Don’t Forget Your Call to Action

Whether you are creating a promotional email, online ad, direct mail package, or working an exhibit booth, the starting point for your effort should be defining what you want the recipient of your message to do.

In marketing terms, this is known as creating a call to action (CTA).

A call to action is a simple, clear statement telling the person receiving your message exactly what action you want them to take.  When someone receives a message, it is basic human psychology to ask, “What do you want me to do?”

Unfortunately, a prominent CTA can be lost or hidden in the creative process and this will always diminish the response for a marketing effort. 

So here are some simple tips to make sure your call to action is effective.

·        Make you CTA visually stand out and easy to identify.

·        Use active words like “join,” “register,” “donate,” or “open” in your CTA.

·        Put your CTA on every page of your website or promotion. 

·        Only ask for one action at a time. 

·        Add a sense of urgency with a deadline to your CTA.

Making sure a clear call to action is included in all of your promotions is the one battlefield that a marketer needs to insist on fighting.  Words, colors, and graphics in a promotion are important, but not telling a prospect or member what you want them to do is deadly.   Start with a strong call to action in your marketing efforts and allow your creative to support the action you want the recipient to take. 

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