Call To Action: The One Thing Every Great Blog Post Needs (And How To Do It)

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The call-to-action or CTA is one of the most important parts of any great blog post, webpage or piece of digital content. It’s the pepper sauce to your steak, the macaroni to your cheese, and the salt to your vinegar. (No more food analogies, I promise)

Don’t close your next blog post without a strong call-to-action.

If you’re having trouble figuring out what works, here are 27 call-to-actions you can use for your next blog post, landing page or squeeze page. You can adapt these call-to-actions so they fit with your product, service or your latest blog post. Or you can write an even better call-to-action using the tips at the end of this post.

Let’s get started.

For Engagement

This CTA encourages readers to engage with your post or copy, share it with their followers or respond to you.

• Do you have a question about [insert the topic of your article]? Please let me know in the comments section below.
• If you enjoyed this post, please share it on Facebook/Twitter/Google+.
• Share your tips for [insert topic] in the comments sections below.
• Take just one of these tips and use it for your next project.
• Click here to get the goodies.

For Closing the Sale

This CTA tells readers to buy your product or service. You can increase sales by making readers, leads or customer feel like they will miss out if they don’t take action.

• Contact us now on [insert contact details]
• If you’d like to learn more about, please contact us on [insert contact details here].
• Get a call-back from our sales agent today.
• Start your free 30 day trial of [insert the name of your product/service].
• Join now and get immediate access to [insert details of your product or service]. This special offer ends in just seven days.

For Increasing Sign Ups to Your Email List

If you’re building an email list, this type of call-to-action gets readers to give you their email address and sign up today.

• Subscribe to our Insider List today and get your free [insert title of giveaway].
• Get immediate access now to all of our [insert description of your product/service/learning resources].
• Watch this free video/download this free resource to learn more about [insert topic here].
• Join over [insert the number of subscribers you have] today and get exclusive, free tips sent straight your inbox.
• Want to learn how to [insert a common customer problem]? Sign up now and get [insert details of your solution].

For An Event Or a Promotion

Are you running an event, a training course or a promotion? Tell your readers about it and how they can get involved. Make them feel like this is a one-time deal (it should be).

• Register now for [insert event details].
• Hurry! Get the [insert product/service] now before our prices go up.
• There’s only XXX days left till our [insert promotion details] ends. Sign up now before this [promotion] ends.
• Join our list and get exclusive details about [insert event here].
• We’re offering you exclusive access to [insert event]? Don’t miss out.

I Want To Write My Call-to-Action

Good decision. Templates like the above can save time, but nobody knows your business like you do. If you’re going to write a call-to-action, here are seven copywriting tips:

• Use active verbs. Power words like “Join”, “Buy” and “Subscribe” succeed because they make it clear what the reader should do next.
• Test and test again Try different call-to-actions on various pages and blog posts and, using analytics, see what performs best.
• Use buttons. These make a nice break from text and they’re easier to see. Alternatively, format your CTAs in bold or italics.
• Change the location of your call-to-actions. Tell readers to take action in the introduction in the sidebar or even in an (unobtrusive) pop-up.
• Think visual If you’re running a social media campaign, place CTAs in the images that you’re sharing.
• Make your reader or customer’s lives better You may be delighted that your product or service does X, Y and Z but your CTA needs to explain how it will make your reader or customer’s life better in someway.
• Bribe your reader They’re more likely to take action if you can incentivise your CTA with a free report, a discount, a giveaway or some other ethical bribe.

If you’d like to explore A/B testing or want more control over the look and feel of your CTAs, consider LeadPages. I use this service for my site, and it makes creating and testing call-to-actions for various landing pages relatively easy.

Time To Take Action

The next time you write a blog post, landing page or squeeze page, spend five minutes considering what action you want your readers and customers to take before you press publish.

• Should they buy now?
• Do you want them to join your email list?
• What information do you want from them?
• How can they contact you?
• What can they do to get your special offer?

You can use and adapt any of the call-to-actions in this blog post. You can write a CTA that’s relevant for your product, service or brand. Or (if you’re extra clever), you can study what your competitors are doing, and rework their CTAs for your business.

Whatever you decide, don’t let your readers go hungry (sorry!).

Do you have an example of an effective call-to-action? Share it with the readers of Tweak Your Biz in the comments section below.

Images: ”Modified one way road sign indicating Call to Action/ Shutterstock.com“

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