One of the key aspects of user-friendliness is good CTAs. If you want to improve a call to action that isn’t performing well, it’s important to revisit your strategy.
The idea behind a CTA is to have a button that persuades users to act based on the message it conveys. This may seem simple, but there is a lot more that goes into it than simply commanding users to take action.
Instead of placing a simple command on a button, an effective CTA is strategically positioned, considers the visual aspect, uses the appropriate tone suitable for the audience, and more. Here, we will give you 5 essential tips to help you improve your CTAs.
1. The Shorter the CTA, the Better
While they don’t need to be extremely short, aim for conciseness, especially when they tend to be lengthy. For instance, if you want to say something along the lines of “buy now so you don’t miss out on your spot”, you can keep it short and concise by saying “buy now so you don’t miss out”.
Short, powerful and precise CTAs allow you to get straight to the point, which gives the user exactly enough information to know what they’ll get after clicking that button.
2. Motivate Action by Starting With a Verb
What’s a CTA without a verb? Nothing, right? Verbs play an essential role in urging the user to take action and increase sales from your website. The verb you start with will depend on the type of CTA you’re working on. If it is educational, then you’ll include verbs like “learn”, “start”, “read”, “see”, and many others.
If you’re working on a sales conversion, you can start with verbs like “buy”, “show”, “add”, “get”, and other verbs that are associated with making a purchase. Another example is lead generation CTAs, where your verbs would be “sign up,” “join,” or “request”,
3. Use Power Words to Create FOMO and Increase Your CTA Clicks
In close relation to action words, there are powerful words that can encourage users to click on CTAs. Power words are words that add to the urgency of why users should act, this includes “now”, “today”, “don’t miss out”, and “immediately”, just to mention a few. These words add a sense of fear of missing out (FOMO).
It’s important not to overwhelm users with powerful words. They need to be placed strategically and used as a means to guide your user. When used accurately, powerful words can invoke emotion in your audience, urging them to act intentionally.
4. Consider the Visibility of Your CTA
There are various aspects to consider with regard to the visibility of CTAs. This doesn’t merely refer to whether or not the CTA can be seen, but if it’s placed strategically, visually appealing, the typography, shape, size, colour, etc. When you’re working on your call to action, you can ask yourself the following questions:
Placement: Is the CTA located in a prominent position on the page, where users are likely to see it?
Visual appeal: Does the CTA stand out from the surrounding content? Is it visually appealing and eye-catching?
Typography: Is the font size and style easy to read? Does it complement the overall design of the page?
Shape and size: Is the CTA button large enough to be easily clickable, but not so large that it dominates the page? Does the shape of the button contribute to its visual appeal?
Colour: Does the colour of the CTA button contrast well with the background and surrounding elements? Does it align with your brand’s colour scheme?
5. Run A/B Tests for Your CTAs
A/B testing is a crucial step for marketers. It involves examining two versions of marketing material, such as a web page or an email marketing campaign, and making progressive changes to one version to determine which performs better.
These changes could include the copy, font, colour, shape, size, or positioning of your call to action. With A/B testing, you can use data to optimise your CTA. This is done by measuring the effectiveness of your changes by analysing your performance metrics.
For example, if you want to run a successful e-mail marketing campaign, you can A/B test your CTA by changing the text to something a bit more persuasive. Given that your goal is to improve your Click-Through Rate (CTR), then you’ll monitor whether the CTR of the changed CTA has improved in comparison to the unchanged one.