Effective Copywriting: Call to Action

Effective copywriting isn’t only about stringing words together so that they’re easy to understand and sound nice - it’s also about including a call to action.



A call to action is an industry term that essentially describes a phrase or two on how your reader can further acquire or maintain contact beyond what they’ve already viewed on your website. It can be in a single sentence, telling the reader to contact your company through a phone number or email address. It may also be a paragraph detailing the steps of how to make a purchase online. You’ve probably read such things as "call today", "contact us by filling out this form" or "click here". These are all examples of call to action. Basically, anything that keeps your reader’s attention and tells them what to do next. You probably want them to call you, drop by your bricks and mortar location (if you have one) or buy something from you - whatever you want them to do, the instructions you give your reader is the call to action.



Professional Toronto online copywriting services understand the importance of calls to action and make sure that whatever is written features 5 key traits. The calls to action must be:



1. Concrete. The last thing you want to do is be vague when you’re telling your readers what to do. Your readers are busy (not to mention impatient) and don’t have time to try to figure out what you’re trying to say. Give specific details, which they can react to quickly and more easily. Here’s an example: Call us at 555-5555 anytime from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday.



2. Easy to understand. Although you don’t want to talk down to your readers, try to write at the eighth grade level since it’s an average comprehension ability.



3. Benefits. By following the instructions you’ve given them, what will they get in return? For example: For your free brochure, call us at 555-5555.



4. Write in the imperative. The imperative form is easier to understand. Don’t know what the imperative is? It’s a sentence that doesn’t have a subject since it’s always you. Notice that we don’t say "you call us"? By removing the "you", the sentence becomes imperative and an order. By using the imperative, the call to action instantly connects the reader and consequently demands their response.



5. Clearly visible. Don’t hide your call to action. Place it in an obvious and logical location, in emphasized font (if possible) and not obscured by images or other copy. That way, the reader will be able to see it and respond faster, even if they’ve just returned to your site after doing something else.



By making sure your call to action features these 5 traits, your copywriting will result in far more return.



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