How to Write CTAs That People Want to Click
If you need to know how to write CTAs that people want to click on, then welcome to the club. We have cookies.
A CTA (call-to-action) is one of the most common pieces of marketing that you don’t think is marketing until you are in marketing.
And if that sentence was annoying to read, it was even more annoying to write because I know how painfully true it is.
Never once in all my years did I think for more than a handful of seconds about the CTA buttons and triggers that I would find all over the internet. Now, it’s all I can notice and think about when I get emails, see ads on Facebook, and when I read a great article.
But I think I’ve figured out (a bit) on how to write CTAs that are clickable. And the answer is going to have a lot to do with the word “flow.”
How to write CTAs that you don’t immediately gloss over
Here is the #1 mistake I have seen on who knows how many websites, social media posts, and articles:
All the CTAs are the same!
Don’t just say “click here” – please, I am begging you. 99.9% of people just gloss over the phrase “click here” because we have seen it for 30 years and it is nothing more than decoration at that point.
Here’s the thing: your CTAs aren’t decoration!
They should be helping you garner interest from prospective buyers and putting money in your pocket!
I have seen some CTAs that are just as bad, but I’ve always seen some (and clicked on some) that are absolute bangers. And if you want to know how to write CTAs that people want to click on, then you need to learn from some of the masters out there.
My favorite CTAs and WHY they work
There is no greater king of CTAs than Cole over at Honey Copy.
Click around on his website and you will start to see what I mean. Here’s why they work so well for him (just sign up for his emails to see how effective they really are for him – because he does not shy away from giving you the brutal truth and details):
- They are evocative – sometimes they are crass, sometimes cute, but always call you to some kind of emotional response
- They play on what is actually going on – a great many of his CTAs tie in directly with what the content is about and become a PART of the copy
- They align with the journey he is taking you on – the CTAs lead right into the headlines, subject lines, webpages, etc. so it feels like one cohesive journey
Cole is a master at his craft. But let’s dissect what he does in reverse order of how I mentioned them.
Write CTAs that align with the customer journey
Cole knows how to write CTAs that people love because he takes them on a journey.
These aren’t just CTAs to make you click only to take you to something irrelevant or to push a sale. They tie in directly with his copy and form a bridge between an email and a sales funnel or a sales funnel and a web page.
When your CTAs form a cohesive flow from one thing to the next to the next to the next…then it feels less obtrusive and encourages you to click on the next CTA because the last one worked out so well for you.
CTAs should flow with the content
I am giving myself a failing grade on this next topic. I am just as bad as the people I am about to complain about.
CTAs at the end because that’s where they always go is kinda dumb. But a CTA where you don’t necessarily expect it because it makes sense…that’s a lesson in how to write CTAs clickable that I wish I had learned far sooner.
Your CTA is just as much a part of your content and copy as the paragraph before it, the headline, or the pre-header text.
Sometimes a CTA should piss you off
Cole does not shy away from offending others…and, honestly, sometimes that’s what your CTA should do, too.
If your content and copy is about fighting climate change then a CTA that says, “Stop killing sea turtles and put your money where your mouth is” might be a little long…and maybe offensive…but it is emotional and drives you to follow through and click on the dang button.
Don’t be afraid for your CTA to be strange or atypical as long as it evokes some level of emotion from the reader.
How do I write better CTAs now?
One final piece of advice on how to write CTAs that don’t suck: make sure they match your flow.
Think through the entire process of the customer’s journey.
If they ever have to make a decision in the process, then you probably need some CTA to further educate them, point them to the next step in the process, or give them a chance to leave some feedback.
The standard practice of creating a landing page with ~500 words ending in a CTA doesn’t cut it anymore.
A great word that I heard from an advertiser once upon a time was this, “once the customer is aware of the funnel, the illusion is broken.”
More CTAs sprinkled throughout your flow to keep customers on their toes, in a way that is engaging and encouraging to their process, will help maintain the illusion that they aren’t in a funnel but simply researching.
Get creative with your CTAs
So get creative. Now that you know how to write CTAs people want to click, go back through all of your materials and funnels and make it make sense.
If you need another example of what I have been playing around with personally, then subscribe to my Stories From the Forge emails and play in that space. I’m taking a few pages from some great marketers books and mingling them around to see what happens.
Other than that, though, I love chatting with people and I don’t mind a random email once you convince me you aren’t trying to make a sale 😉
I like writing about loads of other topics on all things digital marketing and content marketing, so you’re always welcome to check that out, too.
As always, my friend, I deeply appreciate you!
