The call to action is the crucial tipping point in any piece of marketing copy whether it’s on your company’s website or part of a direct mail campaign. It is the point where you move from merely giving a description of your product or service to explaining what’s in it for the customer and urging them to do something about it. The reader can then decide whether or not he or she is going to do business with you.
But people are cautious. In fact, too often we are weighed down by our innate, comfortable inertia. A sales conversation is about working towards tipping your customer over from agreeing you have a good product to actually wanting to do something about it. There should be a similar tipping point in any written communication. Too many of us, however, fail to give our marketing copy a clear, strong call to action.
So here are my top tips for making your call to action:
What
Make sure you actually include a call to action; don’t just assume a careful exposition of features and benefits will lead to orders. Be clear and direct and tell people what they need to do. In fact, tell them at several points in your document as many people will only skim read your carefully formulated text. Once you’ve told people what to do make sure you tell them what will happen next. And, if you really believe in your product, offer a satisfaction guarantee to reassure them the transaction is free from risk.
Why
Explain why your service or product is so much better than anyone else’s and what your customer will gain by placing an order. Be clear in your own mind of your company’s unique selling point; once you can do that you will find it easier to communicate it to your customer.
How
Explain how to get in touch for more information or to place an order; make it easy to contact you and give a range of options for doing so. At the very least offer a phone number, contact form and email address. But keep the message for what to do next very simple – all they need to do is get in touch. Placing some kind of time limit helps overcome people’s natural ‘I’ll think about it’ lethargy, so offer a bonus or a special price for people who get in touch early.
But people are cautious. In fact, too often we are weighed down by our innate, comfortable inertia. A sales conversation is about working towards tipping your customer over from agreeing you have a good product to actually wanting to do something about it. There should be a similar tipping point in any written communication. Too many of us, however, fail to give our marketing copy a clear, strong call to action.
So here are my top tips for making your call to action:
What
Make sure you actually include a call to action; don’t just assume a careful exposition of features and benefits will lead to orders. Be clear and direct and tell people what they need to do. In fact, tell them at several points in your document as many people will only skim read your carefully formulated text. Once you’ve told people what to do make sure you tell them what will happen next. And, if you really believe in your product, offer a satisfaction guarantee to reassure them the transaction is free from risk.
Why
Explain why your service or product is so much better than anyone else’s and what your customer will gain by placing an order. Be clear in your own mind of your company’s unique selling point; once you can do that you will find it easier to communicate it to your customer.
How
Explain how to get in touch for more information or to place an order; make it easy to contact you and give a range of options for doing so. At the very least offer a phone number, contact form and email address. But keep the message for what to do next very simple – all they need to do is get in touch. Placing some kind of time limit helps overcome people’s natural ‘I’ll think about it’ lethargy, so offer a bonus or a special price for people who get in touch early.
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