CTA stands for call-to-action, and while it’s normally a very short phrase, it has a big impact on the success of your small business marketing campaign. A single call-to-action in a marketing email can increase sales by more than 1,600%, according to statistics from Wordstream, while including CTAs on a website landing page increases conversions and revenue by up to 80%.
Despite these benefits, roughly 70% of small businesses lack an effective CTA on their website. That can be a costly mistake, limiting the reach of your digital marketing efforts and the conversions you get from traffic to your website or social media channels.
Harnessing the power of a CTA makes the most of your online presence. Read on to learn what you should include in a call-to-action and see three examples of unique and compelling CTAs that you can use to boost conversions, sign-ups, and sales for your small business.
Key features of an effective call-to-action
The purpose of a CTA is to draw the attention of customers and make them want to actively engage with your company or find out more about your products and services. Once you know what a CTA is, you’ll realize they’re just about everywhere—in advertisements and marketing materials, as well as on business websites, in social media posts, and in multimedia content like podcasts and videos.
The ideal design and phrasing of your call-to-action will depend on your goal for it and what format customers will see it in. For written content like a website or blog, a button-style CTA is often the best choice. It’s smart to use a color that contrasts with other things on the site but is still complementary to your overall brand and design. This way, it will attract the customer’s attention without disrupting the flow and look of the page.
For video and audio content, the call-to-action is going to be spoken aloud. In this case, the key is to have a clear, concise, and compelling message. When people hear the CTA, they should immediately know what to do and how it will benefit them. So, for example, if the CTA is to sign up for a mailing list, the CTA should explain where they go to do so, and what value they’ll get from joining. The same goes if you’re selling a product or directing them to a website to learn more about your company.
While the design and phrasing of a CTA varies, there are some key principles of effective calls-to-action that remain consistent across platforms and purposes:
- Make it stand out. The CTA should be clearly set apart from the other content around it. A good metric on a website or social post is that it should catch someone’s eye even if they’re just quickly scrolling through. You can do this through formatting and putting space around the CTA, or by using images and graphics that draw people’s eyes.
- Make it easy to understand. Clarity is key with a CTA. Customers should know at first glance what to do and what benefits they’ll get by taking action.
- Build trust. Readers should be comfortable clicking the CTA link. Avoid using negative words or phrases, and use phrasing that addresses likely customer questions or concerns. For example, if the CTA is to sign up for a mailing list, reassuring readers that their contact information will never be shared can make them feel more comfortable giving you their email address.
- Create a sense of urgency. When people feel they only have a limited time to act, they’ll be more likely to do so. Using words like “now” and “today”, or putting a deadline on the CTA offer, can increase conversions by encouraging customers to take immediate action.
- Use action verbs. Starting your CTA with an active word helps you to achieve a lot of the other pointers on this list, too, like making your message clear and creating urgency. Words like register, download, buy, learn, get, or sign up encourage customers to act while helping to clarify what they should do and what value they’ll see in return.
3 examples of unique CTAs
Calls-to-action don’t need to be complicated. A simple CTA like “Buy now!” or “Register today!” can be very effective in the right context. However, if you’re looking for a more distinctive call-to-action to feature in your small business marketing, here are three examples of CTAs that can get more engagement from your customers.
1. “Get Free [Sample/Gift/Download/etc.]”
People love to get something for nothing, so offering a free gift is already an easy way to attract customer attention. This is also a way to establish customer trust and build their loyalty. Giving things away for free shows customers you’re confident they’ll come back for more. It also gives people a no-risk way to learn more about what you do, and increases your value in customers’ eyes. When you’ve already given people something for free, they’ll feel better about giving you money in the future.
2. “Build My [plan/subscription/etc.]”
Build is a great action word because it invites the customer into the process. This tells them they have control to create an experience customized to their needs, which is something today’s consumers want. Using the first-person “my” instead of “your” adds to this feeling of personalization, encouraging your customers to see themselves already using your product or service.
3. “I Want To…”
You can follow this up with the value you’ll provide to customers. For example, a B2B consulting firm might say something like “I Want to Maximize My Revenue”—that’s a statement every business owner agrees with, and shows potential clients right away the value they’ll gain. Appealing to customers’ desires and needs is always a great way to grow your business, and this type of call-to-action does so in a small space.
