Getting your website to convert visitors into leads, subscribers, and customers is job number one in Internet marketing. But bringing a first time visitor to that point is not always as easy as it sounds. Even when they do a search online, find your site, get the information and services they were looking for, they can still be hesitant to take that extra step of making a purchase or even just filling out a lead form.
So how can you improve conversions on your site? There may be several possible answers to that question, but likely the simplest and most effective way to increase your Internet marketing conversions is to have a bulletproof call to action.
How To Write An Effective Call To Action
1. Focus On How The Client Benefits, Not On Product Features
This is a classic tip that every market should learn, yet for some reason we often tend to drift away from this basic rule of Internet marketing. “What’s in it for me?” is the question on the mind of every visitor to your website, so you must make sure to highlight how your product or service will benefit the reader. It’s not enough to simply list what features you have. It should be clear to your prospect how these features benefit them.
You want them to sign up for your list or fill out on inquiry? Great. What’s in it for them? Why should they give you their name and contact information? What are they getting in return, and how will that benefit them? What value are you passing on to them in this exchange?
Make sure that your call to action focuses on the benefits that will come to your visitor by clicking through to your landing page.
2. Address Your Client Directly
This is not 8th grade English class. This is the world of Internet marketing, and no matter what your old English teacher told you back then, directly addressing your reader is a good thing.
Good sales copy will reach out and touch the reader. Don’t be passive and distant. Get in there and talk to your reader and make that connection. Be personal. It’s okay. You’re allowed.
3. Don’t Be Subtle & Don’t Be Shy
To reach your Internet marketing goals, your call to action needs to be obvious. Don’t hide it behind a simple little text link or camouflage it so that it blends in with all the other text and images around it. Make that call to action pop!
It doesn’t need to blind the reader or cause a seizure with excessive blinking red text, but it should be obvious. Your website visitor should know in less than two seconds what it is that you want them to do and where you want them to click.
Don’t be shy. Don’t be subtle. Make it obvious.
4. A Mild Sense of Urgency
This person reading your call to action may never return to your website again. That happens a lot. So don’t let them go without a fight. Make it urgent. Build that excitement inside of them. And put a little pressure on so that they feel the urgency to click through to your lead page.
“Don’t wait!”
“This offer will not last forever.”
“Contact us today…”
If you give them the option to come back later, you will likely never see them again.
5. Keep it Simple
While the things we have listed may seemingly imply that it should be long and well written, you should not have a paragraph-long call to action. The call to action should be simple, straight forward and to the point. It should not exceed a few words and should be one single phrase, such as “Take a Tour” or “Call Now.”
Summary
You may be asking yourself, ‘what do these tips have to do with a call to action? How am I supposed to apply these if it can only be a few short words’ The truth is, that all of these principals can be implemented in just a single short phrase. For example, to keep the call to action simple, mildly urgent, blatant, beneficial to your client, and direct, you simply need to change up the phrasing. For example, pretend you are a flooring company that specializes in hardwood floors. Instead of your call to action saying “Get Quote,” your call to action could say something more like “Learn More to Transform Your Home.” While a little longer, it is still short enough, simple and to the point. Your call to action needs to be appealing, and simply saying “Call Us” will not cut it.
