Have you ever analyzed the call to action (CTA) in your marketing copies? If not, it’s high time to focus on building good quality CTAs for your business to lock the sales! A call to action (CTA) should be eye-catching, illustrative, concise, and most importantly, persuasive! It should attract visitors and compel the users to finally make the purchase or subscribe to your services! However, mastering the art of creating effective CTAs is definitely challenging.
Hence, today we have accumulated some amazing examples of the best and the most engaging call to action used by different businesses. These will give you a better insight into how to get your way through a highly converting CTA for your business! Thus, without any further ado, let’s start with the first CTA for your business!
What is a Call to Action (CTA)?
A call to action is simply an invitation for the visitors to take the desired action in favor of the brand or business. You can often find CTAs mostly in blog posts, videos, homepages, etc. It is subtly market their services and nudge viewers to take action accordingly.
The CTAs can be focused on different actions such as browsing more products on the website, making a purchase, subscribing to their email list, and so much more. Ultimately, all comes down to guiding your prospects through the buyer’s journey to convert more sales.
How Do You Write a Call to Action?
Your CTA should be designed as per your target audience and your marketing goal. For starters, you need to define your goal of creating the CTA. here are some of the common examples of goals of businesses that use CTA:
- Increase subscriptions
- Boost sales
- Direct readers to a landing page or another homepage
- Move readers to another content
And so much more.
Once you define your goal, you can easily design the best call to action using good brief and strong verbs.
Your CTA should speak directly to the viewers. A mere Click Here is no more effective since it cannot impact the viewer’s minds and is not persuasive enough. Hence, this is precisely why you should create CTAs directed towards your marketing goal, such as:
Discover your best life
Get rid of all your distractions STARTING TODAY.
Join our community
Book your next staycation
Here’s the first example of a very effective CTA from NPR.
Starting from the top of the screen with a bright red Donate CTA button which compels users to donate since NPR is supported by their listeners. Next, they also have a shop that they have added right at the top of the screen as the NPR shop is also directed towards more sales and donations.
Traditional Call to Action Examples
CTAs have been the hype for decades. Right from the days of the TV ads, CTA s have been all over the place, especially in the magazines of those days. Most of the magazines you can find of those times will have CTAs encouraging readers to either start or renew their monthly or annual subscriptions! Here is more for you:
- Outside Magazine
Discover the exciting world outside. Subscribe today!
- Harpers Magazine
May I send you a free copy? There is no obligation attached to my offerโฆ Please let me know if you’ll accept my offer by January 31.
And the list is endless. If you observe these CTAs, you can find a similar pattern here. All of the CTAs are designed for a specific action which is the subscription!
Some of the elements that are common in most of these examples are:
- A no-obligation statement that eliminates any chances of risk or investments in the first half. They focus on phrases like “try us if you like us,” etc., which allows people to first try out the trial and then decide accordingly.
- They have the same version for “Mail your acceptance card,” which is focused on directing readers to follow the guidelines.
- A hype or encouragement to respond to the ad right away and eliminate any chances of waiting for that may make them lose the deal.
Traditional Techniques for Digital Formats
Now that we have discussed a few CTA examples in print ads let’s check out how it gets implemented into the Digital campaigns. The “mail the enclosed card” element in digital campaigns is converted to a link or button that directs the viewers. Let’s understand this by analyzing a few examples of CTAs from the best businesses worldwide.
Dropbox
Dropbox has a very simple page with very prominent CTAs such as “Try it for free,” “No Credit Card Needed,” “Purchase Now,” etc., which is very effective to drive more signups on Dropbox. Again, notice that the CTAs are placed at different background colors to prevent blending with the homepage and stand out and gain more attention from the viewer.
OfficeVibe
Like Dropbox, the main CTA on the homepage of OfficeVibe is about the “No credit card required” and “Get started free,” which is mentioned in different contrasting colors to grab more attention from the viewer.
You can also find a pop-up right at the bottom of the screen while you visit their homepage, which nudges viewers to take up a quick quiz to understand the main priority of their team. When you click on the specific link, you will be redirected to a different page that asks you for your contact details, such as Name and Email address that will be later used for their remarketing efforts, resulting in another excellent CTA!
Lastly, they have a CTA for viewers to subscribe to their email newsletters at the end of the page. Even though the CTA is very simple, it can sometimes be the only nudge the visitors need to finally give away their information.
Square
Another very simple yet effective CTA is the homepage of Square. They have a simple “Get Started” CTA button, which is very prominent and stands out from the rest of the elements on the home page.
Prezi
Prezi has multiple CTAs placed very strategically throughout their homepage. They have a very simple homepage layout and design wherein the first CTA – Sign Up is placed right at the middle of the screen with a distinct color. Next, when you click on the Allow Camera button right above the picture, it directs you to use their service.
Lastly, they also have a Contact Sales team CTA right at the top of the screen to help viewers with their queries, if any. To sum up, they did not leave any stone unturned to convert their visitors into customers with the help of effective yet simple CTAs.
Bank of America
The homepage of Bank of America has multiple CTAs that are directed towards their cards and seasonal offers. You can also schedule an appointment which is also a CTA designed for the purchase of their cards and availing their offers.
Statefarm
Statefarm has a very simple CTA wherein they compel viewers to try out their services by getting a quote while adding a zip code to the nearest location. As simple as it may seem, a simple zip code can bring multiple opportunities for Statefarm to lock the deal with the prospect if it serves their benefit.
Sysco
Sysco has three strong CTAs, which are again very distinct from the overall homepage: Shop Now, Become a Member, Register Today, and Sign In, which together prompt the viewer to take action and use their services.
IMPACT Branding & Design
The IMPACT has a very compelling tagline and a small description that advises users to stop investing money in wasteful agencies that bring no ROI. Instead of directly pushing them to the purchase, they offer two different CTAs with Talk to an Advisor and Free training with IMPACT+, which help in effectively persuading the visitors to at least consider their brand and use them without jumping directly to the checkout page. Such CTAs help in building confidence and acting upon it in the later stages.
Spotify
Being one of the highly popular platforms worldwide, Spotify doesn’t need much recognition. The homepage starts with a Get Spotify Free CTA, which proceeds with asking for your information. After which, they nudge the viewers to opt for their Premium subscription via pop-ups or emails.
Barkbox
The two CTAs on the homepage of Barkbox are focused on making the viewers use their services directly. The CTAs, “Give a Gift,” and “Claim Offer’ is designed to act accordingly and visit their store for the purchase.
They also have a pop-up CTA wherein they offer a freebie with purchase. Such additional pop-up bonuses can act as that one extra push that can finally make them visit their website.
General Assembly
While opening the homepage of the General Assembly, the customer will find a pop-up with a powerful CTA “Subscribe + Save” while asking for their contact details.
Next, within the homepage, you can find two different CTAs: “Browse Courses” and “Get Started” for the viewers to start their buyer journey with the General Assembly. Also, on the top right corner, you can find a CTA called Find Your Course, which allows viewers to start browsing through their directory.
TeuxDeux
Another example of minimalist design is, TeuxDeux has two effective CTAs on the homepage. It has leveraged the color story and made the two CTAs” Try for free and Join Now for FRee highlighted to make it stand out.
Fabletics
Upon opening the homepage of Fabletics, the customer will find a pop-up CTA which nudges them to explore the products either at the men’s or women’s section directly.
Apart from this, they have leveraged different offers and discounts as their CTAs, which are highly persuasive and have the potential to bring more CTRs than usual. The Selling Fast CTA right at the top corner is also a great move to bring a sense of urgency among the visitors about the limited stock.
Ashley Stewart
Again, when the customer opens the website of Ashley Stewart, they can find a powerful pop-up CTA of Sign Up paired with some irresistible offers running on their website.
Like Fabletics, they also have used multiple offers and discounts as CTAs. their current CTA, “It’s our 30th Birthday. Let’s celebrate You,” is again another very creative and effective CTA that can draw more traction to their sales rep!
Slack
Slack has a simple homepage with two CTA buttons: Try for Free and Sign Up with Google. These CTAs are powerful to get visitors started with Slack right when they enter the website.ย
They also have another CTA right at the top of the page; they have two more CTAs: Talk to Sales and Try for Free, which is again very persuasive for the viewers and helps them in the decision-making process. Either way, it has all the elements that can prevent visitors from leaving their website and checking out their competitors.
Cigna
Cigna has multiple CTAs on their homepage, and all of them are designed to prompt the visitor to use their services and get started with the journey. “Find a Doctor, Dentist or Facility” and “Activate my Cigna Account” are some of the powerful CTAs that are great for driving more conversions to their website.
Full Bundle
Full Bundle uses negative space for marketing its services. Their CTA is a white “Our Work,” which stands out from the usual CTAs. The CTA here is strategically chosen and placed since the core principle of this company is to build trust within their customers about their services.
Charity: Water
The main goal of Charity: Water is to persuade people into donating money for their cause. Since not everybody can pay via the same payment method, they have included multiple payment methods as their CTA. Either way, it is focused on maximizing the donations in whichever way possible.
What Makes a Good Call to Action?
Now that we have analyzed enough examples of the best CTAs of different businesses let’s understand what actually makes a good call to action. Your CTA should have the following three elements:
- A no-obligation statement
- A sense of urgency for responding immediately
- An updated version of the “mail your acceptance card.”
Such elements encourage visitors to act accordingly and seal the deals quickly without any second thoughts!
Call to Action in Writing: Copywriting Techniques for Effective CTAs
The general approach is to implement CTAs in writing. Here are five copywriting techniques that help in creating the best CTAs for your online campaigns.
Emphasize more on low-risk investments
Not everybody is ready for a long-term investment. Sometimes a free trial may not be enough to convert. Hence, in such cases, a low-risk investment such as the flexibility of canceling anytime after subscription like Netflix can be highly compelling and secure on the customer’s end. This will give a sense of assurance to the customer, and they can rely on your business without any worries.
Stay transparent
One of the effective ways to curate an effective CTA for your business is by being very transparent to your visitors. Apart from having the most appealing graphics and advertising strategies on your landing page, it should also clearly describe why they should take the specific action. Your landing page should be creative, attractive, and eye-catching for the visitors.
Of course, try to include as many action words in the copy. However, don’t make it too salesy or desperate. However, if you still end up adding more action words, then such descriptions can save you from embarrassment!
Highlight immediate benefits
Like we mentioned in our CTA examples, leverage the current discounts and offers running on your website for your CTA. Apart from discount codes and coupons, you can also offer them free downloadable resources, access to special tools, and other premium services of your business that have a massive potential of transforming your sales!
For example, Rascal Rides has a long list of blogs that can help readers with their biking experience, and all of it is for free! The only thing they need to do is add their email address on the space right below it, and they have access to fully free exclusive content from Rascal Rides.
Include secondary CTAs
There are many CTA examples we have discussed that consist of multiple CTAs. When you offer multiple options to your visitors, you have more scope of reaching the goal instead of just sticking to a single CTA.
You can start by advertising your offers and including free content and other exclusive freebies with the subscription. Either way, the key here is to bring multiple CTAs to a single landing page.
Establish credibility
While creating CTAs for your landing page, you need to acknowledge that a few of your target audience could be unfamiliar with your brand. Even if you are offering free resources and trials, you need to show your target audience why they should ever trust your business over your competitors. Hence, don’t forget to include your testimonials and reviews or some good metrics that your business has achieved in your CTA. This can help establish the business credibility and help them to trust your business for their needs.
How do You Know if Your CTA is Working Well?
Now that you know the steps to create an effective CTA for your business let’s understand how to test your CTA and know whether it is working well for your business. You can find multiple analysis tools that can help you with this. However, let’s understand a step by step process here:
Start with using heat maps and scroll maps to analyze how well your target audience responds to your CTAs. A heat map indicates how people are engaging and interacting with your CTA. The scroll map shows how far viewers scroll down the web page before they finally leave your website.
Alternatively, you can also use visit session recordings to get hold of these insights for your CTAs. It will show you a real-time analysis of the engagement in your web page and CTA.
Lastly, focus on rigorous A/B Testing. A/B Testing is currently an absolute necessity to ensure your CTA efforts are in the right direction. You can publish two or more versions of the same CTA, analyze which one works better than the rest, and invest more in the high-performing ones.
Conclusion
Even though marketing has evolved a lot over the past few years and new trends are emerging every day, the goal is still the same: Persuade prospects to convert. A strong CTA holds massive potential to make it a success in no time! Hence, businesses need to focus on creating effective CTAs and including it in different parts of the website. Remember. A good CTA should have a clear directive, be valuable to the audience, and be compelling enough for immediate action. With this blend, you can easily create the best CTA s for your business which can easily get your sales flowing effortlessly!