Want to boost subscriptions for your underwear newsletter? Or make people emotional about a sweat-proof T-shirt? As you’ll see throughout this article, a well-crafted call to action (CTA) can do that.
CTAs are the most important copy on any page. They’re your closing argument—your final shot at convincing skeptical readers that clicking a button will improve their lives. That’s a lot of heavy lifting for a few little words.
I asked several experienced marketers to deconstruct some of their favorite recent CTAs. They explained what makes them so darn effective and how they could be even better. Each one revealed a different aspect of conversion copywriting that’ll make your next CTA absolutely unskippable.
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Contents
- Match the CTA to your audience
- Use a pre-CTA
- Be emotional and empathetic
- Foster that FOMO
- Ask, educate, and connect
- Try the cliffhanger approach
- Be extremely explicit
- Offer an instant benefit
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8 great CTAs deconstructed by the pros
How can a handful of words convince so many people to take a specific action? These examples show how emotion, specificity, and a little psychology make it happen.
1. Match the CTA to your audience
Randomly glance at a hundred calls to action, and you’re bound to see “Buy now” and “Shop now” at least a few times. And why not? They lead with a strong action verb, and they work.
Daria Roshchyna, a Technical Content Writer at Mailtrap Email Marketing, believes there’s an even better way. “I prefer when companies tailor CTAs to match their audience’s needs and shopping habits,” she said.
She points to Amazon’s ads as one example. “Amazon is often used to buy gifts for the whole family. It’s a necessity. Their CTAs: ‘For her,’ ‘For him,’ and ‘For kids’ make finding the right product quick and simple.”
These semi-personalized CTAs remove one layer of friction from the buying process. If the button just said “Shop now,” the shopper would get to a generic landing page and need to filter for the type of person they’re shopping for. Instead, they get to where they need to be one click faster.
How to swipe this CTA strategy
Think about how you segment your audience. Is it by use case like “at the beach,” “at the campsite,” and “at the job site?” Or maybe it’s by “enterprise,” “small business,” and “solopreneur.”
Once you’ve sorted that out, tag your CTAs using those delineations. Then, have each CTA lead to a conversion landing page purpose-built for that audience segment. You will make it easier for your customers to buy and make the experience feel more relevant (which is always a goal for great copywriting).
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2. Use a pre-CTA
I suppose a company that sells underwear is well-versed in making a lot out of a little. So it wasn’t surprising when Victor Adedara, an experienced email and landing page copywriter for DTC brands, said that MeUndies had a strategy for getting the most out of its CTAs.
“CTA buttons are essential for driving clicks, but best practices suggest limiting them to just three or four words,” Victor explained. “That’s a tight window to make a compelling case for action. But MeUndies has cracked the code by using a pre-CTA—a short phrase right above the final CTA button.”
You may also expect such a brand to be a bit cheeky in their copy. And you’d be right. Victor shared this CTA example, encouraging people to follow the brand’s social channels.
“‘We post butts. Lots of butts’ works as the hook, priming users to click the simple two-word CTA, ‘Follow Us,’” Victor pointed out. “The pre-CTA adds an extra layer of motivation, making the main CTA more persuasive.”
The voice, the tone, and the tactic all work in MeUndies’ favor.
How to swipe this CTA strategy
Your CTA button doesn’t have much space, but what about the page, email, or post surrounding it? That’s where your call to action can really shine. Add some emotional language. Use a little intrigue. And stir up the reader’s imagination.
Just like MeUndies, though, make sure your pre-CTA is on brand. If the rest of your message is friendly but subdued, don’t give the reader whiplash with a brash bit of copy.
3. Be emotional and empathetic
Your customers have a problem. You can solve it. Your best CTA will not only say that, but it will say it in a way that lets your customers feel seen.
Colby Flood, Founder at DataAlly, brought up the perfect example of a CTA that’s both emotional and empathic. The company is called Thompson Tees. Its undershirts are made for people with hyperhidrosis, a medical condition that causes excessive sweating and is exacerbated by anxiety and fear.
“The purpose of this project was to create a provocative ad that leverages the concept of facing your fears and animating it to capture attention by showing a common bucket list item (skydiving) and a fear most everyone can relate to, a fear of heights or falling,” Colby said.
“This sweat test ad includes a CTA to help you face your personal fears and overcome them with Thompson Tees,” he continued. “Hyperhidrosis causes many people to isolate and not live their life, so we created this provocative ad to hook their attention and provide an opportunity to get out and live life to the fullest.”
Colby said the ad earned a ROAS of 3.69X over 30 days, proof that it connected with its audience.
How to swipe this CTA strategy
The first step is to find your target audience and get to know them. Learn what they buy and why they buy it. As the adage goes, are they buying a drill or the holes it makes? Once you understand your core buyer’s motivation to take action, build your CTA around that.
Sometimes, that’s easier said than done. I find it helpful to read online forums where people talk about the challenge a product solves. For example, Colby shared this link to a Reddit conversation about hyperhidrosis. Those personal stories help you relate to the people you want to connect with.
4. Foster that FOMO
At this point, FOMO (fear of missing out) may feel a little cliche. But there’s a reason it still comes up in so many copywriting tutorials…it works!
Milica Ugrenovic, a freelance content manager, showed me a great example of FOMO in action.
“Here’s a CTA that recently made me click,” she said. “It is short and to the point but very clever because it makes you feel like you’ve lost something you had.”
Milica said this CTA works so well because people who see it have made the product part of their workflow. “I got comfortable using the features, and now I don’t have them anymore. It takes FOMO to a whole new level.”
FOMO works best when it’s tied to a sense of urgency. And Milica said that’s something this CTA missed. “One thing that would really make it even better is a deadline. If I saw a deadline timer right below it with a countdown, it would make me do it even faster.
How to swipe this CTA strategy
The type of FOMO used in this CTA would be great for free trials, subscription services, and abandoned carts. But there are plenty of other FOMO varietals out there. One of my favorite versions is bandwagon marketing. That’s where you show happy customers having their best lives with your product so everyone else wants in.
As for tethering urgency to your CTA, Milica suggested “adding real-time personalized deadlines” using a product like Deadline Funnel.
5. Ask, educate, and connect
Kaitlin Graham is a freelance copywriter and editor. Here’s the CTA she uses in her newsletter.
Look closely and you’ll see three elements she’s built into it: asking, educating, and connecting.
“[This CTA] works because it asks the audience a question and simply educates them on what I offer,” Kaitlin said. “It also provides a way to get in contact with me, which is the action I’m calling them to do.”
CTAs are also a fantastic place to include one final hit of social proof, which Kaitlin cleverly tags in a postscript. “The P.S. is an extra touch I like to have to give them additional experience about my expertise.”
There are three more elements of Kaitlin’s CTA worth calling out:
- The verb “leap” is unexpected and energetic.
- She’s clear that the first exchange will be to “discuss rates.”
- “I’ll make it easy for you” is a great way to reduce perceived friction.
How to swipe this CTA strategy
Kaitlin’s laid out a simple three-layer CTA that’s easy to mimic. Just ask your audience a question, educate them on the offer, and provide a way to connect.
You can reuse this format to sell almost anything. Say you market anti-odor, orthotic shoes (do those exist?); your CTA could be: “Are you ready to have fantastic feet forever? Our patented ortho-fresh footwear captures odors while providing all-day support. Click the link for your personalized fitting.”
6. Try the cliffhanger approach
Justin Oberman—copywriter, ghostwriter, marketing consultant—has a sneaky little tactic for cranking reader curiosity up to 11. Find out what it is in tomorrow’s blog post.
Just kidding. But Justin’s strategy is no joke. He replaces the typical CTA with a cliffhanger that makes you want to learn what’s next.
Here’s a LinkedIn post he sent me as an example.
Yes, it’s a cliffhanger CTA about cliffhanger CTAs. It’s also pretty effective when done right. We are naturally curious creatures, and an unanswered question will nag at us enough to take action. And since the goal is to get someone to take action, a cliffhanger is a natural device for a CTA.
How to swipe this CTA strategy
You can use a cliffhanger CTA to announce all sorts of products and launches. Are you releasing a new color variant? Use a cliffhanger CTA in this week’s newsletter to hint at it. Did you find a shocking result in your latest survey? Ask people to click on the report to see what it is.
Remember that the payoff must match the wait, no matter how you use it. The longer the buildup, the bigger the benefit. For small stakes, asking people to click to the next page is appropriate. Don’t expect them to give you all their contact details or come back a week later for a small tidbit of information, though.
7. Be extremely (excruciatingly) explicit
As much as I love puns, I love specificity in copywriting even more. What do I need to do? What exactly will I get? When will I get it? And—this one’s important—how will it make my life better?
That’s why I loved the CTA example Mohammod Munir, Content Manager at AgencyHandy, showed me. “It’s pretty scarce to see good CTAs,” he said. “But I liked this Brevo CTA because it’s persuasive and explains the offer.”
When I read this CTA copy, I know what I’m getting. Plus, the button copy makes it clear that it is truly free. And I also know how that’ll make my life better (by growing my email list).
This particular CTA sits at the bottom of a blog post about email marketing. So there’s another good reminder here about matching the CTA to the context of the content around it.
How to swipe this CTA strategy
First of all, be excruciatingly specific. Specificity informs and builds trust. For example, saying, “Click here to double your sales,” is less evocative than saying, “Click here to increase your sales by 105%.”
Mohammod also said he “believes mid-sized CTAs are good,” provided they’re not too long. You don’t want any wasted words to slow down the reader. But if it takes 25 words to explain the offer properly, go for it.
8. Offer an instant benefit
None of us like waiting when a good thing is headed our way. Case in point: how many times do you tap the “Track my shipment” link on every Amazon order? Aidan Khalilova, a Social Advertising Team Lead at LocaliQ, shared two CTAs that expertly capitalize on this psychological trigger.
“This CTA from Spotify works for two reasons,” she said. “First, it’s simple. You can understand the entire message in a millisecond. And second, it promises instant gratification.”
The message is so clear. Here’s what you get, here’s how to get it, and (implied) you get it right now.
Canva’s copywriters pulled the same levers with this CTA.
“The header confirms you’ll be creating new projects today, and the button copy suggests you can get to work as soon as you click it,” Aidan explained. “Plus, the whole message is inspirational and invokes curiosity, which makes it all the more actionable.”
How to swipe this CTA strategy
This might be the easiest addition you can make to all of your CTAs. Just make it clear that whatever is on the other side of the click will happen instantly (or at least quickly). Try adding the word “now” to a discount CTA like “Save 30% now” or incorporate the word “start” like Spotify and Canva did.
Start writing better CTAs now
The quote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one,” could have been said about CTAs. It can take a ton of time to distill all the information and emotion of your pitch into a few words.
The cadre of tips from these marketing pros will help. They show several copywriting tactics that’ll make your CTAs more relevant and compelling. But above all else, remember to prioritize clarity first, conciseness second, and cleverness third.