How to Write a Call to Action to Boost Your Website Sales

Why do you need a call to action, and how do you write one that gets more of your customers to click, call, or buy? Here’s how to get customers to act now.

Is your website losing sales and leads because you don’t have a call to action on your pages? Web pages that look attractive and are informative are important to making sales, but when you’re missing an effective call to action (CTA), your customers and site visitors are far less likely to become leads or customers.

The reason? If you don’t tell people what action you want them to take, inertia takes over. It’s simply easier for most people to do nothing than to figure out what decision to make. Your call to action points them to the decision you want them to make and makes it easy for them to make that decision.

The CTA isn’t always an invitation to buy now. In many cases, it’s an invitation to move to the next step in the sales funnel — some kind of invitation to learn more, watch a video, or speak with a sales representative.

With that in mind, the first thing you need to do is design your sales funnel. How will you move your customer from education (the sales pitch) to actually giving you money? As you design your sales funnel, leave room for these calls to action along the way.

How to Write a Great Call to Action

1. Use power words.

Great calls to action are emotional. They don’t waste valuable space with words like “just.” They use words like “dream” or “million.” How about “Be the first” or “Find your million-dollar idea today.” All of these provoke some kind of emotion. Learn more about power words and phrases.

2. Put your CTA in the right place.

Just like in real estate, the three most important words in digital marketing are location, location, location. Tons of research exists to tell you how people read a web page — and some of that research is actually useful. You might think that your call to action should be at the bottom of your page after all of your finely crafted sales copy, but some people don’t want to read all the fluff. Some people will simply want to check out the offer without reading. Others may be ready to buy after one paragraph, while others may completely miss the call to action if it’s only at the bottom of the page. That’s why a few CTAs in various locations on the page may work best. Try them in different places and start with these guidelines:

Green and orange buttons tend to convert the best.
Use first-person language. “Get My Free Report” instead of “Get Your Free Report.”
One of your calls to action should be above the fold so visitors don’t have to scroll to find it.
One action is enough. Tell your customer what you want them to do. Don’t use the CTA to present choices. You could give them a few choices at checkout, instead.

3. Keep it short.

Having the gift of gab may make you a top-notch salesperson in face-to-face conversations, but online, it’s all about getting to the point. The fewer words in your call to action, the better, in most cases. Consider these two examples:

1 – Let ABC company tell you how much it will cost to remodel your kitchen.

2 – Call today for a free estimate!

Which of these two calls to action are most likely to get a response? The first call to action isn’t actually a call to action, and it’s long and wordy. Plus, it focuses on letting the ABC company do something and that it’s something that will cost money. The second variation is short, to the point, tells the consumer to place a call, and focuses on the free estimate, not the cost of the work.

4. Test, Test, and Test Some More.

There’s a lot of science behind the call to action, but the science is only a starting point. All the statistics and best practices may not work with your audience, so test everything. Try a few different text ideas, button colors, button shapes, locations, and web page designs. Test each of these individually. It’s going to take a while to test everything, but once you find the winning combination, you’re going to see some fantastic results. Even the best marketers in the business test various combinations. If they can’t get it right the first time, neither can you. Now get to work and write a CTA that will get people flocking to your business!

Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.