What Is A CTA?
A CTA is an abbreviation for “call to action.”
It’s a term used in marketing that describes the part of your sales letter, email, page, blog post, and other content that you create that helps make the sale.
The CTA is the “call” you create for your audience to entice them to “take action.”
Some examples of actions you may want your audience to take:
- Download your Free opt-in such as an ebook.
- Subscribe to Your Newsletter
- Sign up for a Webinar
- Receive a Coupon
- Register for an Event
- Sign up for More Information
- Download a Checklist
- Buy Your Widget
- Download a Whitepaper
You can place a CTA wherever you like.
For example, subscribe HERE.
The rule of thumb is to list them in multiple places.
You might place a CTA at the end of your blog post, in multiple places on a sales page, at the end of your email, or even inside your whitepaper, eBook, or webinar.
CTAs Everywhere
You may have a CTA to sign up for a webinar, but inside the webinar, you may have a sign up for your six-week course. Inside your six-week course, you may have a CTA for your one-on-one coaching program. As you can see, the CTA can continue indefinitely if you have a better product to promote.
It can even be used in multiple places on a blog to help you increase your mailing list. For example, on this blog, you will notice a subscribe box on the sidebar of the website plus one listed above. You will also find another option to sign up below.
One CTA Per Item
The best thing to do is to only one have CTA per item. However, if needed you may include choices for the CTA as well. An example of this is choosing which l mailing list your reader is interested in.
You may also offer upsells and down sells within your CTA strategy.
[ctt template=”8″ link=”Rafd9″ via=”no” nofollow=”yes”]Your call to action should be direct, to the point, apparent at first glance, and apropos to the audience to be of any good.[/ctt]
Effective CTAs
The trick with calls to action is that you need to be very clear, eye-catching, and aligned with your audience’s buying stage.
If you try to get some of your audience to take a step that’s too far advanced for where they are in their decision-making process, you’ll have a poor conversion rate. But if you know your audience well, you’ll know exactly where and when to place your CTAs so that you can get good results.
Calls to action (CTAs) are more than a button that says, “buy now.”
An effective call to action will compel your audience to act on your call to do something.
Whatever the case, a call to action is a way to get your audience to take the next step toward becoming a customer.
For more Call To Action tips, be sure to sign up for the newsletter.
Update: All of the posts in the Call To Action series are now live. Check them out.
- What is a Call To Action?
- 8 Elements of A Great Call To Action
- CTA Sales Copy & Content Marketing
- Who Is Your Ideal Client? What Is Their Call To Action?
- Even More Tips To Create A Better Call to Action
In the meantime, please comment below with any questions or tips you may like to share.
44 thoughts on “What Is A CTA?”
Oh this is a wonderful post. I can’t tell you how many times I have forgotten to do this! No more though. For new bloggers it’s one of those blogging elements that are perplexing. You spelled it out clearly in a very helpful way … thanks 🙂
Thank you very much. I want to make these confusing terms and steps to a great blog accessible for all.
Hi Dr. Elise,
I need to use them a lot more. Great ideas on how to use a call to action. In the middle of a blog post and at the end. Starting to do so asap. Thanks for the brilliant ideas!
You are so welcome.
Good solid information this. I worked in digital marketing for years, a strong CTA is vital!
Thank you.
Hi Dr. Elise,
Call to action is a catchy term, isn’t it? Uh, that was a rather weak one…
Good advice and ideas. Especially about CTA’s need to be simple, direct and singular. Can’t confuse and get a positive response…
Edward
Exactly, confusion helps no one.
Hello Elise! I do agree that a CTA is a must! Without it people have no idea what you want them to do HUH?
Great share my friend! Chery :))
Exactly. Let’s make it easier.
this is intriguing. i’m working on a recipe ebook and this is something i need to look in to.
Yes, great thing to be sure to do. Offer several areas in your ebook for them to opt into your website. All my new ebooks do that and I even offer a bonus download.
Oh, great topic! My weekend project is a CTA for my FB page and while I’m comfortable in a traditional sales environment, social media is a different animal so I’m struggling a little. So far so good, but I look forward to learning more. Thanks!
It is my pleasure. As you practice this skill it will become much easier.
Hi Elise,
I have also blogged about this topic. I agree with all your tips. Off to stumble!
Janice
Wonderful. Thanks.
Some good advice here-I used to work in sales and marketing for radio stations and it was something we were always trying to educate our clients about.
Thank you, it really is important in all media.
A really useful guide to the benefits of the CTA!
Thank you.
Very good advice! Call to actions are such a great way to engage your audience. Sharing around. Thank you so much for bringing this post to the Hearth and Soul Link Party.
Thanks, they are super important. Plus I like your link party.
Thank you for the reminder to really get focused on my CTA game in my own business! So much to learn!
You’re welcome.
All great pointers & tips for CTA! I also tweeted this. Great and valuable info!
Thank you very much.
Including CTAs within blog posts is so important – I always include one in the middle and end. Everyone has a different style of doing it. Thanks so much for this very helpful information on CTAs.
Thank you for sharing how you do it.
I really need to work on developing CTA to engage readers more. I focus on food , fitness and finances and there is definitely a need. Thank you for sharing!
You can definitely do it.Just practice a bit and you will get the hang of it.
Very helpful. Thanks! Even when I think I’m familiar with a particular topic, I always find there’s more to learn.
Same for me. There is always more to learn.
Hi Elise,
This is a great article for many businesses to listen too! I’ve actually been on this topic with a company I’m currently working with explaining that there current videos are good for building rapport but not for creating a call to action. This message I eventually made clear by showing them a range of various videos related to their industry.
You have however highlighted something about CTA’s that I failed to explain and that’s how you can use one to lead on to another! Beautiful – I love it and will make a note to explain it to the company I’m currently working with 🙂
Thanks for another great read 😉
Richard, that is wonderful that I have helped you. I love that you used videos to make your point. That was brilliant.
CTA’s in promoting your business, product, or website are definitely essential. I have found useful using “Download” CTA’s in increasing my product’s sales.
Wonderful point. That does make a tremendous difference.
Yes, familiar with CTAs. I believe there is an art to CTAs, too. As you mentioned, they need to be compelling. Also, they should align with the reader’s wants or needs. Thanks Elise!
You got that right on all counts. This is such an important concept. That is why I am digging into it over several posts.
It’s so important to have a Call to Action. I explain this to so many of my web design clients. I’ll refer them to this post!
Thank you so much. That is much appreciated.
Hello Elise,
Good one over here 🙂
Indeed if one is running a blog then it is must that he should have action buttons on his space through which people can
call them out. If one is not including these CTA buttons on their page then they surely are missing a lot of thing and
they are not going to acheive for what they were into this business.
Yeah having to much CTA on the similar topic do get our visitors confused, so its better to have a single CTA per item
so that things could be clear for our visitors.
Thanks for the share.
Shantanu.
Right? If we tell people to do too many things we might as well have told them to do nothing at all.
Great Information.
Thanks for sharing this article.
Thank you.