by Wikus Engelbrecht - GraphicMail Marketing Team
8. July 2010 23:50
You’re doing email marketing for a reason. Whether your chief objective is building consumer relationships, building brand recognition, generating online traffic or converting sales; you have a goal you’d like your email campaign to achieve.
That’s why I think the call to action is one of the most important aspects of your campaign.
The call to action (CTA) is where you tell your subscribers what it is you’d like them to do. (It’s where you answer one of your subscribers’ most important questions.) If you’re successful, they’ll respond. An effective call to action is one that persuades not only subscribers who are already interested, but also those who are unconvinced.
Question is: How do you make the most of this important marketing tactic?
Your subscribers won’t respond to a call to action they don’t see.
Bear in mind the medium you’re working with. Email users are often busy and simply glance at the preview pane deciding whether or not to read the email. Those who don’t use a preview pane might just open the email and not actually scroll down to read the full content.
Make sure your CTA is situated above the fold, that way it will be visible to all – whether in a preview pane or immediately upon opening your email. Recipients respond to calls to action that are immediately visible; it allows them to simply skim and click, without having to bother with all the rest.
It’s also a good idea to repeat the CTA several times below the fold. Some readers might need a bit more convincing than others. By placing the call above the fold you’ve ensured that everyone sees it, but some will want more information before responding to your call. By repeating the call strategically throughout your email you have a better chance of those who choose to read a little more… and a little more… before making a decision. Be sure to keep the wording consistent (to avoid confusion) and try not to have more than one CTA in an email. Overloading your readers with requests will simply annoy them.
When placing and repeating your CTA think about the way your readers’ eyes flow over the email. Make sure that your design and layout draws their eyes toward these calls. Easy ways to do that is to make sure that the call to action is spaced well, without other distracting elements crowding it. Leave some space around it. Formatting, like bold text, an image or a button will also make it stand out. When considering formatting also think about sizing and how well the CTA will stand out against other elements in your email.
You have few words – make them count.
Your CTA needs to make a maximum impact with the minimum words, so choose them carefully. Make sure that your wording is clear and specific, leaving the reader with no doubt or confusion about what it is you want them to do. Throw in some power words – strong impacting words that motivate the reader.
It’s also important, as with all business communication, that your CTA carries the voice of your brand. Your emails probably have a specific tone, so ideally your call will maintain that same tone – it’s the one you’re subscribers are familiar with and so they’re more likely to respond to it.
At the end of the day your call to action will depend on your campaign and objectives. As always, the key is to consider the person on the other end. How would you respond to this request if it showed up in your inbox? And when in doubt, test!
