You must have noticed phrases such as ‘Buy Now’, ‘Download Today’ or ‘Sign Up’ on various blogs, websites, social media platforms and even in emails. They are nothing but ‘Call to Action'(CTA).
What is a CTA?
A Call to Action is a clickable prompt/command in the form of a short text or graphic urging visitors to take a particular action immediately. These actions could be for the following purposes:
- Sign up for the membership/subscription of a newsletter, blog or emails
- Request a product demo or a quote
- Download an e-book, case study or white paper
- Add to the wishlist
- Add to the cart
- Checkout
- Avail a discount coupon or latest deals
- Join a webinar
- Share on the social media
While there is no right or wrong elements is the design or placement of CTAs, the brightly coloured buttons with less than five words script highlighting clear value proposition and in large font sized placed at noticeable position on the page make effective CTAs.
The typical Call to Action phrases are:
- Call
- Subscribe
- Sign-Up
- Download
- Click here for
- Register
- Follow
- Donate
- Buy
- Order
- Share
Why a Call to Action is important?
Simply said, CTAs create a sense of urgency among the visitors and elicits the desired action quickly. It gives a push to the visitors to take the next step in the sales funnel, so that they don’t leave the website without taking an action in your favour. CTAs are short, sweet and brilliant visual marketing pitches that increase the possibility of lead conversions.
Best Examples of CTAs
You will find CTAs on every website. But, there are a few ones which have got just the right recipe for success. Let’s take a look.
- Dropbox
Simple and clear – the CTA button of Dropbox does away with a fancy design and makes a brilliant use of negative space. It is aligned with its brand colour blue and stands out noticeably against the white background for easy identification.
- Netflix
Netflix has a very power-packed Call to Action. It concisely describes its two advantages – watch anywhere and cancel anywhere. Then, it persuades the visitors to experience its services through a free monthly trial. Who wouldn’t want to sign up? Note that CTA button colour is similar to the brand colour.
- Join Me
In bright orange and green against black background, the two CTAs on the home page of Join Me definitely stand out for both category of visitors – hosts and attendees. No trouble of browsing endlessly to find what you need. One click and visitors can get started immediately.
- Aquaspresso
The CTA prompt on Aquaspresso blog page is enticing. It subtly drops a hint to its visitors that if they miss today’s deal, they might lose something good. The psychological triggers work well, making visitors click. Aquaspresso sends them deals through an email id request, which is absolutely an amazing way of lead generation.
- Oculus
This CTA has everything going for it perfectly – the colour scheme, font size, value proposition message and principle of scarcity. The page focuses exclusively on the product summarizing discount offer and validity period in bold fonts. And, see how the CTA button ‘Add to Cart’ is positioned right in the center of the screen in a striking blue colour. CTA is calling out to the buyers to hurry or else they will regret.
- WordStream
Some CTAs are vague in the message ‘Download Now’ or ‘Contact Us’. The visitor doesn’t know what to expect. However, WordStream delivers a specific and more compelling message ‘Get your free report today’. It doesn’t leave any room for ambiguity.
- Ugmonk
Ugmonk is a smart example of exit CTAs. Usually, you see CTAs in the first leg of journey of the visitor or buyer. An exit CTAs warns them whether they really want to leave the page. According to a study, online customers spend an average of just 4 minutes per session indicating that there are very few users which can be converted during their first time visit. Ugmonk’s exit CTA highlights the discount offer the customers will miss if they discontinue the session. The ‘Yes Please’ button offering a discount coupon in bright green grabs attention one more time. The ‘No Thanks’ button is in pale grey colour to keep it less noticeable. The CTA gives its customers a temptation to explore more in lieu of discounts.
The effectiveness of CTAs in your marketing strategy should not be overlooked. If used correctly, it can yield amazing results in conversions.
