{"id":3815,"date":"2015-06-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=3815"},"modified":"2015-06-22T17:37:52","modified_gmt":"2015-06-23T00:37:52","slug":"optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimizing Your CTA: Words Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes people just need to be told what to do. It\u2019s why stop signs scream “STOP”\u00a0and why grocery store sale items say \u201cas advertised\u201d or \u201cnew low price.\u201d When you need a person to take immediate action, design and color alone typically won\u2019t cut it.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why, if you\u2019re looking to increase conversions and optimize the Call To Action (CTA) button or link on your website, app, or email, you should evaluate the text that you have inside that button.<\/p>\n

CTAs play an integral role in creating conversions and, if you want people to take immediate action, you must make sure they tell people what to do.<\/p>\n

\"Girl<\/a><\/p>\n

What Is a CTA?<\/h2>\n

A\u00a0CTA is exactly what it sounds like: it genuinely calls people to take some type of action (or it should, at least). What action they take is up to you. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you want your (potential)\u00a0user to download a free trial of your software, install your app, buy your product or service, or even subscribe to your blog, your CTA should inspire him or her\u00a0to do just that.<\/p>\n

Your CTA should connect with users in the same way that you want your product to establish a connection with them. You might need to seduce<\/a>\u00a0customers with the right website copy, emails, and advertisements to establish a relationship because, after all, first impressions make a huge impact on people.<\/p>\n

The right CTA, however, will have them falling in love at first sight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"monetize<\/a><\/p>\n

Does It Cost a Lot to Implement?<\/h2>\n

A good CTA can substantially\u00a0increase conversions.<\/p>\n

It’s worth taking the time to truly optimize your Call to Action because even the slightest changes\u00a0can have an effect on whether someone decides to click. And the best part about it is that it doesn\u2019t cost a lot of money to implement or tweak.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we shared in a previous post<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook VP of Growth\u00a0Alex Schultz\u00a0revealed how\u00a0Hotmail (now Outlook) managed to achieve success despite not having a large budget.<\/p>\n

What was their strategy? They simply\u00a0added a link (CTA) at the bottom of every email that said \u201cSent from Hotmail. Get your free email here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not having a large budget isn\u2019t an excuse for a poor CTA.<\/p>\n

\"Optimizing<\/a><\/p>\n

Optimizing CTA Copy<\/h2>\n

Online marketers often consider the placement, color, and overall look of a CTA button or link, all of which are important. But the copy can easily end up overlooked, especially if you don\u2019t have a wordsmith on your team.<\/p>\n

Or hell, maybe you do<\/i> have a wordsmith on your team but your conversions still\u00a0aren\u2019t hitting the mark.\u00a0If that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s time to reexamine your CTA copy and make some positive changes.<\/p>\n

When updating your CTA copy, keep in mind the following tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Be Direct<\/h3>\n

Get to the point. People don\u2019t have the attention spans that they used to, thanks to the advent of new technology and wow, I think that cloud looks like a dog.<\/p>\n

But seriously, adults have about an 8-second attention span<\/a>, so if you don\u2019t connect with them quickly, you\u2019re not going to connect with them at all.<\/p>\n

Chhirp, which we highlighted when we discussed apps that are reviving the power of messaging<\/a>, appears to have an effective CTA.\u00a0The design is clean, the CTA is clear within the app, and the copy, \u201cTweet your voice, just like this,\u201d tells the user exactly what he or she\u00a0needs to do.<\/p>\n

\"Action<\/a><\/p>\n

Use Action Words<\/h3>\n

Action words will make you think about making a move, and if it looks like an attractive offer, you just might take it.<\/p>\n

If you tell someone to think about it, the sale is going on all month, they\u2019re not going to take action right then. If you instead advise someone to \u201cclick now for my free trial,\u201d that person doesn\u2019t know how long they have (and thus you have instilled in them the fear of missing out).<\/p>\n

Speak as the User<\/h3>\n

In the example above, they\u2019re also associating \u201cmy\u201d with ownership. Of course they want what\u2019s theirs. Don\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

Copyblogger wrote about why you should use the first person<\/a> and its wondrous powers, and you really should consider trying it out.<\/p>\n

Not every company uses first person for their CTAs (which may explain its effectiveness because it\u2019s exclusive), and it shouldn\u2019t necessarily be the golden rule. However, it has proven to be effective (more on that in just a bit), so it\u2019s certainly worth considering (and trying out) if you\u2019re having a problem with your current CTA copy.<\/p>\n

Think about your business and product\/service, and determine what would make the most sense to your target market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

K.I.S.S.<\/h3>\n

As in, Keep It Short and Simple<\/a>.\u00a0You don\u2019t need to create an incredibly long and convoluted CTA, but what you do say in your CTA matters. Keep it short<\/a> and make sure the copy makes sense to your user.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t want them to feel overwhelmed (such as by asking them to “join now” when they’ve only just met you<\/a>), and similarly, you don\u2019t want to lose their attention.<\/p>\n

Obviously, this can be difficult because you only have a few words to work with in your CTA, but consider your target audience and think about what they <\/i>would want.<\/p>\n

Take yourself out of your own shoes and instead image you\u00a0are\u00a0a prospective customer. What would you want? What would deter you?<\/p>\n

\"Testing\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Test It!<\/h2>\n

Once you\u2019ve decided to make some tweaks to the copy of your CTA, it\u2019s important that you test it out. After all, you want to make sure the changes you made didn\u2019t end up making things worse instead of better.<\/p>\n

There are a couple ways that you can test your CTA copy:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A\/B Testing<\/h3>\n

I mentioned earlier that Copyblogger found that using first person increased conversions for CTAs. Well, they discovered\u00a0that gem of wisdom through Unbounce<\/a>, which conducted an A\/B test of two different CTAs, one of which used first person.<\/p>\n

The CTA that used first person yielded a 90% increase in conversions<\/a>. Holy sh*t \u2014 that\u2019s a huge difference!<\/p>\n

A\/B testing can help you determine the best copy for your CTA by showing you, comparatively, the results of two different setups.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of software options that enable you to conduct A\/B testing, so pick the one that works best for your business. Some of our favorites include Google Analytics<\/a>, Optimizely<\/a>, KISSmetrics<\/a>\u00a0and Crazy Egg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Personas<\/h3>\n

Another way you can work on building a connection with users and improving your CTA conversions is by trying out your CTAs with personas.<\/p>\n

KISSMetrics co-founder Neil Patel<\/a> recommended this in his recent post on increasing conversions with copywriting<\/a> and it\u2019s a great way to get valuable knowledge and insight into your target market.<\/p>\n

Personas are essentially a mockup of your ideal user that you back up with interviews and opinions from real people. The approach allows you to get a genuine perspective on what your target users are looking for and what they care about.<\/p>\n

User testing is important<\/a> \u2014 whether you choose to compare CTAs with A\/B testing or employ personas to get a closer look at your target market\u2019s wants and needs, it\u2019s imperative that you think strategically about the changes you make.<\/p>\n

\"Connect<\/a><\/p>\n

Increase My Conversions? Sure!<\/h2>\n

At the close of business, you want to see your numbers increasing.<\/p>\n

By implementing these strategies, you should be able to make some small adjustments that can positively impact how users behave on your site, making your CTAs successful and your conversions plentiful.<\/p>\n

What changes have you made that have positively impacted your CTA conversions? Let us know by tweeting us at @ThinkApps<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Call To Action button on your website or app can play an integral role in conversions. To optimize your CTA, be sure to evaluate the text you place inside that button.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":4049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[287,79,284,285,286,44,174,64],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOptimizing Your Call to Action (CTA)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Call To Action button on your website or app plays an integral role in conversions. To optimize your CTA, evaluate the text you have inside that button.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Optimizing Your Call to Action (CTA)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Call To Action button on your website or app plays an integral role in conversions. To optimize your CTA, evaluate the text you have inside that button.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-22T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-23T00:37:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephanie Irvine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephanie Irvine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/\",\"name\":\"Optimizing Your Call to Action (CTA)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-22T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-23T00:37:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40d6d37a9582b663c7cf008a990a7377\"},\"description\":\"The Call To Action button on your website or app plays an integral role in conversions. To optimize your CTA, evaluate the text you have inside that button.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg\",\"width\":1279,\"height\":903,\"caption\":\"CTA feature\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Optimizing Your CTA: Words Matter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40d6d37a9582b663c7cf008a990a7377\",\"name\":\"Stephanie Irvine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949828f185502105c9c971bef0e10d8c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949828f185502105c9c971bef0e10d8c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Stephanie Irvine\"},\"description\":\"Stephanie Irvine is a freelance copywriter who writes compelling ad copy, witty blogs, and creative marketing content that drives traffic, increases engagement, and inspires action. She enjoys collaborating, keeping it simple, and getting things done. Irreverent and sometimes unfiltered, Stephanie a slice of the Midwest with home grown sass.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.copywritinganimal.com\",\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stephanieirvine\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/heystephanator\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/author\/stephanie-irvine\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Optimizing Your Call to Action (CTA)","description":"The Call To Action button on your website or app plays an integral role in conversions. To optimize your CTA, evaluate the text you have inside that button.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Optimizing Your Call to Action (CTA)","og_description":"The Call To Action button on your website or app plays an integral role in conversions. To optimize your CTA, evaluate the text you have inside that button.","og_url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/","og_site_name":"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more","article_published_time":"2015-06-22T17:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-23T00:37:52+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg"}],"author":"Stephanie Irvine","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephanie Irvine","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/","url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/","name":"Optimizing Your Call to Action (CTA)","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg","datePublished":"2015-06-22T17:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-23T00:37:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40d6d37a9582b663c7cf008a990a7377"},"description":"The Call To Action button on your website or app plays an integral role in conversions. To optimize your CTA, evaluate the text you have inside that button.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/23170000\/CTA-feature.jpg","width":1279,"height":903,"caption":"CTA feature"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/optimizing-your-cta-call-to-action\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Optimizing Your CTA: Words Matter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/","name":"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/40d6d37a9582b663c7cf008a990a7377","name":"Stephanie Irvine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949828f185502105c9c971bef0e10d8c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/949828f185502105c9c971bef0e10d8c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Stephanie Irvine"},"description":"Stephanie Irvine is a freelance copywriter who writes compelling ad copy, witty blogs, and creative marketing content that drives traffic, increases engagement, and inspires action. She enjoys collaborating, keeping it simple, and getting things done. Irreverent and sometimes unfiltered, Stephanie a slice of the Midwest with home grown sass.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.copywritinganimal.com","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stephanieirvine","https:\/\/x.com\/heystephanator"],"url":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/author\/stephanie-irvine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3815"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4072,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3815\/revisions\/4072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}