Apr

How to Write an Effective Call To Action

By Sid

B2B Call to Action In writing my last post, it occurred to me that B2B businesses and internet marketers alike can benefit from an expansion on my ideas about writing effective calls to action.

The call to action is what YOU do to engage with your web site visitor in an ongoing conversation. It’s the mechanism you use to turn a window shopper into a buyer.

The call to action is similar to the widow display on a store. It gets them “into the shop” so that you can start a conversation, learn more about what they want, and show them how they can fulfill their fantasies.

Once they’re inside, you’ll do all you can to give them a great experience. The thing you do FOR them after they first take action needs to be something they want, and something of value.

There’s something in this article for the B2B marketing VP, as well as the internet marketer…

The Elements of a Good Call To Action

Your call to action consists of three parts:

What you want them to do.
Why they should do it.
How they should do it.

For example, if you are an internet marketer with a web site all about dog training, then your call to action might read:

“Download this FREE report that reveals three simple ways you can get your dog to pick up his own poop. Just provide a valid email address below to get instant access.”

This tells them what to do, why they should do it (three simple ways), and how to do it.

Let’s say instead that you’re a B2B business. Your company sells management consulting services to process manufacturing companies. First, you’ll create something of value to your prospects and customers…

What are your customers’ biggest problems or concerns? How have you solved these problems? What innovative techniques or ideas have you used to solve their problems? What methodology or processes did you use?

After some analysis you discover that their biggest problem today is with their supply chain. Far too many of their suppliers are going out of business, and they are having a hard time keeping their parts and supplies inventories stocked.

From your experience, you know three amazing techniques they can use to improve their supply chain. So, you create a video (not slick, just some kind folks being helpful) that shows them what you did. You KNOW that they’ll love you for it because they’ll walk away with a better idea of what they can do on their own.

What you and I know is that most companies won’t have the bandwidth or expertise to implement your ideas, so of course they’ll call you to do it for them.

Your call to action might read like this:

“Get Instant Access to ‘Solving Recession-Based Supply Chain Woes’ and learn our top three techniques for virtually eliminating costly downtime due to unavailable or late-shipping supplies. Simply provide your name, phone number and email below to get instant access to this exclusive video.”

Again, it contains all three elements. I’d even include a compelling picture or image straight from the video. Often, it’s the image that first draws their attention. Then, they’ll read the words under the image to see what it’s about.

If you’ve hit the nail on the head with your report or video (it IS the problem they are facing), then the odds are very good (40% and up) that they’ll sign up. Now you have turned them into a web site visitor into a legitimate prospect.

Here are those three elements again: