marketing dictionary: call to action

You've seen millions of calls to action, and may not have realized what they were.

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A call to action is a single, focused command to your prospect.

It's been tested again and again by marketers in any industry you can imagine. Calls to action really do lead people to act. Don't expect customers to read your mind. Let them know what you'd like them to do.

Calls to action work best when they're not too complicated. And don't give multiple options.

Don't ask people to "check out our new Web site or call to order a catalog." Figure out which single thing you want prospects to do.

It's perfectly legit—in fact, it's smart—to create multiple pieces with different calls to action. Figure out what calls to action will match up best with the individual piece you're creating. Try a coupon in your print newsletter that calls the customer to come in for a free gift. Email and Web site marketing lend themselves to electronic calls to action, like signing up for a newsletter or downloading a PDF.

Here's a guest post I wrote for Copyblogger about the ins and outs of writing a compelling call to action.

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There's a lot of marketing information on the Web (in fact, it's the single most common lens tag in Squidoo), and it can get overwhelming. This series is a simple place to start, and you can start noodling with the techniques that will suit your business and your personality.

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You want to know what worked and what didn't. Set things up so you can measure the results. There are lots of tools to do this online—you can fairly easily determine just how many clicks for your e-newsletter came from your Squidoo lens and how many from your blog.

If you're using an 800 number, set up temporary numbers to test different ads or direct mail campaigns. (Be careful you get the number exactly right in your marketing piece, since it seems like 99% of temporary 800 numbers are for porn providers.)

Permission-based marketing means that you're enticing your prospect to do business with you by actually providing value, rather than standing on your head and shoving beans up your nose to capture their attention.

Typical permission marketing campaigns include information-rich materials like newsletters (paper or electronic), blogs, and white papers. Since you're creating these tools to actually generate some business, you need a call to action. Keep it low-key—something like "email me if you'd like to discuss ways to make your Web copy more effective." The call to action should be on the modest side, but not invisible.

If you're in a marketing-hostile environment (for example, most online forums), your only call to action should be a quiet link to your Web site in your "sig" file. It's a smart idea to create a special landing page just for the users of that forum. You can include a more explicit call to action on the linked page, but respect the noncommercial nature of the source and keep the hype to a minimum.

Whatever you do, don't pipe forum users into a high-pressure "squeeze" page. Forum users have no interest in being squeezed, and efforts to do so nearly always backfire.

Because permission marketing often doesn't result in a sale from the first touch, create a linking cascade of calls to action. The first call might be to join your newsletter or subscribe to the RSS feed of your blog. Then those materials will have more direct calls to action—to contact you for business, order your product, or learn more about your offering.

Many successful Web sites have a call to action on each page that is designed to move prospects through a "conveyer" belt.

Create as many links in the chain as you need to smoothly increase your prospects' trust until they really want to do business with you. The great thing about tools like blogs and e-newsletters is that you can allow each prospective customer to take the time they need to become completely comfortable with you. In the long run, you'll develop a loyal advocate who will be an invaluable ally in building your business.

Since I was about 8, my favorite call to action has been "Candy is delicious food, eat some every day."

This memorable phrase was on the side of a display right near the cash register in my local mom-n-pop grocery. Even when I was 8 I realized it was masterful in its complete lack of subtlety.

I don't think that call to action sold a single piece of candy. What sold the candy was the tempting location, perfect for impulse purchases and effective mom-nagging. The manufacturer put the call to action on the box because marketing tradition decrees you have to have a call to action.

But I also don't think it killed any sales. Just remember that the call to action is part of the bigger picture. Keep it consistent with your brand and your personal values and you'll do fine. (In other words, "write the answer on the back of a $20 bill and send it to us" only works if you're Tom & Ray Magliozzi.)

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My posts on Copyblogger are all about using effective marketing and copywriting techniques without wanting to take a shower afterwards.

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