How to Create a Super Call-to-Action: 3 C’s

In direct response marketing, the call-to-action (aka CTA) is really where the rubber meets the road.  It’s the message you use to spur your audience to ‘do the deal’ – mail in an order form, go to a store, ‘call now’ or click through.

I’ve been around the direct marketing block a few times, and over the years I seem to have developed a kind of call-to-action radar — I’m constantly noticing and evaluating CTAs that I run across (they’re everywhere!).  Naturally, I get a lot of practice in my role here at HF Direct, particularly in creating online CTAs.  Here are 3 handy tips as well as links to resources that should be helpful when you’re crafting your next online CTA.

The 3 C’s for a Super Call-to-Action:

Be Concise: Today’s online user is more surgical, focused and web-savvy than the ‘wandering surfer’ of yesteryear, so precision and clarity is more important than ever.  Think ‘pithy’ more than ‘pretty’.

Be Contextual: Put some thought into choosing the right ‘action verb’ for the situation – what’s the verb that best describes the behavior you’re trying to entice?  For instance, don’t just slap a ‘submit’ button on the bottom of an online form if a more appropriate descriptor applies, such as order, subscribe, get, go, sign up, register, etc.

Being contextual also means getting into the mindset of your audience.  Are there particular hurdles that your audience needs help getting over, or strong offer elements that would help close the deal?  Maybe your CTA needs to address those with ‘kickers’ like: Free Trial!, Intro Price, We won’t sell/rent/share your info, the best [widget] for [product promise], and so on…  (See links to the resources listed below for some great examples of CTAs that incorporate ‘kickers’.)

Be Conspicuous: Use size, color, shape and positioning on the page to make sure that your CTA is absolutely un-missable.

Remember these essential 3 C’s the next time you’re creating a call-to-action and you’ll be off to a good start.  And if you can’t decide which CTA will generate the best results, do an A/B test to find out.  Even seemingly inconsequential tweaks can lead to solid incremental gains.  There are tons of case studies available online where you’ll find ideas on what to test and what works.

Check out these links for Call-to-Action examples and best practices:

Smashing Magazine: CTA examples
Effective CTA –  10 techniques
Best practices from D-Lists
Guidelines and dozens of tactics from Hongkiat

Do you have CTA tips or results you can share?  Please do tell – we love this stuff!