Call-to-Action Examples (With Helpful Tips for Writing Them)

Even with highly effective advertising or marketing materials, a brand can convince a buyer that its product is the best without actually making a sale. Without a strong call-to-action, a brand may not provide the crucial opportunity a consumer requires for taking action and making a purchase. Understanding what a call-to-action, or CTA, is and how it works to facilitate a purchase is essential for turning a brand's marketing efforts into sales success. In this article, we explain what a CTA is, provide several call-to-action examples, and offer CTA writing tips.

What is a call-to-action?

A call-to-action, or CTA, is a directive statement which marketers use to encourage, instruct, or prompt a consumer to take a desired action. Marketing and advertising materials are effective methods for brands to communicate with their target demographic, but the call-to-action is the opportunity they need for taking responsive action to a commercial offering. For example, a digital ad on a social media site may promote an online accounting service, but the call to action is the statement which tells the consumer to click the button which directs them to the site.

A good call-to-action is direct and suggests the incentivizing benefits of taking action. They also create a sense of immediacy and urgency in the need for taking action. Conversion is the process of turning an audience into consumers, and calls-to-action are crucial for facilitating this. Marketers often place a call-to-action in the following places:

• Text hyperlink: Click here to find out more!

• Headline: Become a better accountant today

• Sub-headings: Keep reading to find out how

• Buttons: Book Now

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Call-to-action examples

Here are a variety of helpful call-to-action examples to help you understand how they work to instigate consumer action:

Including the offer in the CTA

A common form of call-to-action is those which include the offer in the call to action itself. These CTAs direct the reader or audience to receive their offer, rather than instructing them to take smaller actions to get it. Instead of verbally directing consumers to click a button and follow steps to claim an offer, these CTAs simply label a button they provide with a call-to-action to benefit from clicking it. This type of call-to-action can make it seem like attaining an offering is easier than it may be. Here are some examples of this type of CTA:

• Get 20% off

• Access special offers

• Learn more

Focusing on immediacy

Many calls-to-action use immediacy to create a sense of urgency in directing recipients to take an action. Immediacy implies that an ad reader has no time to waste if they want to claim the benefits outlined by the advertisement. This can be highly effective for conversion, and this form of CTA can be more motivating than others, although they're best for campaigns where time is a factor. Here are some examples of this type of CTA:

• Click here to upgrade your desktop now!

• Improve your English TODAY

• Get our winter specials before it gets too cold!

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The benefit is the call-to-action

Some CTAs use the resulting benefit to the consumer as the call-to-action, also skipping other instructive steps. These focus on the reason why a consumer may want a product, discount, or service, rather than the offering. As with the offer-based CTAs, these make it seem like clicking the button is all that's required of the reader to achieve what they desire. It also directly uses the benefit as a motivator without focusing on other pre-requisites. Here are some examples of this type of CTA:

• Impress your friends now!

• Feel more confident than ever

• Taste the difference

Creative directives

Some of the most effective calls-to-action are those which take a creative approach to these directive statements. These often use nouns as verbs to create an original impact, or use humour to make their CTAs memorable. Some creative CTAs simpy find new ways to phrase familiar calls-to-action, or use an informal tone. Here are three examples of this type of CTA:

• Do numbers better with Maximus Accounting!

• Summer the most, with Reccs Sportswear!

• Take confidence for a test drive with Slimmerwear!

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Use emotive words

Using emotive words can be an effective way to make a call-to-action appealing or impactful to an audience. These words can evoke strong emotional connections with the offering and motivate consumers to take the required action. Emotive words can be any word which creates strong mental imagery or has a sensory affect. These can also make a call-to-action high-energy an attention-grabbing. Here are a few examples of this type of CTA:

• Conquer your tasks with one simple tool

• Vanquish the sleepies with FreshZap

• Create explosive workouts now!

Simple CTAs

Sometimes, the most effective CTAs are the simplest. In some cases, calls-to-action which are direct and concise provide a clearer directive for recipients. In marketing materials which comprise large amounts of supplementary information or content, a simple call-to-action can direct the reader without overwhelming them. Simple calls-to-action can also be more appropriate in formal industries such as finance, banking, or health care. Here are some examples of this type of CTA:

• See more

• Book your appointment

• Use code: SPECIALOFFERTIME

Secondary CTAs

Secondary calls-to-action are those which support the core CTA, which normally directs the reader to the primary action marketers want them to take. The primary call to action usually serves the central purpose of the marketing material, such as directing consumers to the website or making a purchase. Secondary CTAs are those which instruct recipients to take an action, but this is usually supplementary to the ad's purpose. Here are some examples of this type of CTA:

• Keep reading for more information

• Consider your last tax season

• Compare this offering with our competitors'

First-person CTAs

An effective strategy for making calls-to-action more personal and relatable is to write them in the first person. First-person CTAs can also make the reader feel more like they're in control. Here are some examples of this type of CTA:

• Show me more

• Sign me up

• Get me started

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Tips for writing a call-to-action

Here are some useful tips you can use when creating CTAs to make them more effective:

Use strong active verbs

You don't always require highly emotive verbs to give your CTA more impact. Using active verbs rather than passive verbs can make your calls-to-action stronger and make the reader feel like they have more power over their own decision-making. For instance, instructing a recipient to learn a new skill with your service is more effective than asking them to let you teach them a new skill.

Research and trial calls-to-action

Some CTAs work better for certain markets, on particular platforms, or to specific demographics, so conducting research on which calls-to-action work best for your offering can help you choose the most effective strategies. It can also help to trial different CTAs for the same campaign across short runs to evaluate which CTAs serve the offering best and appeal the most to consumers. This can also provide useful insight for future campaigns in those markets or platforms.

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Be original

Although it's not essential for every call-to-action to be unique, creating original CTAs when appropriate can more effectively attract the attention of readers, and potentially result in a higher conversion rate. Consider ways to combine different types of CTA to determine which styles may best instigate action from your target demographic. Using original calls-to-action can also make your marketing seem less sales-focussed and appeal more to advertisement-weary consumers.

CTA phrases for different industries

There are many verbs or phrases which marketers commonly use depending on their respective industries or the purpose or goal of their advertising materials. For instance, an e-commerce call-to-action may be quite different from those used in non-profit or news service correspondence or advertising. Here are a few common action verbs and phrases used in particular industries:

• Free giveaways: Get, score, take advantage of, claim, grab

• SaaS customer conversion: Subscribe, try, trial, sign up, get started

• Community or news: Sign up, share, check out, discover, subscribe, join, refer

• Ecommerce: Order, purchase, shop, buy, save, pick, add to cart, checkout

• Non-profit: Volunteer, support, donate, adopt, commit, give back

• Informational: Learn more, check out, swipe up/across, click here, continue