Is lead generation from your digital marketing efforts starting to stall out? The problem might be your calls to action. A compelling call to action (CTA) motivates your audience to take steps to become leads. Without an effective one, your campaigns can fall flat.
Today’s audiences want more than a basic “Submit” or “Sign Up” button. So the digital marketing experts at Forge Apollo have compiled our best practices for lead-generating CTAs and some examples to get you started.
What is a CTA?
A call to action, or CTA, is a piece of text or content that directs people to take the desired action. For example, a button that says “book an appointment” on a service website leads visitors to do the desired act of booking an appointment for the service.
CTAs come in many different forms. Link text within a sentence, create an image of an offer, add a button to a webpage, or ask viewers to take action at the end of a video.
But how do you create a CTA that your audience won’t ignore?
How to Write a Clickable CTA
Emails with a single, clear call to action saw 371% more conversions than emails with multiple CTAs. So, audiences respond to clear, concise directions.
When considering CTAs for lead generation, keep it simple and compelling. Not only are you asking someone to take action, but that action involves sharing personal information in an era overloaded with spam.
How can your CTAs encourage visitors, viewers, and readers to share their contact info?
- Action verbs – “Download My Free Guide” is more straightforward than “Want a Free Guide?”
- Relevant placement – A button to download an email template on a page about new websites wouldn’t make sense, for example.
- Urgency – Instead of “Download,” try “Download Now” or “Download Limited Time Free Offer.”
- Short Phrases – Don’t get too wordy. Hold people’s attention with a short phrase under ten words.
- Clear Value – Make your value proposition clear in your CTA so your audience knows why they should convert.
The most critical factor for high-quality CTAs? Always be testing!
Try different phrasing, placements, colors, types, etc., to find what performs the best. Focus on one aspect at a time when testing so you know what made the difference.
Here are some examples to help you get started!
Creative Call to Action Examples to Generate Leads
Personalized Content
People respond to content personalized to them and their buyer’s journey. HubSpot found that their smart, personalized CTAs convert 202% better than standard CTAs.
HubSpot’s tool allows you to personalize CTAs across website content. For example, if someone visits a window replacement website for the first time, you could serve them a CTA to take a quiz to see if they need replacement windows. But if they visit again, you could send them one to book an appointment.
Visualize with Video
Enhance your landing pages with videos showcasing your products or services. Landing pages with video have 80% higher conversions than those without video.
For example, this video for a resort shows off the vacation experience a person could have at the resort with the CTA to “Find Your Vacation Mode.”
Want to enhance your landing pages with videos? The video production experts at Forge Apollo can help create powerful video CTAs for your business.
Showcase Value Offer
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but many people overlook it. Anywhere people click to perform an action, use the terminology of the value they’re going to get.
For example, on a form to request a marketing strategy audit, use the phrase “Optimize My Marketing Strategy” instead of “submit.”
Or, to download a guide on evaluating a home’s energy efficiency, use “Get My Energy Audit Guide” or “Get My Guide to Lower Energy Bills.”
Ask yourself what value performing that action will give them, and use that as your copy.
If copywriting seems outside your comfort zone, or if you’d like to produce some lead magnets to offer for download on your website, the experienced content writers at Forge Apollo are happy to help.
Refresh the Basics with Creative Copy
If you’re not ready to overhaul your call-to-action strategy, that’s okay. These are some easy tweaks to make your existing CTAs more effective.
- Instead of Sign Up:
- Sign Up Now
- Sign Up for Free
- Join Us Today
- Get Started Now
- I’m In!
- Count me in!
- Let’s do this!
- Instead of Sign Up or Submit for a free offer:
- Try it Free
- Claim My Free ___
- Claim this Limited-Time Offer
- Claim Your Free _____
- Get Started Free
- Explore ____ for Free
- Claim __ Free Months of ____
- Instead of Learn More:
- Explore the Options
- Explore the Features
- Explore the Collection
- See the Collection
- Discover the Options
- Build Your _______
- Choose Your ______
- Instead of Download:
- Download My ____ Now
- Download My Free _____
- Get Your Free _____
- Instead of Submit on appointment request forms:
- Get Started
- Book My Appointment
- Get Started With My ____ Project
- Start my Project
- Instead of Register:
- Save my Spot
- Save my Seat
Create Powerful CTAs with an Experienced Philadelphia Marketing Agency
If your lead generation efforts are slowing down, changing your CTAs might be the answer. Driving action with compelling copy is the heart of digital marketing. So, it’s time to let go of average phrases that fall flat. Boost your lead generation today. Contact Forge Apollo to create a marketing strategy that inspires action.
