Remington BeggA call-to-action button, or CTA, is an instruction to your audience to provoke an immediate response, usually beginning with an imperative verb. CTAs have 
changed over the years to evolve with new marketing strategies, but the goal is still the same. Their design is to put the right message in front of the right people at the right time, turning a viewer into a lead. It’s critical as an inbound marketer that you learn to create these well. One of the best ways to learn what to do is to learn what NOT to do. As you start crafting your own CTAs, stay away from these common mistakes:
Not Giving Clear Directions.
This is the one of the worst mistakes your landing pages can make! Your viewers need clear, actionable verbs like “ Download” or “Subscribe” so they can fully commit to the next step. You can spend countless hours optimizing your website, blogging, and sharing on social media, but your effort is wasted if you don’t ask your readers to take specific action. Your job is to spell it out for them.They may come to your site, read your information, and never come back.
Being Too Forceful.
Some marketers take the opposite approach and apply tactics that scare away potential leads, like blocking the page’s content until someone fills out a popup. This bullying technique rarely works, and you will probably see little traffic or engagement on a page people can’t get to without giving away personal information.
Multiple CTAs.
What’s the one thing you want your readers to do after they read your content? When you have too many CTAs on your page, your readers become confused by the choices or, at the very least, not convinced to click on one. Pick one action you want your readers to take, and build your design around that. Don’t leave readers confused about what they’re supposed to do next.
Doesn’t Include a Benefit.
What’s the difference between “Download our eBook” and “Download our free eBook to Master Social Media”? In the second, the viewer knows why they should want to click on it. It will make them a master- and it’s free! Highlight exactly what your readers are going to receive when they take action. How will they benefit? If something is free to download or subscribe to, mention that immediately.
And of course, the biggest mistake of all…
No CTA at All.
One of the most common misunderstandings in inbound marketing is to assume people know what to do and forget the call to action. Do not force them to navigate your site to find what their next step should be; many will not do this, and your conversation rates will be non-existent. Give your readers an opportunity to subscribe, download, view, or click on exactly what you have prepared for them.
Every time a viewer reads your content and leaves without clicking on the CTA, you have lost a sales lead.
A great CTA may be the difference between a popular website bringing your company leads every day, or a website sitting out in cyberspace all alone. Make your CTAs easy to find and easy to act upon. If you give potential customers the right information and directions from the beginning, they’ll be armed with the knowledge and eagerness necessary to take the next step. And that’s a win for everyone!
Ready for more inbound marketing tips and tricks? To learn more about crafting the perfect CTA, download our free Inbound Marketing eBook:
