6 Call to Action Ideas You Can Steal

Writing a good call to action is essential to your sales page or landing page’s success – but finding the perfect CTA for your offer can be tough. Here’s some tips to keep in mind, as well as some ideas you can swipe for different scenarios.

With a good CTA, there’s a good chance you’ll increase your landing page conversions. Swipe some of these ideas for a quick boost of sales success, and don’t forget to split test to see which one is more effective!

But wait – what is a call to action (CTA)?

A call to action is an invitation for a user to do something. It’s a direct request for them to complete a task that you want them to do next – such as Buy Now, or Download the Guide.

Calls to action usually come at the end of a piece of persuasive writing or content. They should be clear, concise, and powerful, even if the copy before it isn’t a sales message. For example, on a blog post, you might have a CTA for readers to add a comment or sign up to your newsletter.

Basic calls to action

When you’re starting out, it’s a good idea to make your CTA simple and powerful to increase landing page conversions. Edit your CTA to be as short as possible while still getting the message across. For example:

Click Here to Download Your PDF Instantly —> Download Now

When you write a CTA for a landing page or sales page, think about what you want the reader to do next, immediately after reading your copy. What action do you want them to take? Use “power words” such as now and free to spark a sale.

Here’s some ideas:

• Buy Now
• Subscribe
• Join the Group
• Read More
• Learn More
• Download

Advanced calls to action

In actual fact, some of the most effective calls to action aren’t too short – but they are powerful and highly personalised, not only to the reader but to the offer itself.

Usually these kinds of calls to action focus not so much on the product you’re selling (e.g. Download, Read More, Subscribe) but rather the experience you want your audience to have. By making the call to action more inspiring than specific, you trigger the reader’s imagination and get them focusing on the benefits, rather than the features, they could enjoy.

With these types of CTA’s, you should use words such as journey, discover and indulge. Match the CTA to the tone of your copy – are you offering a luxury product which is a treat for the reader? Or is it more of an exciting voyage, even if the customer doesn’t need to leave their seat?

Here’s some examples of plain CTA’s, with some zhuzhed-up examples:

See More —> Discover the Range
Go —> Start Your Journey
Download —> Add to Your Collection
Buy Now —> Treat Yourself

Generally speaking, even though these CTA’s are more flowery and tailored to the specific product on offer, they do adhere to another marketing rule: the rule of positivity. This states that when you’re trying to elicit a positive action or feeling, you steer away from negative words.

This means that even if your CTA implies a benefit, such as “Say No to Weight Gain”, you should not use negative words. Instead, turn it positive, like “Say Yes to Weight Loss”. People are more likely to respond to positive affirmations, no matter the context.

Not only that, but it’s good practice to have only one call to action on the page. You can repeat it as many times as you like – such as having Sign Up buttons in multiple places – but don’t ask the reader to do multiple things at once. Clarity is important!

Examples of fantastic CTA’s

Now we’ve learned about calls to action and how they can increase conversions on sales and landing pages, let’s look at some in the wild. What’s working right now, for real businesses?

CanvasPop

On first glance, the call to action is in the Facebook ad button – Learn More. In some ways, CanvasPop were limited because they had to include this generic call to action button in their ad, but they’ve actually added a second, and way more effective CTA in the body copy. “Turn your favourite family photos into high quality canvas prints” is fairly long, but it gets the point across perfectly with key words that draw readers’ attention to what’s on offer.

Crazy Egg

This ad is promoting a free trial of Crazy Egg’s heatmap service. But by using a first person CTA, they make it seem like the hard work is already done – the user isn’t told to sign up, log in, or even give their email, they already have a heatmap. They may have to go through these steps, but the CTA makes it appear as if the benefits are instant.

AirBNB

Who doesn’t want to earn money? No one – and that’s the idea AirBNB cash in on to create this highly effective ad, which places the benefit front and center of its CTA. It uses a specific number, which is more persuasive than a rounded figure, and even includes a degree of personalisation. The “Miami” will change for users in different locations, making it hyper-personalised to their situation.

Manpack

This company sells razors, underwear, and condoms. Goods for men – which aren’t terribly exciting. So, the CTA of this ad uses targeted language and the image of a rugged lumberjack to make their goods seem more rough and ready. By using bold, simple phrasing in “Build a Manpack”, this company makes putting a gift set together sound as manly and aspirational as building a log cabin in the woods.

Contently

Contently is a content marketing platform that works with businesses to build strategies and put out marketing content. Its product may be words and posts, but its higher purpose is dialogue and communication – a value perfectly espoused in its friendly CTA, “Talk to us”. Instead of Submit or Send Enquiry, this easygoing button starts a conversation, and sets the tone for the service that you get.

Point Blank SEO

There’s only so many ways to say Sign Up, Submit or Go. That’s why Point Blank SEO decided to go full-on brand voice with their call to action for this landing page, and simply use “BE AWESOME” to entice readers to sign up. We all see so many landing pages that we recognise when we’re being asked to sign up to a newsletter, and further explanation is not needed. With the bold orange colours, friendly tone of voice and off-centre placement of the button itself, Point Blank SEO sets itself apart as anything but dry and boring.

What do you think of our list? Could you have come up with better CTA’s? Use the examples in this article to write your own, don’t forget that all-important split test – and leave a comment telling us how you got on!