Writing a Call to Action that Gets Results

When you are writing marketing material, the right call to action can make all the difference.

No matter what you are selling, your call to action should be as specific as possible and written for your audience. Your goal is to motivate them to buy what you're selling.

Know what you want them to do
You have to know what you want your customers to do to get the results you expect. Do you want them to download a free report? Buy something? Visit your website? Make sure that your intentions are clear.

Make your call to action visible
Don't bury your call to action somewhere in the middle of a densely written paragraph where it could be missed.

Whether you state it in the beginning, the middle or at the end of your copy, make sure that it can clearly be seen. Make sure it stands apart from other copy by using white space, attention grabbing sub headlines or a bulleted list.

• Make sure the call to action is clear
  Don't leave your readers guessing about what you're asking them to do. Make your message very simple and actionable.
• Make it compelling
  Show your readers how your product or service benefits them upfront. Let them know why they shouldn't refuse your offer.
• Create a sense of urgency
  Give readers a time period to respond to your offer. Experts say setting a deadline increases your response.
• Repeat the call to action if you direct readers to a website
  This is very important if you want your customers to buy or sign up for something. Repeating your call to action reminds them of what you want them to do.

Allison Nazarian is the Copywriting Expert for Group Mastery.  She is well- and widely known as one of the most honest, experienced, innovative and freshest voices in copywriting and marketing today.

This blog post was reprinted with permission from the author.