How to Craft Your Call to Action (CTA)
Picture this: you’ve just read an awesome blog post on a website you’ve never been to before. Once you reach the end of the article, you close the tab, never to come across that website again.
Why didn’t you engage with the author if you liked their content so much? Chances are, you just weren’t thinking about it because you weren’t invited to engage in any way. That’s where a call to action (CTA) comes into play.
What is a Call to Action?
Put simply, a call to action is a statement that encourages your readers to do something. For example, your CTA may prompt them to click on a link, think about an issue, or talk about an issue. That’s all there is to it, but when there are so many things you’d like your readers to do, it can be hard to pinpoint which thing you want to focus on at the end of each article.
Let’s talk about how you can craft the best CTAs for your content. When you end your blog posts with one, you’re more likely to see people take actions that support your mission!
Determine Your Goals
What’s your organization working on right now? Are you trying to gain mailing list subscribers or social media followers? Are you trying to raise money? Do you want people to try out your new, life-changing product or service?
The first step to choosing a call to action is determining what you want to achieve. Your CTA will directly tie into your goals, so this step is important.
Determine Your “Why”
In half a sentence, why should your readers take action? Will they learn more about your cause? Will they gain something from it? Will they stop something from happening (or maybe help make it happen)?
If there’s no reason why your readers should take action, they’re not going to. A good CTA includes at least one reason why your readers should do what you want them to do.
Determine What You’ll Link It To
Imagine you’re asked to sign a petition, but the petition is nowhere to be found. It’s not in somebody’s hand. You’re not given a website link. It’s just…missing. At that point, it’s pointless to even ask you to sign that petition because they haven’t given you a way to do so.
Your call to action should include a link to a webpage that will help your readers do what you want them to do. If you want to raise money, include a link to your donation page. If you want them to follow you on Facebook, link your CTA to your Facebook page or group. Whatever you link to, make it easy for your readers to do something specific.
Can I Have More Than One Call to Action?
I recommend only having one CTA per blog post. However, it’s fine to have different CTAs for different articles. This is perfect for organizations with multiple goals.
It’s understandable if you don’t know how to write a call to action. After all, conveying urgency without sounding too pushy is a skill. I write blog posts that encourage readers to do something - without scaring them away. If you’ve come up with a few creative call to action phrases, but you’re not sure how to integrate them into your content, contact me to discuss how we can make it happen.