Call-to-actions (CTAs) by definition, are phrases or words that instruct your audience to take an action – usually by using an imperative verb to provoke an immediate response. There are many reasons why CTAs are crucial but the main one is that there’s no such thing as a successful campaign without a good CTA. They can make or break your conversion rates and ultimately the success of your business and your profits. CTAs are a vital part of any web page’s lead generation process -, particularly for bloggers. Without the mighty influence of a powerful CTA, people visiting your webpage or receiving your email are less likely to convert than if you did have one. Now of course, as we discussed in a previous article, there are prospects that know exactly what they want and come to your webpage or landing page ready to take the action but for the most part, people need to be persuaded – and a compelling CTA plays an integral role in this persuasion process.
They’re several different kinds of CTAs, in all sorts of different formats, addressing various parts of your marketing funnel. Now depending on what your niche is and where you’re using your CTA, there are different approaches. You always need to be thinking of your target audience when trying to compose the perfect CTA. What’s the demographic? How old are they? Are they male or female? You CTA needs to be tailored to not only the buying need of your target audience but their life. It needs to be relatable as it’s what’s going to get them to go deeper into the funnel and take the next step in their buying journey. I’m going to give you five simple ideas just to get you started.
1) BOTTOM OF THE POST-SMART CALL TO ACTION
So, you’ve finished writing an amazing article for your blog. Did you forget something? Your CTA perhaps? But wait a minute. All kinds of people visit your blog and they have different backgrounds, so a single generic CTA is probably not going to cut it. You want to be a bit more specific in your delivery. Well, to give the best-suited content to either your customers, leads, and visitors, you can use what’s widely known as a “smart CTA.” Based on the information in your database and where your prospect is in the funnel (buying process), they’ll see a different CTA. That way, you’re optimizing so that your visitors only see relevant content that’s more likely to convert them into a lead. Leads only see a CTA relevant to them that’s more likely to convert them into a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL), and your beloved customers only see content that will convert them into promoters most likely through engagement. By tailoring your content to each audience, you’re going to increase conversions throughout your entire funnel – not just a small part of it. You’re catering to everyone’s needs.
2) CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA CALL TO ACTION
Another very effective CTA is one that gives your audience links to connect with you on social media. If someone reads your content and they enjoy it, then it’s highly likely that they’ll be interested in some of your future content. This ties in very nicely with promoting your blog. You can compose a compelling sentence summarizing the topic of your blog and then link it to your blog from your social media. You should always make it easy for your readers to follow your social media. You can do so by creating a CTA for each individual social media channel. Another important thing to keep in mind is that we live in an era where people are always one click away from their desires – so having said that make sure that it only takes one click for your readers to follow you because if they have to walk a thousand miles to get to the like button, believe me, they won’t. This is a slightly different CTA from the one that allows your visitors to share your posts on their own social media or webpage (although that’s also a very effective tactic).
3) BLOG SUBSCRIPTION CALL TO ACTION
If you’re writing fresh and interesting content and your readers are into it, your visitors might want to subscribe to receive a newsletter every time you post something new. To increase your blog subscriptions, first of all, you need to have a compelling subscription CPA like “ALWAYS STAY UPDATED.” Secondly, you should make sure your subscription form clear-cut and easy to fill out. Don’t make them fill out a long-form, just ask for the absolutely necessary, to begin with or you might come off as invasive and pushy which could drive prospects away. Personally, if I had to answer 20 questions, I just wouldn’t do it. If you just require a valid email address, only ask for the email address. Making the process as short and as smooth as possible already significantly increases the chance that your visitors will convert.
4) COMMENT CALL TO ACTION
Depending on your niche, your writing style, and your target audience – there are many ways to end your post. Many bloggers like to end their posts by encouraging their audience to share and comment on the article itself. That’s just one of the many ways you can frame your post-end CTA. You can always just be straightforward and say something like, “Leave your thoughts and comments below,” or you can finish your post by asking your audience a question based on the topic of your post. I personally prefer the question type CTA because it’s more likely to create engagement. There’s a question that requires an answer – it’s not vague.
5) INLINE CALL TO ACTION
When imagining the ideal CTA many think of a brand image at the end of a post, but the truth is, that’s not the only way you can use CTAs on your blog. A CTA just is a simple link in your post that gives more information on your topic. It basically works the same way as a button CTA would. It ‘guides’ your audience to take the desired action but it’s a simple text link. For instance, your in-line CTA could lead to another great post that is more or less relevant to the topic of your first post. It’s a great way to get people to read more of your content and get yourself out there.
There you have it. Five of the many types of CTAs out there and how to use them to optimize your results. Remember to use imperative verbs as they are more assertive and direct. Try to personalize them according to your audience’s demographic and most of all provide your audience with quality content so that they keep coming back for more. Apply the above and I assure you’ll be well on your way to establishing your online presence.
