Call to Action
Contents |
Introduction
According to the old advertising maxim, FREE is the strongest word that you can use in a banner.
However, you should make sure you can really provide something valuable for free. Don't try to trick users with a fake “free approach” - the only thing you'll get are some crazy clicks that have no value whatsoever because users will leave immediately.
Other words that can be catchy: limited offer, tips, secret, click to play, how to, why, new. As ever, think in terms of benefits, not features. A feature is a technical aspect that describes the product, while a benefit can be seen as the way that feature solves a problem.
For example:
- Feature – innovative fitness equipment
- Benefit - lose weight easily. People want to know how a product or service can make their lives easier, more fun, or richer.
What should be in your call to action?
Calls to action should be explicit. Being involved in the process of crafting your ad, you know exactly what your prospects have to do. However, they might not find your subtle incentive so obvious. So the best bet is to write an explicit call to action.
A simple “click here [to...]” may just do the trick, but you can also experiment with some more specific approaches, like: “hire a freelancer”, “read our free report”, “join our contest”, “click to play”, “start your guitar course now”.
Don't trick your potential customers
Whatever call to action you're going to use, don't try to fool users. The banner can create expectancy, so it's important the users won't feel let down after they click on it. If you are not sure whether to advertise your website as a whole or a particular product, choose the latter and relate the call-to-action to it.
It is more likely for someone to be interested in a particular product that solves a particular problem, than it is for them to be abstractly interested in your website.
Hot Air magazine
As ever, it's about the customer or user, not the company. A handy illustration of this principle comes from the offline world of magazines. In the 1980s, customer publishing legend John Brown changed his industry forever when he started Hot Air, an inflight mag for passengers of Virgin Atlantic.
Prior to Hot Air, inflight magazines had tended to be tedious, full of messages from the airline chairman and details of the fleet. Brown realised what customers actually wanted from an inflight magazine – useful and entertaining information on the place they were flying to; and entertaining editorial content which would distract them from the tedium of long-haul flights. The magazine had to be as good as a news-stand title that customers would pay money for. The result of this insight and customer-centric focus was a slew of awards, a hugely profitable magazine and some very satisfied readers.