Compelling Your Visitors to Execute Your Call-to-Action

If your online content is not top notch, you will not be able to capture your visitors’ attention and entice them to read further. You only have 3 seconds to accomplish this. Getting them to accept your call-to-action is key.

Undoubtedly, top-quality writing will make or break your success in business. Your ability to express what you want other people to know in a clear, articulate, and sensitive manner with entice your readers and will make them want to connect with you and hopefully, you will start to interact with each other on a very regular basis. Of course, it is very important to remember that the most well-written content will not do you or your business any good at all if you don’t give your readers any way of interacting with you. That is where the call-to-action comes into play. The responsibility (and objective) of your content is twofold. First of all, it must keep your readers interested in what you have to say and make them want to read to the end of whatever you have posted. Second, it must make them want to connect with you in some manner. Without that, you will not be able to build any sort of relationship with them.

With that in mind, you must realize how important it is that your call-to-action should be as effective as possible at enticing your readers to work that button so that they can interact with you and so that you can both begin your relationship together. There are several ways in which to write effective call-to-action.

Focus on the grammar

When it comes to the language that you use in your call-to-action, the first thing that you should concentrate on is your use of subjects and verbs. Your sentences should begin with subjects and verbs. The reason for this is that if your subjects and verbs are right at the beginning, your readers will understand immediately what you are trying to say. As simple as this concept is, you would be surprised at how many people don’t follow this simple rule and lose their readers before anything has had a chance to occur. Always remember the rule about capturing the attention of your readers. If  you don’t put your verb at the beginning of the sentence, your readers will not understand that you want them to do something specific. You need to make them understand that you want them to take some sort of action. Readers react to verbs like no other part of speech. Ironically, by telling them what to do, you are making it so easy for them.

Use specific numbers whenever possible

There is nothing that readers dislike more than vague statements that basically don’t mean anything. If you use actual numbers, you are giving your readers the impression that you are transparent and direct.  The last thing that you want to do is create an impression of ambiguity. Make sure that whatever you are offering in your call-to-action is precise so that your readers, in the event that they choose to take you up on it, will know exactly what they are going to get.

Go easy on the adverbs

It is generally easy to recognize adverbs by their “ly” ending. There are several different types of adverbs; there are adverbs that relate to direction, degree, time, and manner and their job is to modify parts of speech other than nouns. Adverbs can be found just about anywhere in the sentence and still work effectively. It is wise to use adverbs in your call-to-action only if it helps make your message clearer.

Keep it short and sweet

Your call-to-action should not be lengthy. Nobody wants to read really long ones. Your call-to-action should be clear and concise and should be somewhere between 90 and 150 characters long. Your objective is to give your reader the ability to understand what you are offering very quickly. The longer it takes them to figure it out, the less chance you will have of their connecting with you. Never forget those 3 seconds.

Make sure that your language is not too technical

Of course, the language that you use in your call-to-action will be focused on your niche; however, you should try to make sure that the language can be understood by everyone, not only the geniuses of your industry. Another thing to avoid is language that is “jargony.” People get tired of reading the same language over and over again and many times, it will be used incorrectly, which is really frustrating at times.

Preserve originality

It is very important that you use your own language rather than using someone else’s words. Your readers will be able to know right away if you are not being sincere and if it doesn’t come from the heart. You should be as creative and captivating as possible. If you experience writer’s block, it may help you to collect a list of verbs and then draw from that list when you sit down to write.

Conclusion

Your fabulous content will have no effect on your progressive success if you don’t give your readers a way to contact you. Of course, it is critical that your content is well written and compelling. However, your call-to-action must be equally compelling and it has to make the readers want to work that button and connect with you more deeply. You need to make you readers understand why it is a good idea to connect with you.  It is also a good idea to provide them with other valuable links throughout your content. They will definitely appreciate the information.

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