Are you currently dealing with any of the following?
Low conversion rates.
Lack of sales.
Landing page performance drops.
Facebook ad deterioration.
If so, you’re probably wondering how the heck you’ll get a grip on the situation. Am I right? Well, let me offer up a piece of advice.
Oftentimes, when writing copy for your sales materials—from email sequences to sales letters, Facebook ads, and more—you can become hyper-focused on telling a great story, connecting with your ideal customers, and even dropping in perfectly formulated words and phrases that you actually forget one crucial component: a call to action (aka CTA).
Some people in the biz deem it the most important. Why? Because, according to a study conducted by Unbounce, more than 90% of visitors who read your headline also read your CTA copy.
That number is important because your headline is what’ll reel in your ideal customers. But, your call to action, on the other hand, is what’ll make those ideal customers complete your desired action—whether it be buying your product or service, downloading your eBook, subscribing to your e-newsletter, or even registering for your upcoming webinar.
If you fail to tell them what it is you want them to do, they won’t do it. It’s just that simple.
Therefore, in order to keep your conversion rates from getting sucked down the drain, you need to know how to write a magnetic call to action that motivates your people to move in on your product or service offering.
And, that’s why I’m here. I’ll be dishing out the insight you need to get the click, so to speak, so you can finally get back to jacking up your sales.
Sound like something you’re interested in? I thought so. Get ready to unleash your creativity! You’re about to get the tips and tricks to cramming all you need to say to get your reader to convert in a compelling way. And, while using far less characters than a tweet.
1. Know your end goal.
Before you get started, you need to have your end goal in mind. Without it, the chances of you successfully crafting a clear CTA your ideal customer will understand and act on are slim to none.
So, what I mean by end goal is: what’s the objective of your landing page? Sales letter? Facebook ad? It could be any of the following:
- Raise attendance for an event (in-person or online)
- Lead generation
- Conversion optimization
For example, a “Get My Free Guide” call to action would best be suited for generating leads if you’ve crafted a piece of content that relates to your product or service offering. Those who click on it might not be ready to show you their wallets just yet, but they are interested enough in what it is you have to dish out as an authority figure.
An “Upgrade and Save” call to action, on the other hand, would best be suited for conversion optimization, especially if you have a tiered pricing or membership model. The ultimate offer could focus on providing a discount for potential customers if they upgrade from a free membership or trial to a paid subscription.
You see, as soon as you pinpoint your overall objective, it’ll be that much easier for you to answer the following questions when writing your call to action:
What do I want them to do?
And, why do I want them to do it?
2. Kick things off with an imperative verb.
An imperative what? Yeah, I know. You didn’t come here to get a refresher on English grammar. But, it’s definitely worth mentioning in order to ensure your call to action copy is nothing short of ah-mazing.
According to Grammarly.com, “imperative verbs are verbs that create an imperative sentence.” Or, what’s better known as a sentence that gives an order or command. And, these sentences or commands can be found in virtually any CTA you come across.
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They all sound kind of bossy, huh? You’re dang right they do. Just as I mentioned earlier, your CTA is all about telling your audience exactly what it is you want them to do next.
Now, maybe you’re hesitant to go full boss mode on your readers and start handing out orders. Yet, this isn’t the time to be shy and beat around the bush. You put in hard work, precious money, and hours of your free time to develop a product or service people want and need. It’s up to you to take the necessary steps to start earning a return on your investment.
So, go ahead and be assertive! You’ve earned the right to be. To help you feel more comfortable with this step, check out CoSchedule’s handout of proven words and phrases to use in your call to action. Specifically, set your sights on the “Verbs To Kick It Off” section:
Get
Download
Start
Stop
Build
Grow
Join
Learn
Discover
Add to cart
Try
Find
Save
See, being slightly bossy isn’t so bad after all!
3. Give your readers a reason to click.
While kicking off your CTA with an imperative verb is key, so is injecting FOMO (fear of missing out) and your unique selling proposition into it. Thus, giving your readers a real reason to want to click not tomorrow, not next week, but right now.
FOMO will raise the stakes on your offer because no one wants to be lose out on a great deal on your product or service. And, mashing that up with your unique selling proposition tells your audience what sets you apart from the herd of horses and makes you a real-life unicorn. Maybe you offer a free 30-minute consultation. Or, even a free 30-day trial.
Whatever it is, pair it with an urgency-inducing word (hello, FOMO!) in your CTA to give your ideal customers an extra kick in the rear to eliminate any desire to procrastinate.
To show you how it’s done, check out these awesome examples:
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4. Keep it short and simple.
Yes, your ultimate mission is to combine an imperative verb, FOMO, and your USP to concoct a winning call to action. But, it’s best done within 5 words or less.
That said, what’s the best way to make this task seem doable? Remove what I like to call lazy throwaway words. You know the ones: “that,” “stuff,” “things,” “often,” “very,” “really.” I could go on and on… but, you catch my drift. If your CTA verbiage still makes sense without any of those, do yourself a favor and leave it out.
Ultimately, when you master the art of brevity, you master the art of clarity. And, a call to action that’s clear and concise will have you grabbing hold of those conversions you’ve been craving.
5. Write in first person.
This tidbit is a piece of cake. But, it’s one that’s often overlooked. A simple change in your point of view, however, can lead to big results. Let’s say, for example, your current CTA reads as follows: Get Your Free 2-Week Trial Today. Just by changing it to Get My Free 2-Week Trial Today, you’ll see an uptick in clicks. Guaranteed.
Just look at this test Unbounce did on their landing page button:
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Talk about an improvement! And, there’s more where that came from. VerveSearch.com saw a 90% increase in click-through rate by using first-person phrasing: “Start my free 30-day trial” versus “Start your free 30-day trial.” So, give it a go!
6. Test, tweak, and repeat.
You know how the saying goes: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” It certainly can be applied to writing copy for your call to action button.
If you notice you’re not getting the results you’d hoped for, don’t just leave it to rot and hope to do better the next time around. Instead, play around with your CTA verbiage using A/B testing software, like Google Analytics.
When you do, you might find one simple word change can make all the difference.
Now, you have the tips. What about putting them into action?
Here are some CTA formulas that’ll take care of the heavy lifting (thanks to the help of HubSpot.com):
- Try it FREE for [TIME]—insert the duration of your trial, if applicable (ex. Try it FREE for 2 weeks).
- Order my [PRODUCT] today—the word “today” drives a sense of urgency on your reader’s end.
- Start my free trial now—again, another example of the use of an urgency-inducing phrase to drive action.
- Get [BENEFIT OF PRODUCT/SERVICE] today only—there’s that FOMO element again: “today only.” And, sharing the benefit of your product or service in the CTA copy allows you the opportunity to present your unique selling proposition.
- Get my FREE [USP or ULTIMATE OFFER]—this is another opportunity to share your USP. Is it a free consultation? EBook? Webinar? Trial? Present it to your readers and it’ll encourage them to jump on it ASAP.
In the end, there are many components of writing a magnetic call to action that will jack up your conversions. Don’t forget, however, the key is to take the tips shared here today to test and see what works best for your product or service offering.
And, I’ll leave you with this: to make your ideal customers feel compelled to buy, your copy needs so much more than a captivating CTA. That’s why I’m offering you our FREE checklist: “The Copywriting Checklist That Will Make Your Offer Irresistible,” delivered straight to your inbox.
All that’s required to get your hands on it is your email. Just drop it into the box to the right-hand side of this page and you’ll get it right away!
Tell me: which call to action formula will you be using in your sales copy? Or, is there one I didn’t include that you use often? Drop me a line in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you.
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