6 Tips to Create the Perfect Call-to-Action
It’s time to evaluate the effectiveness of your call-to-action.
The call-to-action is one of the most important concepts to master in article writing and marketing. It’s where you tell the reader what to do once they’ve finished reading your article. Once you show you have valuable insights to offer in body of the article, the call-to-action gives your reader their next step. That’s why most calls-to-action come at the end of the article.
You can’t expect your audience to read your mind and know what they need to do next, so use a well-crafted call-to-action to help them out. In this video, I’ll share how to write a perfect call-to-action. To be effective, your call-to-action should be simple, positive and beneficial. In other words, make it clear why they should do what you’re asking of them in as few words as possible.
Here’s a recap of the tips from the video:
- Tell Them What to Do – A reader should never finish one of your articles and be left thinking “What do I do next?” Your call-to-action should quickly answer this question and give the reader some direction. It normally fits best at the end of a blog post, video or article.
- Keep it Simple – Your call-to-action should always be easy to understand and do. If it’s too complex, your readers won’t do it. Also, consider any barriers they may face in following through on your call-to-action because the barrier may demolish their interest in you.
- Only Have One Call-to-Action – Your readers’ time is just as precious as yours. If you give them more than one thing to do, they might not do anything at all.
- Make it Positive – People like to be associated with positive ideas and concepts, so keep this in mind when writing your call-to-action. Including any negativity in your message could have an impact on how it’s received.
- Make it Beneficial – Be clear about the main benefits of completing the call-to-action. If you’re leading them to a website or email newsletter, explain why they need to take action. Also, you have their attention, so tell them to complete the action now. This may be the only time they encounter your work, so use the call-to-action to open the possibility of developing a professional relationship.
- Display the Full Website Address – If your article is picked up and reprinted by a publisher, using the full website address ensures the link will hold up in the reprinted version. Anchor text, on the other hand, may not be as reprint-friendly. Using the full website address also helps to build your brand.
Use the tips in this video now to write and submit your next set of original articles with effective calls-to-action for more high-quality traffic back to your website or blog.
‘…surely go a long way…’
Adverb required.
December 4, 2010 at 3:05 AM[Reply]