It is one thing to get people to visit your website, but you have to get them to come back, to interact, and to purchase your products. So how do you do this? One of the most effective ways to engage the people who visit your website is to give them a call to action. A call to action is exactly what it sounds like. You should always be asking the people who are on your website to do something, whether it is to buy something or sign up for an email list. So how do you get them to actually follow through on your call to action?
Use an Action Word
You have a very short time to get your point across, and an even shorter one to get people to act on what they read. This means it is very important that you are clear and concise, and that you tell people what to do quickly. Start your call to action with an action word. Tell them what you want them to do. If you want them to buy something, use words like shop, buy, or order. If you want them to sign up for an email list, use words like subscribe or request. If you want them to spend more time on your website, consider words like explore, read more, see, or watch. All of these words tell people what you want them to do.
Provoke Emotion
If you would like to enlist a strong response from your visitors, you must touch their emotions. The enthusiasm in the call to action is passed over to your visitors. You can use imagery or enticing offers to motivate them to follow through on your call to action. Something as simple as an exclamation point can provoke an excitement in a reader. If your call to action comes at the end of a paragraph or article, make sure that the text prior is building to the call to action. This should be the climax of everything that you are writing.
Give a Reason
It’s important to get into the mind of your visitors. What is going to make the follow through on your call to action? Have you given them a reason to do what you want them to do? Does the offer provide a solution to a problem or need that they have? They may not be aware of their need, so part of your lead into your call to action needs to help them see why they need what you want them to do. Without a good reason, people aren’t going to follow through, so make sure they know why they need to do what you want them to do.
Address Concerns
People may be skeptical about the promises that you are making them, especially if they are new to your website. So, make sure you reassure them. When they sign up for an email list, let them know if you will be sharing their information and who you will be sharing it with if you do. And then follow through. If you are offering a discount, make sure it is easy for them to apply it. Without making it easy for people to see that you mean what you promise, it may be difficult for them to feel comfortable following your call to action.
Make it Eye-Catching
If people can’t see your call to action, then it doesn’t matter how good it is. They won’t follow through because they don’t know it is even there. Consider making the call to action a different color, different size, or different text. You can also draw attention to it with a box around it or another visual feature that sets it apart. Make sure you remember to keep it professional when doing this, but if you want to increase conversions from viewers to customers, you need to make sure they can see what you want them to do.
Make Sure It Fits the Situation
You may have different calls to action, depending on which part of your website people visit, but make sure that each call to action fits the specific situation. For instance, if someone is on your blog, you should probably focus on getting them to sign up for your newsletter or to continue reading, not to buy a product you have. Conversely, if they are shopping, you want to focus on closing the sale, not getting them to sign up for a newsletter. There is no limit to the calls to action you can use, but make sure they are being used in the right place and that you aren’t overwhelming the people on your website. Focus on the most important action and let the others naturally follow.
Take the call to action as the opportunity to entice your clients to make a move. Make your offers irresistible and memorable. This will pull more visitors to the desired action and help you meet your goals. Keep testing the call to action to ensure that it retains its effectiveness over time.
