Most marketing professionals spend mere seconds creating calls to action (CTAs).

You just need to write something short, snappy, and direct – right?

Well, it’s not so easy.

According to recent CTA statistics, CTAs surrounded by negative space could boost your conversion rate by over 230%, while making your hyperlinked CTAs look like buttons could enhance engagement rates by 45%.

Yep – even minor details could significantly impact the efficacy of a humble CTA.

So, what kind of CTAs should you be using across your various marketing channels?

And how can you make them as effective as possible?

To answer these questions (and more), we’ve put together a handy guide below.

First things first: What is a call to action (CTA)?

If you’re feeling a little confused about the meaning and purpose of a CTA, don’t fret – you’re certainly not alone.

Put simply, a CTA is a written command encouraging people to engage in a positive action (e.g., signing up for a newsletter or purchasing a product).

CTAs can take several forms, including website buttons, text hyperlinks, or plain text.

They’re often short and snappy, encouraging people to “Buy now” or “Find out more”, although they can be much longer.

CTAs also appear across a range of channels, including social media, company websites, paid ads, blog posts, and many more.

The trick to driving as much engagement as possible is to tailor your CTAs toward specific channels, audiences, or purposes.

Asking potential customers to sign up for a subscription service, for example, may require a little more persuasion than asking them to read an article.

So, what are the main CTA types of which to be aware?

Five kinds of CTA (and how to use them)

 

Here are a few CTA ideas you may wish to use across your marketing campaigns:

1. Lead generation CTAs

Generating leads is vital if you want to build a loyal customer base and grow your business.

Fortunately, a well-constructed CTA could incentivize users to hand over their contact details with little fuss.

Lead generation CTAs are best placed in highly visible parts of your website that tend to attract new visitors – such as a sidebar, floating banner, pop-up, or at the end of a blog post.

Let’s say, for example, you want people to sign up for your new newsletter about beauty and wellness.

Your CTA might say “Sign up today for beauty news you won’t find anywhere else”, or simply “Subscribe today!”.

For maximum success, you’ll need to make the CTA eye-catching.

You could use a colorful button or insert a stunning pop-up with help from a service like HelloBar.

The opportunities are endless!

2. Social sharing buttons

Creating viral content is a great way to boost site visitors, leads, and even conversions.

Social sharing CTAs encourage site visitors to show your content to their friends and followers, increasing your chances of going viral.

Social sharing buttons are commonplace across most branded blogs and websites – simply place hyperlinked logos to sites such as Twitter and Facebook at the end top or bottom of the page.

If desired, you could add a line like: “Enjoying our content? Why not spread the love?”

3. Purchase CTAs

If you run an e-commerce site, encouraging people to purchase your goods and services via CTAs could significantly improve your revenues.

Examples of effective purchase CTAs include:

  • “Add to cart” buttons for individual product pages or even paid ads
  • Long-form sales pages containing a single CTA for a subscription service – for example, “Sign up now and enjoy your first month free!”
  • A page containing different subscription plans and a CTA for each (this is particularly common among companies offering software as a service)

If you run a subscription-based service, you could try to nudge people toward more expensive packages by making the CTAs bigger or brighter.

For physical goods, adding star ratings just above a “Buy now” button could boost faith in your brand and drive sales.

4. Online forms 

Online forms are used for all sorts of reasons, including:

  • Free trial sign-ups
  • Online demos
  • Webinars
  • Consultations
  • To request a callback

Encouraging people to hand over personal information may prove a little trickier than asking them to share content on social media.

As such, you should include a couple of sentences in the CTA reassuring potential customers of your trustworthiness and ability to handle data appropriately.

For example, you could add “No hidden fees or extra costs”, “Cancel any time”, or “We’ll call you back within two days”.

5. Email CTAs

Did you know that the average return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is over $40 for every $1 spent?

With such impressive stats, you’d be a fool not to send compelling emails with snappy CTAs to your mailing lists.

But what kind of CTAs should you be sending?

Well, abandoned cart emails could help you re-engage customers who’ve displayed an interest in your brand.

Alternatively, you could send a discount code for email subscribers, thereby driving sales and building brand loyalty.

Feel free to experiment and remember to include links to your site.

Best practices for creating CTAs

Still feeling a little unsure about how to write a CTA? Here’s a fool-proof checklist to follow:

  • Be direct and make your intentions clear
  • Make sure your CTA is bold and not surrounded by visual clutter – a great way to achieve this is via pop-ups and banners
  • Use second-person commands such as ‘Try’, ‘Get’, ‘Learn’, ‘Subscribe’ etc.
  • Use clickable CTA buttons for landing pages to help users navigate your website
  • Try to keep CTA copy as brief and informative as possible
  • Remember to test the efficacy of your CTAs using analytics tools and A/B testing
  • Consider adding more than one CTA to your landing pages to drive conversions

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for a winning CTA, so remember to tailor your message for key audiences and channels.

Drive conversions with pop-up CTAs

Are you looking for a smart way to make your CTAs stand out?

HelloBar is here to help.

Our gorgeous pop-ups and banners are designed to drive conversions and grow your business.

To find out more, don’t hesitate to get in touch or create a free account today!

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