Calls To Action - CTAs - start to make my brain cramp after I've been trying to come up with yet another great one. Are you like me? After a while the creative juices just lose their fizz, but the need to be engaging and persuasive is still there. What do you do?
I start looking at advice from those I know have some wisdom on the subject.
Billy McCaffrey gives us some of that wisdom and fizz on Search Engine Journal with 7 Tips for a Killer Call-To-Action. Some of these tips may be new to you, and others will probably be something you've heard before, but they are good reminders of what works when writing content that converts:
- Use a strong command verb to start your CTA. Keep it short and specific to your audience.
- Use words that provoke emotion or enthusiasm. Exclamation points work only when they are not over-used because nobody likes being shouted at for very long.
- Give your audience a reason why they should take the desired action. Do this to get that, call today to get a free consultation, tie your CTA to your USP (unique selling point) and get more results.
- Take advantage of FOMO. Fear of missing out on the sale price, the availability, or whatever the benefit is drives a lot of conversions because we are human.
- Know your devices. Ads on a mobile device are going to be responded to differently in different situations than ads on a TV or laptop, so plan accordingly by setting mobile preferences or adding call extensions.
- Don't be afraid to get a little creative. You know your customers and who you are trying to reach. See what works and learn from what doesn't work, but keep track of it so you can build off your success.
- Use numbers when possible. Pricing information, discounts, etc. all help people decide if this is what they want to do. This suggestion makes me think of a guy I know who refuses to stop in a car lot that doesn't have the full price of the used car in the window. He says it's not worth stopping if he doesn't know what the cost will be. If you have a price in your ad and they click through, you know they are interested. If the discount has a time limit, see #4.
Online marketing strategy can be a challenging thing. I'm glad we can get ideas from others facing the same challenge
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