5 Biggest CTA mistakes brands make (and how to avoid them!)

Calls to action: Annoying and ineffective? Or an important marketing tool seldom utilised properly?

DTC says it’s the latter.

Marketing generally focuses on one main goal: creating and converting leads.

You’re a business, after all. There’s no point getting attention if it doesn’t eventually end up as money in your pocket.

Unfortunately, it has become harder for marketers to maintain consumer interest. 

Our audience has a seemingly endless number of products and services to choose from. And they're seeing an insane amount of advertising 24 hours a day, so it’s difficult to drive action to generate real leads.

This is where, when done right, a CTA is one of the most important elements in your marketing messages. Whether you want people to place an order, set an appointment, or subscribe to your newsletter, a good call to action is the final step to getting them over the line.

I am so tired of the 'call now,' 'subscribe here,' and 'follow for more.'

Society has progressed past the point of sh*tty CTAs. I mean, c'mon, there must be a better way to convert.

According to DTC, call to actions (for direct-to-consumer brands, at least) tend to be an afterthought. Some brands even ranked them last behind the product, brand, and overall look and feel of a landing page. Which is probably why they come out so sh*tty half the time.

In fact, these are the top 5 mistakes they see brands making when it comes to crafting their CTA’s:

1. Making the CTA button blend in with the background.

2. Making users work to find the CTA.

3. Not split-testing the best CTA.

4. Only having one CTA on a page.

5. Not being strategic about where that post click goes.

'Long story short, the CTA is essentially the end goal that brands are trying to achieve – driving action. Therefore, it should get a lot more love and attention than some may believe. Dummy proof it, split test it, and watch those earnings per click scale.'

So, if that’s the case, how do we write a good one?

Tap into emotion.

If you want more clicks and conversions, you need to elicit a strong response from your audience. Using emotional copywriting is a solid tactic to create an enthusiastic CTA that will tap into the feelings of your potential consumers.

Say you’re a travel company, the CTA on your website could be 'Book Now!' Now, we’ve all seen this one a hundred times. And, let’s be real, that exclamation mark is about as redundant as Joe Biden.

So instead, you could put, 'Plan your dream vacation today!' which is far more likely to get your audience hyped.

Other ways you can tap into emotion with your CTA is by reducing risk and insecurity, building trust, creating urgency, and communicating your value.

Make sure they know what’s in it for them.

Give your audience a reason to act. Is it going to help them do their job better? Lose weight? Save money? Let. Them. Know.

Tie your CTA wording in with your USP, which is arguably one of the most important pieces of acquiring new leads. Create a nice little USP/ CTA mashup and you’re likely to increase clicks.

Be risqué.

Fortune favours the bold! We’ve seen all the basic CTAs one too many times. Adding a dash of brash to your CTA copy is an effective way of getting someone’s attention.

A good way to do this is by using negative words to motivate your audience to change something they’re self-conscious about. You should obviously do this without being a total a**hole.

Say you’re a gardening business, and someone who wants to fix the brown patches on their lawn comes across your CTA that reads, 'Your yard sucks. Let us fix that.'

They’re not only going to think it’s funny, but it’s going to resonate, and therefore stand out from the rest.

While I recommend using this technique sparingly, it’s certainly an effective one. Boring copy doesn’t convert.

Are CTAs really that important?

Yes, making your CTAs more effective is the quickest approach to increasing your conversion rates and acquire leads. They are essential for directing your audience to action.

So, if your website has nothing but a basic 'Call Now!', no shade. But please, it’s time to jazz it up a little.

-Sophie, Writer