Designing the Perfect Call to Action

When using email to communicate with your readers, there are many ways to engage and Inspire. Imagery, text, offers, charts, and inks help differentiate your campaigns and pique subscribers' interest, but getting them to open your emal is only half the battle. The next step is to Inspire action through a compelling and powerful call to action (CTA) When it comes time to plan your next campaign. follow these tips to Incorporate action-Inspiring CTAS into your emails the right way (and avoid the wrong way). THE OFFER THEY CAN'T REFUSE I DOS AND DON' TS FOR A SUCCESSFUL CALL TO ACTION GETTING THE CLICK A really great CTA will balance your goals alongside the needs of your subscriber. Because your ultimate goal is to persuade the reader to click, your CTA should compel your subscribers to do something-make a purchase, register for a webinar, request Information, visit a website-while simultaneously communicating value. Tall order? Perhaps, but t's not as hard as you might think. 1 FORMAT 2 LANGUAGE THE RIGHT WAY CTAS can be teoct- or image-based, and buttons often perform better than text links. Whichever you choose, be sure there is a relovant download, landing page, form, or other destination behind the click. Buttons can be more than a rectangle containing text, they can also be other shapes, images, or anything that is obviously 'clickable To encourage conversions, use language that is simple and straightforward. Tell your readers exactly why they should click, and what they will get after they do so. Use strong action-oriented verbs and add a sense of urgency. CTAS should be direct and answer "what?" "why?" and "when?" in seconds. Get Started Today 3 CONTENT The Kitchen Supply Co. EN SE HOP NEW 4 SIZE The content of your message should be engaging and encourage the reader to act. The body of your message should support the CTA. Craft design elements to help lead the reader's eye toward your CTA. Readers typically scan an emal quickly rather than reading each word, so making your CTA prominent is imperative. Make sure the button is big enough to stand out without being overpowering Exclusive Offer: FREE SHIPPING - SHOP NOW Text size is also vital; choose a font that is legible and properly sulted to the size and color of the button tselt 5 COLOR Sane S25 day enly ADD TO CART ADD TO CART Use color to draw attention to your CTA by designing It in a contrasting color to the background. Also consider how well the color fits in 6 PLACEMENT The most effective location for a CTA button is often above the fold or the part of the page that is visible before the user is required to scroll. Placing the CTA higher in your design gives you the opportunity to draw a response from readers who are too busy to scroll to the bottom or thoroughly read your emal. with your color palette and the theme of your emal SHOP NON Ete. Watches SHOP ETC. WATCHES TREAT 7 REPETITION YOURSELFI Repeating the CTA gives the suggestion more weight. Offer multiple opportunities for the reader to click-through in your SHDP NOW Ete. Watches CSHOP ETE. WATCHES message by strategically scattering clickable elements throughout the email. Make sure that logos, Images, headlines, and products Ink to appropriate landing pages 8 WHITE SPACE TREAT YOURSELF! Call more attention to your CTA by balancing the size of the button with an appropriate amount of negative space surrounding it. Place other images or text further away from the CTA to give it much deserved individual attention. to maximize conversion rates. Buttons with NO arrows Buttons WITH arrows 10 BULLETPROOF BUTTONS WHITE BUTOR 13.67 WHITE BUTTON: 17.1% SHIP BUTTOK:4.9% WHITE BUTION: While image-based buttons may command higher click rates, Image blocking (a defaut setting on many emal clients) may mean your beautifully designed button is Invisible to the user. Combat image blocking and preserve your CTA by using a "buletproof" button technique: combine HTML text, background colors, and background Images to create a button that will be visible even when images are disabled. When in doubt, always Include alt text as a back-up precaution. SHOP BUTTOR4% 9 ICONS AND IMAGES Incorporating visual cues in your CTAS can help increase conversion rates. For examples, a shopping cart icon added to an "add to cart button is both helpful and recognizable. Adding icons to both text links and buttons can maximize the user experience and encourage clicks. Through A/B testing done in conjunction with Digital Evolution Group, Helzberg Diamonds discovored that readors wore MORE LIKELY to click when an arrow icon was added to their buttons. 10 Images are not displayed. Images On Display Images below - Always display images from emallosite.com BULLETPROOF BULLETPROOF 10 Neagr 1 CONTENT 2 LANGUAGE THE WRONG WAY Be sure your CTA follows through on promises made in your subject Ine, headines, and body copy Use subscriber-friendly language and Avoid using passive voice. Whle "cick here" may seem sufficient, It doesn't explain the benefit of cicking and doesn't encourage your reader to take action. To successfully persuade the viewer to click, create a sense of urgency by mentioning a Imited time offer. avold unfamilar names, abbreviations, or potentially offensive terms. Instead, match the tone of your CTA to the tone of your email. 12:50 3 SIZE Shoe Lover 4 ICONS AND IMAGES Appropriate sizing of a CTA is Imperative. A button that is too large will overpower everything else around It. A button that is too small may get lost. Your button should be large enough to stand out without overwhelming the design and other content. CLICK HERE! Follow standard conventions, and avoid adding images that are unfamiliar to your reader or icons that fall to further clarify the purpose of the button or link. link not found € 6 MISSING LINK PLACEMENT Viewers often click on logos, croducts, in images od names. Link appropriate pages to each of these items or risk frustrating users and missing dick opportunities. If you plan on having multiple CTAS in one email, avold placing simlarly styled buttons close to each other. Offering too many options may confuse or averwhelm the reader, so make it clear what you want the BY BIY subscriber to do. 8 TIRED AND UNTRUE Don't get in a rut. Run simple A split tests on buttons and Inks to test language, colors, graphics, and more. Try action-based vs. value-based CTAS, passive vs. active language, or different placement strategles. 7 MOBILE Remember your moble audience. Buttons should be touchable and at least 44x44 pbrels for your and fat finger Mobile friendly SOURCES: FULCRUMTECH.NET I BLOG.EXACTTARGET.COM I HONGKIAT.COMI CRAZYEGG.COM I LYRIS.COM I DIGITALEV.COM litmus