Call-To-Action Checklist: 13 Tips To Optimize Your Results

Do you track your marketing results with the use of a a contextually relevant, optimized call-to-action?

A call-to-action is a short piece of text combined with visuals to encourage visitors to take action.

Based on your specific marketing offer and the platform where it appears,, this small element is critical to tracking the results of your marketing. Without appropriate tagging  (often referred to as UTM codes) and systems to collect these results, you can’t tell if your marketing yields any results.

A call-to-action hooks prospects and reels them in to take the next step along the marketing process.

 Why Do You Need A Call-To-Action? 3 Reasons

A call-to-action (or CTA) is an integral and often overlooked element of effective marketing. Done well, it gets prospects, customers and the public primed to want to find out more about your offering or to engage with you further.

The key to call-to-action success:
Lead visitors to the next step in your process to ultimately gett them to purchase.

Here are 3 reasons to use a call-to-action.

1] Tie to business or marketing objectives

This refers to marketing goals with directly measurable outcomes.  They can include brand building, expanding reach, and generating qualified sales leads.

Further, the call-to-action must be developed and contextually relevant based on your specific marketing offer.

2] Drive participants move towards purchase by taking the next step in the process

Determine what participants  need to take to the next step in your purchase process. Make the related  processes and systems are in place to support these prospects.

3] Enable effective marketing measurements

Capture tracking to prove your marketing tactics and initiatives support your business goals.

Call-To-Action: 13 Tip Checklist to Optimize Your Results

To maximize marketing effectiveness, use tailored calls-to-action to encourage participants to take the next step in your process. These 13 tips help to optimize your calls-to-action based on the context in which they appear.

1] Make your request clear and unambiguous

If participants are confused about your offer or what you want them to do, they’ll leave your offer since it requires more thinking than they have time for.

2] Show your offer’s value

Participants always think “What’s in it for me?” So make them an offer they can’t pass up.

3] Create a sense of urgency

Provide potential buyers with a reason to act now. Since once they leave your marketing, they ‘re gone.

4] Customize your call-to-action to be contextually relevant

Don’t just say “Buy Now” or “Click Here”.  Instead tailor your CTA to let visitor know what they’ll get. Be specific in the context of your offer.

5] Remove participant risk

Reduce participants’ anxiety. Tell them how you’ll use their information to protect their privacy. Also, let them know about related fees and whether they can return the product and get their money back.

6] Include social proof

Show that other people have taken advantage of this offer.

7] Keep the call-to-action visible continuously

If readers need to scroll down on your content or landing page, you reduce the chance they’ll respond to your offer. Remember out-of-sight is out-of-mind. Instead, add  another call-to-action at the end of your content or landing page.

8] Use color to make your offer stand out

Employ a bright or contrasting color to draw attention to your call-to-action.

9] Utilize graphics including photographs to catch participants’ interest

Attract attention with visual elements that pop from the rest of your content. Photographs, especially of people, are useful. (Here’s  why images are eye candy.)

10] Incorporate visual cues

Integrate arrows and other symbols to draw attention to your call-to-action. Where possible, test different presentations using A/B testing.

11] Give call-to-action space in its presentation to stand out and convey your message

Don’t crowd  call-to-action text and other visuals can make it get lost. Instead make effective use of white space.

12] Prioritize different calls-to-action

Given the choice,  only use a single  call-to-action. When it’s necessary to add another CTA, then make sure visitors can tell which one is more important one based on the use of size, color and type.

Don’t guess. Run A/B tests to verify which is better. Also only test one element at a time. If you change the type size, color and images at the same time, you won’t know what worked and what didn’t.

13] Continue your “scent” onto your landing pages

Use consistent wording and branding from another platform to your own site or landing page. Make sure visitors see the connection between the initial content and the landing page.

Call-To-Action Checklist Conclusion

The bottom line:
Use a call-to-action in every element of your marketing to keep prospects engaged and connected so  you can track results.

Used effectively with related UTM tagging and systems to track results, a call-to-action helps improve your effectiveness to achieve your marketing goals.

Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen

 

---

Photo Credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-pointing-on-vote-signage-8846008/cc zero