Your website should have a way for visitors to subscribe to your mailing list, a “donate now” button, a facebook “like” button, etc. But just because you have these features doesn’t mean anyone is going to use them. The key is to create valuable content that leads people deeper into your site where they are more likely to engage directly with your organization. Once the visitor is engaged, then it’s time to use a “call to action“.
Simply put, a call to action is a way to encourage your visitors to take a specific action based on a specific incentive. There are many ways to use a call to action.
The above graphic shows three popular calls to action:
- Give your visitor an incentive to act. An exclusive offer is a straight forward way to encourage people to take action.
- “Hurry up, there going fast.” This is a common technique that is often misused. So, if you are going to use scarcity as a call to action – be truthful. There is no easier way to loose the trust of a potential supporter than to tell them the “sale ends tomorrow” for multiple days in a row.
- If you are providing quality content then this call to action works wonderfully. Just be sure that when your visitor “clicks” for more information, that you are doing just that – giving them more quality information. Of course, the page they land on can also include a new call to action. For example, a reason to subscribe to your newsletter. (Note: there are actually two calls to action used in this one. If you know what the other one is – share it with us in a comment below.)
If you want more information on how to use calls to action check out these resources:
- 10 Best Practices to Optimize the Language of Your Calls-to-Action
- 10 techniques for an effective “call to action”
- How to Craft Your Nonprofit Call to Action: Why me? Why now? What for?
And here is an another resource from HubSpot:
Well, I hope this has been helpful. Don’t be afraid to be creative with your calls to action. Just be sure to be sincere.
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