Warning: You’re Losing Money by Not Using a Call to Action (CTA)

Register Now! Download Now! Yes, Please! Try it Free! Get Instant Access! Let’s Connect! You’ve seen examples of great call to action (CTA) buttons on most of your favorite sites. No longer do they say “Submit,” “Subscribe,” or “Learn More.” The trend is moving towards attention-grabbing persuasion, urgency, and exclusivity. And there’s a good reason. With a CTA, your goal is to stop the reader in their tracks and get them to notice that button, click, it and move through the process you’ve laid out for them.

So why should you bother creating custom CTAs? Let’s go over the basics.

5 Reasons Using Calls to Action Will Skyrocket Your Business Growth

1. CTAs Gain the Reader’s Attention and Get Them to Take Action

When visitors come to your website, their eyes follow a fairly predictable path. Call to action buttons draw their attention and make it easy for them to take action. It’s almost an impulse to click a button when the text is promising exactly what you need.

That’s why so many sites put “Yes, I’d love to increase my sales” next to “No thanks, I’m not ready to increase my sales.” Psychologically someone has a hard time clicking “No” when you are hitting a nerve on their pain point.

The data stands behind calls to action. Versio did a case study with one of their education clients on CTAs. After adding clear CTA buttons to their site, the client now “averages 12 times as many new leads per month compared to a year ago.”

2. CTAs Improve Conversion Rates

Not only are your website visitors more likely to click on a call to action button, but they are more likely to convert to subscribers and customers after clicking. And the bright side is that you’ll be in the successful minority. A study by SmallBizTrends found that 70% of small business B2B websites lack any call to action. That translates into a high bounce rate and a low conversion rate, which you can avoid by including one to three CTAs on each page of your site.

3. CTAs Drive Your Product Sales

Speaking of conversion rates, your end goal is likely to drive product sales. Products are an ideal source of income because they are completely passive once you’ve created the product. HubSpot reports that using CTA marketing to nurture leads generates on average a 20% lift in sales vs non-nurtured leads. Creating powerful calls to action is worth the investment of your time to increase your sales.

4. CTAs Build Your Subscriber List

No one is going to subscribe to your newsletter if you never ask them to. Whether it’s in a pop-up, a header/sidebar, or buttons embedded throughout your website copy and blog posts, calls to action are the largest driver of sign ups to newsletter lists. Don’t just take my word for it. Look at the case studies. HubSpot increased subscribers by 128% in a 90 day period with blog opt-in boxes on their landing pages.

5. CTAs Ease the User’s Experience

The user needs to know at a glance how much effort is required to complete a “transaction.” CTAs make it easy for a visitor because they don’t have to hunt for the information they need. It should be clear, accessible, and have visual depth and contrast. Studies show that rectangular buttons with sans serif text and rounded edges that appear clickable have the best conversions.

As design focused on users becomes standard practice across the internet, calls to action are more regularly integrated into websites. An effective CTA is the backbone of a successful website and involves combining best practice in creative visual design, powerful copywriting, and of course usability. If done right, it can generate significant measurable return on investment, and that’s what we all want.

Which sites have you seen with effective calls to action? What makes you click the button when you sign up on a website? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.