CTA stands for ‘Call to Action’ and it’s what we use in writing to persuade and direct the reader to take the next step – specifically, the next step that we’d like them to take! It can range from the blunt but effective “Click here” and “Buy now!” to forms, pop ups, banners and more. I’m going to run through the basics, and give some examples of types of CTAs that you can use in your own marketing.
Types of Online CTAs
1. Contextual Links
The “click here to read more” or “in our previous article” style links in the body of pages or posts are hugely effective CTAs.
2. Buttons
Buttons are probably the most common type of CTA online. Usually an icon or graphic with an actionable word or phrase on top that lures users into clicking and taking further action. Usually they are a high contrast colour to help them stand out and make them even more enticing.
3. Forms
From ‘sign up to our newsletter’, to ‘get the free download’, to ‘request a quote’ there are hundreds of ways to turn your visitors into leads using a well-placed form.
4. Banners & Adverts
Those pesky little graphics at the top, bottom, or side of a webpage that draw your eye and entice you to click are CTAs as well. You can make use of the same theory on your own website by using CTA banners to direct your visitors to other parts of your website.
5. Pop-Ups & Slide-ins
A pop-up and the more modern slide-in are CTAs in the form of little windows that appear on top of the page being viewed. They are designed to grab the visitor’s attention and love them or hate them, they are effective little buggers.
Types of Offline CTAs
In brochures, posters, billboards, flyers and more, your calls to action are less varied, but they all have two parts:
1. The Call
This is where the words come in. How are you asking for it? There is a big difference between “email us to learn more” and “text I WANT TO WIN to 12345”
2. The Action
Do you want them to write to you? Email you? Text you? Call you? It could be a tear off form, a number to phone, and email address, a physical address…the possibilities are not quite as endless as online CTAs but there are still a lot of choices.
So that’s the basics of What the Feck is a CTA, and coming to a blog post near you soon, I’ll cover how you write a good one…
