What's a call to action and why use them?

A call to action - or a CTA - is probably the most important part of any page. When you’re writing copy for your website, it doesn’t just need to instruct. It needs to take your visitors by the arm and guide them gently (but with a little force) to the areas of the site you’d like them to see.

Think of it like giving a tour around your home. You’d spend a while showing off your kitchen, or your newly-decorated living room, but you’d probably skip the downstairs loo in favour of looking out of the back door into the garden. A good CTA will help your visitors see the pages you want them to see - and glance over the pages that might not be useful to them.

For example, if a visitor comes to your website via a blog post that has interested them, you’ll want to send them directly to a page of your business’ site dealing with what that blog post covers. That way, you’ve piqued their interest and capitalised from it, rather than let them tail off and travel on to the next website that takes their fancy.

What’s a good CTA?

 A good call to action is short and to the point, and encourages visitors to take action. Things like:

Click here to find out more!

Contact me now to learn how.

Learn more.

See more amazing pics here.

See for yourself.

Click now to find out how.

Did you feel the need to click on those sentences even though they weren’t links? It’s okay. Copywriters all over the internet have created CTAs that speak to you directly and they’ve become such a natural form of navigation, you might find yourself clicking without realising it.

Where do you put a call to action, then?

Writing a good call to action isn’t natural to a writer who doesn’t spend much time online, which is why digital copywriters are such naturals at incorporating them. It’s about placement as much as it is about the words they use.

Placing your 'action phrase' into the right part of your page will encourage visitors to click. But remember, you don’t want them bouncing straight off your page without at least taking in some of your content.

The best suggestion is to place your first clickable link after your first main paragraph, to grab hold of your quick-reading content skimmers. Then, place another one two-thirds of the way through, with a slightly different message. Finally, end your piece with some punchy words that encourage your fine-tooth-combers to take action after they’ve fully considered your piece.

Done. Except…

Make your content flow towards your CTAs

Your calls to action will not be effective if you don’t tailor your content to ebb towards them. As Billy McCaffrey says at Wordstream, command verbs in your paragraphs can really make a difference when it comes to causing your visitors to act on their impulses.

What are command verbs?

Do!

Go!

Buy!

Shop!

Order!

Read!

Download!

Click!

Telling your customers what to do is something you can only really do online, so make the most of it!

A good use of command verbs:

Want to save money? Buy now. Our early bird offers expire on Wednesday, don’t miss out!

A bad use of command verbs:

We have lots of offers on our site at the moment. Buy now.

Can you see the difference in how you feel? The first sentence feels exciting, like being let into a VIP sale. The second… not so much.

Take a look at your content and see how you could increase its effectiveness using command verbs. You might be surprised how quickly you see results!

As a digital copywriting specialist, I’m here to help you with any and all of your CTA conundrums. Let’s chat about how I can help you make your website more effective at ensnaring your inbound visitors.

How to Run a Website Audit

If you’ve been busy running a business, there’s every chance you’ve not had time to look at your website in a while. It’s understandable. Once your site’s up and running, there’s a big temptation there to let it purr in the background, bringing in enquiries and signposting towards your services without much input needed from you at all.

Although there’s nothing stopping you from using your website in this way, it’s worth thinking about whether you’re getting the most out of this huge resource. You pay for URL and your server space, so why not get the most you can for your money?

Your Website is Your Shop Window

If a shop had the same display in the window day in, day out, would it entice you to go in and spend your money there?

While it might not be hugely important to look flashy and new at all times, simple housekeeping tasks each month can help to refresh your content and entice returning visitors to take action.

Take a look at the following tasks page-by-page and see if you could fit them in monthly, or even three-monthly:

●     Services - Have you added any new ones? Are any out of date?

●     Products - Are your product descriptions still up-to-date? Do you have more to add? Have you got any new photographs to showcase them? Should some be taken off the site?

●     About Us - Is this still up-to-date? Have you won any awards or new business that could be included here?

●     Testimonials - Who have you worked with recently that you could request a testimonial from? In an age of reviews, new clients are more likely than ever to trust customer feedback.

●     Contact Us - Is this page as enticing as it could be? How many people visitors use it per week? Is there a way to make it easier to use?

If you can keep on top of your content bit by bit, it’ll seem much less of a mammoth task.

Next, you need to think about:

Sprucing Up Your Whole Website

Every once in a while, perhaps every six months or so, it’s really good practice to have a full look through every page of your website to make sure customers are getting as much out of their visits as they can.

This can be daunting, but there are ways to break it down. Take a look at this task list and see how you could make the job easier for yourself, using your site and site analytics.

Readability

●     How easy to read is your website, on the whole?

●     How many of your key messages or business aims shine through?

●     Do your call to actions suit the content they’re placed in?

●     Are there any parts that stop the flow of information?

Navigation

●     How easy is it to get from page to page?

●     How many clicks does it take most visitors to complete a transaction?

●     Which pages cause the most bounces?

●     Which pages are the most popular?

●     Do any pages take a long time to load or have formatting issues?

●     Are there any pages that are unnecessary? For example: indexing pages, home pages, temporary holding pages, or pages that could be amalgamated with other related pages?

Tone

●     Does the content on your website fully convey your company's attitude?

●     Are there aspects of your content that seem out of place, or copy and pasted?

●     Is there any part of your website you don’t like, for no real reason?

Note answers to each down with examples of pages you’d like to improve, and you can come up with a plan together with your team.

You can also look into this full website content audit template by the Moz site, which is really comprehensive.

Get a Copywriter to Do It!

Copywriters are excellent digital content creators and spend their lives online. That’s makes us ideal for carrying out your time-consuming, always put-off web content audits.

We look into your web content objectively with a fine-tooth comb, picking out parts you may never see yourself and improving your pages in ways you might never have suggested.

Interested in spring cleaning that website? Get in touch today.

How to Increase Business Sales (In 5 Simple Steps!)

You’re at your wits’ end with your business: your products aren’t selling as fast as you’d hoped, your email inbox is drier than the Sahara Desert, and your mailing list is still just 15 people long. What to do?

First, don’t throw in the towel just yet. Even the most successful companies have to adjust their business strategy from time to time.

Instead, then, read on for five easy steps to increase sales for your business. No more tearing out your hair in frustration; let's get cracking!

Show You Can Be Trusted

In short, are you credible? It’s not enough to tell clients that they should put their hands in the pocket (or fingers to keyboard to type in their debit card digits!) to buy your products. Why should they trust you any more than a random bloke on the street offering up a dubious-looking 'brand-new' iPhone for £20?!

Here’s where you can whip out those testimonials and case studies we know you’ve been itching to use. Displaying evidence on your website of third-party support, even as small as including the logo of companies you’ve worked with, can show potential clients that you can be trusted.

This CXL article lists other ways to increase trust with customers, as well as some great tips to boost conversions for your website.

Build Up Your Social Media Presence

You can keep telling yourself you’re fine with your 50 Instagram followers and 15 mailing list subscribers, but if your sales seem to be taking a nosedive, it may be time to build up your following.

Make sure you choose the right networks. Compare social media demographics with your business’s target audience to avoid making a beeline for the wrong people. If you write content for businesses, for example, LinkedIn might be a better platform for you than Tumblr.

Post regularly and with content relevant to your business, too. You’re more likely to grow a loyal customer base if you stay connected with them once a week, as opposed to once a month (or, dare I say, once every few months). Keeping your social media accounts updated shows your clients that you’re available. 

(Shameless plug: if you need a hand with managing your social media accounts, have a look at my portfolio and give me a shout!)

Offer Freebies

I love free stuff. You love free stuff (and if you say you don’t, you’re probably lying!). Giving freebies to people who visit your website is a good way to give them a taste of the products or services you offer without a monetary commitment.

You can also offer free incentives to get people to join your mailing list. In exchange for subscribing to your mailing list, offer free guides, eBooks, or anything else specifically tailored to your business. It’s a win-win situation for both parties!

Don’t Get Cold Feet About Cold Emailing

Cold emailing isn’t exactly fun. After all, the name itself doesn’t exactly invite warm feelings.

Still, perhaps by reaching out directly to potential clients, you’ll bring your sales from all right to amazing.

Do your research and personalise your emails to individual clients. People don’t want to get a spammy email that looks like it could’ve just as easily been sent out to 50 other people. Show why you’re emailing THEM instead of the hundreds of other businesses out there. Also be sure to show how you and only you can help them with their problems.

Check out HBR's guide to cold emailing for some more excellent tips.

Promote Time-Sensitive Sales, Discounts, or Promotions

It seems counterintuitive to discount products in order to boost sales, but customers are attracted to savings, even if the savings are marginal.

This can include offering a discount when people sign up for your mailing list, bundling products and services for a reduced total price, or dropping prices for a limited-time promotion. Be sure to clearly define start and end dates for promotions, just in case a client decides to continue working with you after a promotion ends.

Have any other tips to up business sales? Do feel free to share in the comments below.

For updates, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter.

Why hire a copywriter?

You know how important good content and communications are for your business, but perhaps you just don't have the time to put fingers to keyboard and get cracking. So what now?

If you’ve never outsourced your work to a copywriter before, it may be time to try that out. After all, what better way to make your website stand out than with the help of a professional who specialises in copywriting for businesses?

There are plenty of reasons to hire a copywriter - and I’ll be going over five of them in this blog post. Read on...

They Free Up Your Schedule

You can say 'cheerio' to your hectic schedules when you hire a copywriter. You shouldn’t have to spend hours figuring out why no one’s clicking on your website, or what the heck crawl stats are (hint: you can find out in Moz's Beginner's Guide to SEO). Pumping out engaging content takes up a lot of time, so leave that to the pros!

Copywriters will do the technical stuff you’re struggling to do and give you the time to focus 100% on your business. Rather than stressing over how to write copy that draws traffic, you’ll now be able to give your undivided attention to the things that really matter.

They Can Really Sell Your Service

Yes, copywriters write, but they also spend time doing research that leads to richer, more vibrant content. You’ll find plenty of copywriters who specialise in an industry-specific niche. If you sell handmade baby clothes, for example, you’d do well to find a copywriter who specialises in the industry that caters to mums.

A copywriter can capture the essence of your service and sell it to your audience in a way that is both engaging and fascinating.

They Provide Consistent Content

Let’s be honest for a moment: churning out consistent, new content can quickly get tiring. It can be easy to recycle old content by tweaking a word here and there, publishing it, and hoping readers won’t notice you wrote about the same topic two months ago, but please don’t do this.

When you have a freelance copywriter on your side, you don’t have to worry about that. They can whip out fresh, high-quality content to capture your readers’ attention like nothing else. Even better, avoiding duplicate posts will turn your site into a Google-approved page. Who can resist that?

They Know How to Speak ‘Google’

There are plenty of SEO guides out there on the Internet, but it can still be tough to learn if you’re also trying to juggle your business on the side. Rather than try to force-feed this information to yourself, hire a copywriter who’s already familiar with SEO.

Copywriters can keep your website looking up-to-date and polished. No matter how many tweaks Google makes to its search engine, copywriters will keep on top of it so you don’t have to. Leave the technical mumbo jumbo to them.

 They Can Boost Sales Organically

Adverts are important for maintaining an online presence for your business, but organic traffic is just as important. After all, you’re more likely to get legitimate, long-term customers this way, rather than hoping someone scrolling through Facebook clicks on your ad.

Copywriters will reach out to potential clients by creating fresh, original content for your social media accounts, and then by crafting equally brilliant content on your site that will keep visitors once they get there. By going the organic route and going easy on the adverts, you could see a significant bump in your sales.

So now that I’ve given you five reasons to hire a copywriter, I’m here to give myself a (shameless) shoutout. Need a hand with your business? I’m a copywriter based in Yorkshire - but I can work on your project remotely - wherever you are in the world. Let's chat!

For updates, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter.

Copywriting for Your Website: Some Dos and Don’ts

Your business’s website is like a shop window: there will be plenty of passers-by, but if the items on display are falling apart, or look to be poor in quality, no one will want to buy anything.

Of course, you’ll want to prevent that from happening in the first place – and this means producing stellar website content.

Read on for some dos and don’ts for creating copy that will turn visitors into loyal clients (fingers crossed!).

DO: Show What You Can Give or Take Away

Good copy tailors to the client’s needs. Sometimes, website visitors aren’t interested at all in your services, but most of the time, people click onto or around your website because they want to know how you can help them.

Show clients what you can give them. Do they need virtual assistance for their business? A new logo? A redesigned landing page? Tell them you can deliver - and turn their frown upside down!

On the flip side, show clients what you can take away from them. Do they want to get rid of the headache of updating their own blog? Of writing their own emails? Let them know you’re the man (or woman!) for the job.

DON’T: Rely Solely on Testimonials

In particular, DON’T include only testimonials that have customers showering you with praise. You certainly will receive testimonials that read along the lines of ‘I love this so much!!!’ but these kinds of testimonials will do little to sell your services to potential clients.

Yes, your business is amazing, but HOW? If you want to include testimonials on your website, use those that, as Joanna Wiebe puts it in this Copy Hackers article, “tell a story of what a customer’s challenge was before your product or service…and what the outcome of using your product or service was.”

DO: Make Yourself Clear

As a general rule of thumb, keep paragraphs short. That being said, there’s such a thing as being too short. Often this stems from the desire to avoid exceeding a word limit, or to create short and powerful phrases, which can lead you to whittle sentences down until they’re dry and boring. You’re then left with bland copy that could be recycled on hundreds of other websites.

Making yourself clear also includes double-checking your spelling and grammar. You could have the best-written landing page in the UK, but you could ruin all that with the wrong use of ‘their/there/they’re.’

DON’T: Talk About Yourself

Okay, obviously you SHOULD talk about yourself, but your website isn’t just for you to list every single thing you can do. You have to show what you have to offer to potential clients who may be scrolling through your site.

Shift from overusing ‘I’ and ‘we’ in favour of ‘you.’ This Quicksprout guide shows you how you can make your content more customer-focused (with some extra website copywriting tips as well).

DO: Hire a Copywriter

Hiring a website content writer seems an obvious option to improve your website, but many turn their noses at the idea. Many will deem it too expensive, while some will have a go at writing their own content.

Yes, you can certainly write your own website content, but can you be absolutely sure it will reflect your business in the way you want?

(And if you’re still not sure about hiring a website content writer, may I direct you to some of my success stories?)

Do you have any other tips for creating brilliant website content? Let me know in the comments below.

For updates, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter.