The Nitty Gritty of a Great Call to Action

As smart as humans are - we still need to be told where to go, what to do and how to do it. Our website is no different. We need to tell our visitors what their next step should be.

By Lori Lyons

All businesses want more leads they can turn into clients and into bottom line profits - right? Your website can do this for you by turning visitors to your site into bona fide prospects. Wait - how? Simply by adding or optimizing a great call to action on your website.

As smart as humans are - we still need to be told where to go, what to do and how to do it. Our website is no different. We need to tell our visitors what their next step should be.

So what - exactly - is a Call to Action? A Call to Action - or CTA - is a request for the reader or listener to take another step - to actually do something that leads this person - in the case of marketing - to become a prospect then client. Contact Now, Click Here, Buy Now, Subscribe are all examples of a typical CTA.

Have a Clear Call to Action (CTA)

The simplest CTA is usually the Contact Us form. An unscientific guestimate says that 99.9% of websites have a contact form of some sort or another. To make this into a true “lead gen” action, simply have a button on each page of your website that says “Contact Us” and then link to your contact form. That’s it… you’ve got a lead generating call to action.

Just a note about your Contact Form - make it simple. If it’s not simple and you use this form as a means to qualify your prospect, you may be limiting your business growth. Just ask for name, phone, email and a message. Make them required if you must. I’ve seen several companies ask “Do you have XXX amount to budgeted for whatever I’m selling?” if you have this type of question on your form - here’s why you may not want to include it:

If they do not, or haven’t thought about the amount budgeted, they are ONLY making a decision based on cost.

They are not considering the value of the benefits they will receive by working with you.

They are not receiving a personal consultation with you or a member of your team that can ask the real qualifying questions.

How many times have you purchased a product or service that you thought would be too expensive but ended up seeing the additional value in the additional cost? Let the prospect (and you) make a decision based on value not dollars. You know the questions to ask to weed out tire kickers.

(FYI - This is an okay question to ask on a contact form - how did you hear about us? I’ll let you do that! This question will give you a bit of a head start on qualifying. Warm referral lead, click from a google ad? Big difference.)

(Hint- test your contact form occasionally to make sure it’s working and doing what you need it to do - especially make sure you are receiving them!)

Having a prospect contact you immediately is ideal but how many times does that happen? More often than not, you have to lead them and drive them to an action with content and specific next steps to take.

Let’s look at what makes a good call to action - and an amazing lead generation action for your website.

Writing a Great Call to Action A great call to action has 3 components.

It must be non-threatening and no obligation. (Your visitor is not giving up their first born, a pint of blood and/or their right hand when they sign up.)

A sense of urgency. This offer will explode and be gone forever in the next 30 seconds if you don’t (insert action) NOW! Offering an expiration date of consequence of waiting will spur a decision to take action. No one wants to be left behind… do they?

An action (it IS a call to action after all!) What do you want the visitor to do? Download a checklist? Schedule an appointment? Fly to the moon? Contact you?

A last thought about a Call to Action - make sure it’s on EVERY PAGE and POST (Blog.) A simple “email me” is just not enough.

How to start? First, finish Success Champions magazine, then immediately make a CTA audit on your website. Make sure that your CTA’s are clear and easy to find. If not, here’s your homework. Start working on your CTA’s now. Track to see the difference and the increase in your bottom line. Amazing right!

Lori is, ironically, a non technical person in a technical world. As a marketing strategist and owner of a website design company, Lori has over 25 years as an entrepreneur and marketer. Her program, Make Your Marketing Simple, helps confused Encore Entrepreneurs navigate today’s marketing and technical maze. She uses simple terms and explains strategies in a way that makes sense. She is currently writing a book for Encore Entrepreneurs that will help them to profit from their experience. Lori lives in Atlanta with her husband and son. She loves her Atlanta Braves baseball, any football game that is playing on TV and Angel’s Envy bourbon.