your business down. Find out how” creates a greater sense of urgency than “Find out how to protect your company’s data.”
Design: Make sure your call to action is clearly visible. You don’t want your call to action to dominate the page, but it should be big enough to be easily noticed. Contrasting colors also can help your call to action stand out from the rest of your copy.
Web page location: Try to place your call to action at or near the top of your web page. Your audience may miss it If you place the call to action at the bottom.
Link to landing page: Create a separate landing page for your offer. This makes it easy for your audience to find the information they need.
When you create a call to action that clicks with your audience, they will respond in kind.