Power up your engagement with calls to action

My new niche website has been growing slowly over the last three weeks and slowly gaining visitors but one thing that hasn't been growing is the number of sign ups to my 'newsletter',

Out of all the visitors to the site, only one person has signed up.

I decided to find out what I could do to improve this rather disappointing sign-up rate by investigating the effectiveness of my calls to action.

The reason people aren't signing up

Based upon my findings, the short answer is, "why should they?"

My website has no clearly defined enticement for signing up for my newsletter. There's no explanatory text to say what will be in the newsletter or even how frequently it will be sent.

Even the form itself is well-designed to fit into the website - in other words, it's not very obvious.

It's very clear that I need to work on my call to action.

I'm willing to bet that many of you are in the same position.

What is a call to action?

A call to action is something that invites (or demands) the reader to do something. It might be to leave a comment, subscribe to a newsletter or download a free product.

It's usually a button but it can be a link, a box-out or even an image. What matters is how effective the call to action (or CTA) is at getting your visitors to take the desired action on your website.

Five features successful CTAs have in common

Based on my research there are five common features that apply to all effective CTAs. I'll summarize them here before explaining them in a little more detail.

1. The action expected must be clear
2. They stand out from the page
3. They are positioned close to the fold or within content
4. There is a clear benefit in taking the action
5. The CTA text begins with a verb
   

The action expected must be clear

I've seen so many forms where I've had to fill them in about three different times because it's not been clear which fields are required and which fields are just a cynical attempt to get more info from me. Yes, I really am that paranoid that I avoid giving information that I don't have to. :)

If a form field is required, it should be indicated as such.

If you expect the user to click a button to submit the form, that should be super obvious too. Although minimalist buttons might look cool on your website, if it's not obvious how to submit a form, many users never will.

They stand out from the page

A call to action isn't much of a call if the reader never notices it. Make it big, make it bold and make it attractive. This is one of the mistakes I've made. My subscription form stylishly matches the rest of the web-site... so it doesn't stand out at all.

Please note that I'm not suggesting flashing images and garish colors but you can roll out a color set especially for your CTAs that still match your website's color palette.

They should be placed close to the page fold or within content

It used to be believed that an effective call to action should be visible above the fold - the area that is visible when the page has loaded, without the user needing to scroll.

More recently this thinking has been challenged with some marketing experts suggesting that placing the CTA just below the fold. That way it's one of the first things your user sees as they scroll up (and bear in mind a good CTA should stand out from the page).

Other good places for calls to action is in the middle of interesting content. You've probably seen them on good blogs: "Are you enjoying this post? Subscribe now so you don't miss future posts!"

The benefit must be clear

If the user is going to do anything on your website, they need to know that it will benefit them in some way. You need to be able to tell them, in a very small space, what they will get out of clicking the button, giving you their email address or texting a mobile phone number.

Thanks to recent, well-reported data breaches, people are much more wary about giving up their personal information so you need to give them a good reason to, if that's what you're after.

Even getting them to click on an internal link needs to be lured with a good reason.

For example, on a post that mentions the Widget 5000 as one of five best widgets: "Click here to read our review of the Widget 5000"

If the user is interested in buying a widget, it makes sense to read a more detailed review when it's offered to them, right?

The CTA text must begin with a verb

This is, apparently, an old marketing trick. By starting the call to action with a verb, you are queuing up a desire to do something in the reader's mind. Remember, a verb is a "doing word". Some examples include:

• Subscribe now to receive your FREE guide
• Click here to read our detailed review
• Request a brochure
• Call us now on 01234 1234 123
  

Conclusion

If your readers can't easily see your call to action, they're not going to click on it.

Look at your website now and be honest with yourself - is it obvious what (if any) actions your visitors need to take? Are you:

• Inviting them to subscribe to a newsletter?
• Asking them to leave a comment?
• Recommending that they click on an internal link?
  

Getting the user to take action is called engagement and engagement is important because when a user interacts with a website, they are more likely to remember it (especially when they start receiving your newsletters). :)

---

Leave a comment below if you have any thoughts or ideas about this article!