Every business owner wants potential customers to engage with their website and social media. That means they need content that compels people to action. The problem is, there’s often a critical component that’s left out—the call to action. The truth is, people don’t take action until they’re told what to do.

By adding a clear, compelling call to action to your website, social media posts, and ads, you can change the way your customers engage. Think of it as providing the directional signs needed for your visitors to travel through your customer journey. How much would your sales increase if you actually asked your customers to buy? By adding a clear call to action to every piece of content you write, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

What is a Call to Action?

A call to action is a way of guiding people to do business with you. It can be a brightly colored button on your website, an instructional statement inside your social media post, or a link inside your paid ad that tells visitors what to do next. Most of us know how discouraging it feels when potential customers don’t respond to offers.

We may have a great, high-quality product or service that falls flat when it comes to sales. It’s something that can keep us up at night and we feel that there should be an easier, more effective way to get people to engage. Just by adding clear direction, you can see an increase in sales, greater clarity in your messaging, and customer satisfaction.

Without directing your customers, you’ll continue to wonder why that stunning Instagram post isn’t generating sales. Author and business leader, Donald Miller says it this way, “Your customers are bombarded with more than three thousand commercial messages per day, and unless we are bold in our calls to action, we will be ignored. If our calls to action are soft, they will not be noticed.”

Challenging Your Customers To Take Action

I understand the discouragement of being ignored. In fact, I did things what I affectionately call the “wrong way“ for years. I would tell people about my products, but never ask them to buy. Finally, I realized it was a lot like receiving a visit from a neighbor just as I was pulling a batch of warm cookies out of the oven. I told my neighbor that this was my grandmother’s recipe and my favorite cookie ever. They smelled divine and I made a show of enjoying the sniffs as I smiled in her direction. After carefully plating the cookies, I slid them closer to her so she could indulge. We talked for several minutes and then she stood to go. I said, “But you haven’t had a cookie!” Her response stopped me in my tracks. My neighbor smiled and said, “You told me all about those special cookies but never offered one to me.”

I thought she knew.

She didn’t.

Too often as business owners, we believe our customers understand what to do. We think they can read our minds. We believe it’s obvious that we want them to buy our product, or why would we tell them about it? But customers can’t read our minds. The fact that we want them to buy is not obvious to them, even when we think it should be.

Remember, it’s human nature that people don’t take action until they’re told what to do. When you lead your audience through your customer journey, they will follow. Calls to action are a valuable tool to clearly communicate the next step they should take to get the help you offer.

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Write Clear Calls to Action and Repeat Them Again and Again

The fastest way to generate sales and grow a business is to write clear calls to action and repeat them again and again.

Be Clear

The last thing you should be in your calls to action is vague. Don’t make your customers wonder what you mean. A button that says “Start here” is confusing. What do you want me to start? they may ask. “Register Here” offers much more clarity.

Be Direct

If you want your customers to buy, tell them. Do you want them to call your office? Tell them. Direct calls to action like “Buy Now” or “Call us at 800-xxx-xxxx” are easy to follow and leave no question about what to do next.

Repeat

To be most effective, a call to action should be repeated at least twice. If you’re adding them to your websites, they should be repeated in every section—in exactly the same words. Don’t make your customers search for directions. Make them easy to find.

Where Should I Use Calls to Action?

You should use calls to action absolutely everywhere. In every single . . .

Section of your website
Email you send your subscribers
Instagram post
Facebook post
LinkedIn post
Paid ad (online or print)
Piece of marketing collateral
Letter or correspondence you send

Tell people what to do next. Your calls to action are so critical to your marketing success, we’ve created a free printable: 25 Irresistible Call to Action Examples. Download your free copy then keep it handy in your notes to gain inspiration for all of your marketing copy. Since people don’t take action until they are led to do so, calls to action are a vital element in your marketing copy. They show your visitors what steps to take next.

Remember to download your free printable, a collection of calls to action that are clear and direct. You can stop wondering why your customers don’t engage and show them exactly how to do business with you. With calls to action, you’re sure to see an increase in activity almost immediately.

How to Write An Effective Call to Action and See Expert Results