You’ve probably heard this before, but Call-to-Actions (CTA’s) are one of the biggest (if not thee biggest) feature your website or landing page needs to boost conversions.
It’s literally ‘asking for the sale’.
Not a sale in the typically sense like a purchase through your website (although this very well may be your CTA), but rather getting the ‘signup’ sale.
Essentially, giving up something in exchange for their information that you can harness later on down the funnel.
Call-to-Actions… Entering the Sales Funnel
Take for example: ‘Enter Your Email to Get Your Free E-Book’
The visitor is giving up their email in exchange for you giving up your E-Book for free.
Simple transaction right? So far, it hasn’t cost them any money and it hasn’t cost you any money (except of course your marketing) but a connection was made (queue the harp music).
Interesting when put in those stark terms huh? It’s true though because remember when a visitor lands on your site, they may not be at the very bottom of the sales funnel (and quite frankly most likely are not).
So we’ve got a little pre-selling to do first…
- Did they have a good first impression?
- Do you provide the product or service they are looking for?
- Are you the type of company they want to work with?
- Did they get all their questions answered?
- How is your price point compared with your competitor’s website they were just on before yours?
- Do you have a compelling promotion?
The Psychology Behind a Well-Planned Call-to-Action
So now that we have discussed why the almighty CTA is so important and the transaction nature associated with it, let’s chat about the ‘Freudian’ psychology.
Keep in mind there is A LOT more that goes into this than just what is mentioned here, but it’s a good start.
A good Call-to-Action funnels the visitor to the point that they are ready to take that first step and make a small commitment like filling out the form so I don’t want to make it sound like you simply just throw up the words and ‘BOOM’ the leads start rolling through the door.
There are other important considerations to make that may seem small, but ultimately play a big roll in making sure it works as intended such as the right size and position of the CTA button. Possibly the color of a CTA button that may perform better and result in an increased conversion rate. It should also have ‘high contrast’, meaning it stands out clearly in relation to the rest of the page (is brighter, a different color, etc).
I also recommend the Call-to-Action text be a simple to read font and be in ALL CAPS so that it conveys a certain level of importance and draws more attention to it.
Make it Easy
The psychological aspect of it should not be overlooked. People don’t have a lot of time and so making it easy should be a top priority. One example would be to position the contact for for the CTA ‘Above-the-Fold‘.
This is old newspaper terminology that simply means that on a normal desktop or laptop computer, the contact form is visible right when a page loads without having to scroll down the page to find it. Easy is the name of the game here when we talk about Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).
Our Ever-Growing List of Call-to-Actions
This list is a quick reference of the many different variations and angles one can take when deciding on the right Call-to-Action for your page. (make sure to continually check back because we do add to this list to make it as comprehensive as possible).
Keep in mind, these can be modified based on your own needs.
All this being said, alas here is our list (not in any particular order).
- Ask a Question
- Learn More
- Buy Now
- Request a Quote
- Request a Proposal
- Find Out More Now
- Start the Conversation Now
- Request and Appointment
- Book An Appointment Now
- Request a Call Back
- Take Advantage of Our Promotion
- Reserve Your Spot Now
- Receive 15% Off Now
- Enter Your Email to Take 15% Off Your First Order
- Ask Artist a Question
- Make an Offer Now
- Download Our Free E-Book
- Download Our Free Whitepaper
- Talk to An Expert Now
- Receive BOGO Sale Now
- Receive Starter Pack Promotion Now
- Receive Limited Offer Now
- Get Free Shipping Now
- Get a Free Trial
- Request a Demo
CTA Conclusion
This is just a partial ‘ever-growing’ list we have to keep track of the different ways to ‘make the lead sale’ and start the conversation.
You have most likely spent a lot of effort on writing your ads, building your campaigns, creating your landing page and of course running your day-to-day business (no small task), but this blog post is all about making sure that the final 5 yards on the field is productive and generates the leads needed to grow your business.
If you have any other killer CTA’s, leave a note below and we may use them to add to the list and make a nice centralized library for next time they are needed.
Cheers!
