The call to action (CTA) is kind of big deal whatever marketing channel you use, be it traditional or digital. Think about your own experiences as a consumer and all the things you’ve bought and signed up for over the years. Every download, purchase, or booking you’ve ever made most likely was the result of a well-crafted CTA.
In this article, we’ll explain how using strategic CTAs that fit your goals can guide your quiz takers through the buying journey. We’ll break down what a CTA is and why it’s important. We’ll highlight our favourite examples for each goal type. We’ll even give you some best practices for writing powerful CTAs that your prospects won’t be able to resist clicking.
What is a call to action?
A CTA is a prompt to your audience to get them to take a particular action or next step. It can directly link to your sales process, for example, it can be an instruction to click the buy button. Alternatively, it can move the prospect further along towards becoming a client. For example, it can be a suggestion to sign up to a newsletter or join a Facebook page. Above all, an effective CTA must be obvious.
There are both hard and soft CTAs, which you use depends where your prospect is on their customer journey. For example, let’s say they’re at the research stage, they’re just learning about you and what you offer. A soft CTA, such as inviting them to check out some further resources, is more appropriate than a harder CTA pushing them to buy now.
Your Specialised Marketing Assessment campaign will include multiple CTAs, not just the main one that follows the quiz results:
- The process begins with a CTA in your quiz promotion, be it email or a social media post, urging your audience to click through to the quiz landing page
- The landing page itself is dedicated to the CTA that asks them to start the quiz
- The next CTA comes at the end of the questions and asks them to fill out your lead form to gain their results and feedback
- The main CTA is shown on the results page and tells your new lead to take whatever step you want them to next, depending on your quiz goal
- Next, there may be additional CTAs sent within a certain period after they have taken the quiz as part of your nurture sequence
Why is a call to action important?
The CTA is one of the main components of a quiz, it lets the quiz taker know what to do next. Without a clear CTA, they may not know how they can learn more about what you do and how you can help them. This dead-end scenario causes them to become frustrated and move on.
A CTA makes it clear to quiz takers what they must do to take the next step with you. It smooths the path as they move further down the sales funnel.
What should your call to action strategy be?
The goal is to get your quiz takers to act once they have taken your quiz. However, the action must be aligned with the messaging of your quiz, the results, and feedback you provide them. If you want them to book a call with you, say that. Don’t try to sell them a course or redirect them to your Linkedin.
Examples of calls to action
Here are some examples of Specialised Marketing Assessment goals and what CTAs fit them best:
Goal – Boost your database
Before you can do much else, you need leads. Here are the best CTAs for growing your list:
- Subscribe to the newsletter
- Newsletter subscriptions are a good way to build your database. They help you connect with your audience and give them value by offering helpful information and special offers
- Lead Magnet
- Offer something of value for free in exchange for someone’s details. E-books, helpful guides, and similar resources can help grow your database
Goal – Increase sales
If your end game is to boost sales and generate revenue, then these are the best types of CTA for you:
- Book a call
- Use this CTA for big-ticket items or services that might require a conversation with you or your sales team
- Shop now
- Not quite brazenly asking for money, this CTA subtly invites quiz takers to browse your products or services.
- Get discount
- The chance to bag a bargain is hard to ignore and can hook prospects into buying from you
- Book now
- Great for coaching sessions and gym sessions etc
- Free Shipping
- Popular with online stores. Shipping costs can often be the spanner in the works. Free shipping feels like a valid saving has been made and can even encourage further spending
- Free trial
- Invite your audience to “try before they buy”. You can prompt for payment details before or at the end of the trial
Goal – Educate
If you want to inform your audience, these CTAs will get them hankering for more
- Learn more
- Simply asking people if they want to know more and then leading them to a downloadable lead magnet or a sign-up form
- Discover/Explore
- Using a strong verb entices people to expand their knowledge with you
- Enroll now
- This one has a more formal vibe and can include the offer of a certificate
Goal – Brand awareness
Looking to spread the word? Use these CTAs to get your message out there:
- Like and share
- Used for social media to expand your reach and grow your audience
- Challenge/competition
- Ask people to sign up, to take part, and/or win. Once they have had a good experience or won something they are likely to share your brand
How to create a compelling call to action
There are a huge number of best practices for creating effective CTAs out there. Below is our edit of the best ones to use in an online quiz:
- Be clear and concise – How you word your CTA is important. Be obvious and to the point about what you want your prospects to do
- Be transparent – If you want someone to join your club and it costs money, make sure they know this before they click
- Look good – The best CTAs need to be eye catching as well as reading well. Use bright contrasting colours for the button and text. Make sure it stands out on the web page by using a larger font
- What’s in it for them? – Clearly state how your quiz taker will benefit from answering the CTA
- Use action verbs – Words and phrases like “discover”, ”learn more”, and “buy now” compel the quiz taker to take action
- Keep it short – Short phrases are more effective than a sentence. Try to keep to seven words max
- Get deep – Use emotive words that touch on a pain point and offer relief
- Use FOMO – Convey a sense of urgency to appeal to your audience’s innate fear of missing out. CTAs like ‘Time is running out’ compels people to act quickly
- Know your target – Speak in your ideal client’s language to ensure your message resonates
How to test the effectiveness of your call to action
Every audience responds differently to various CTAs. There is no guarantee that one will work better than another.
You can determine how successful your CTA is by looking at your conversion rate, that is a calculation of the number of conversions divided by the number impressions.
A conversion is when someone took whatever action you wanted them to, and impression refers to the number of times the CTA appeared on a screen.
So, what are you waiting for?
A strong CTA is essential for gaining clients, growing your database, getting leads into your sales funnel and brand awareness alike. At SMA Digital we can help you find the questions and the keywords that will elevate your CTAs and boost your quiz conversions
