No Call To Action = No Reaction and No Sale
Are you familiar with the “call to action”? Simply put, a call to action is a request for a prospect or customer to move on to the next step. What the next step is…well, that’s determined by you.
Let’s say you’re writing web site copy. You’ve got the home page completed, but you’ve forgotten the call to action! How will the reader know what to do when they reach the end of the page? That may sound silly, but the truth is that web visitors want to be told what to do next. They want you to make it easy for them to take the next logical step, without dream time or having to think about it too deeply. So then, it’s your job as the writer to create a compelling reason for the visitor to move deeper into the website, to sign up for the newsletter, to register for a free gift…and that’s where the call to action is invaluable.
If you’re creating your own website, the call to action is important. If you’re writing website copy for a client, however, it’s crucial. This single, simple sentence can help your client sell more products and services. When you understand the call to action and how to use it, you can achieve the ultimate copywriting goal: Helping your clients make more money. In other words, when the client’s phone stops ringing, you’re out of work. When it rings off the hook, everyone is happy. So it pays to master this technique.
The most effective call to action compels the reader to stop everything he or she is doing to take action or buy something from your client right now.
There are various strategies for accomplishing this:
Place a deadline on ordering: “Order by the 22nd and receive…”
Warn of an increase in cost: No one wants to be left behind. Let your readers know your price will soon increase, and this will stimulate people to buy now.
Offer a trial period: when people sign up for a trial, they feel like they’re getting something for nothing. Help customers feel good about their decision to try your client’s product or service by adding additional bonus materials that can be theirs to keep, simply for “trying” the product or service for a limited time.
Add incentives: Everyone loves a free gift. Say something like, “The first 100 people who respond to this order will receive a valuable free gift…”
Remove the risk: Tell people they can cancel before the trial period expires if they aren’t satisfied.
Offer a long term guarantee: As much as a year to look over the product or try the service. Sounds risky for the client, but it’s really not at all. (We’ll discuss this in another post.)
Regardless of the call to action you choose, don’t forget to use appropriate action phrases, such as “Call now!”, “Mail this card today for faster response”, “Follow this link to receive your private bonus,” and so forth.
These phrases tell the reader what to do next, so they can effortlessly do it.
Whatever you do, don’t say, “You can reach us at your convenience at 555-1212.”
Can you see the difference? If so, then get started right now on improving the value of your copy writing with high-impact call to action phrases.
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Comments
Great article! Now I see “call to action” is really important in web development
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