One of the most common mistakes I see when I review websites is weak calls to action. Actually, I spent the whole morning going through some of the calls to actions on our clients’ websites and I re-wrote them. Here is what I did for them:

Takeaways:

• The word “Get” rocks!
• Get as specific as you can. Call to actions need to explain what people will get if they decide to take action. “Start My FREE Trial” is a great example of a specific call to action.
• Move away from standard and boring calls to action. Nobody wants to subscribe to anything. People hate subscribing (but they love being “the first one to know”).
• Some power words: free, get, instant, easy, fast, simple, now.
• The word “now” increases conversion rate by about 25% in average.
• The word “FREE”, when capitalized, converts 86% better than its small caps counterpart.
• Capitalizing the first letter of each word increases conversion rates by about 22% in average.

Just so you see that I practice what I preach, here’s my call to action: Please Tweet this Post (Your Followers Will Thank You).

This reminds me of one last thing: giving a reason WHY people should to do what you ask them to drastically increases conversion rates. Explain why they’ll benefit from taking action.

BTW, we added a new WordPress plugin that I absolutely love. It’s called Sexy Bookmarks and it’s awesome to allow your readers to share your content. Play with it (it’s right below this sentence) and please share this post on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Let me know if it works OK. Thank you!

Landing Pages and Calls to Action
The most important part of any online campaign is the call to action. A call to action is a simple request for your audience to take the next step. The easiest thing to do is use a “Buy Now” button, but you’re probably losing out on a lot of conversions if all you’re doing is asking people to buy. Other calls to action are:

•    Subscribe to Newsletter

•    Download our Free E-Book

•    Download our Free Videos

•    Order a Catalogue

•    Request a Proposal

Build it (Easy) and they Will Come
The easier it is for your audience to take the next step, the more likely they are to act. We’re often taught as marketers to collect as much information as we can, but do you really need more than an email address and a name to continue the conversation? Your audience is much less likely to act if you’re looking for a phone number, address, or other personal information. And ask yourself; am I really going to do anything with all that extra info?

The Fewer the Words, the More They Matter
If you’re anything like me, you probably skipped ½ the words in this article. You probably read the bullet points and the bold-texted headline and subheads. That’s because we’re all accustomed to skimming content online. Because we treat your landing page content like a magazine or a newspaper, here are a couple simple things you can do to make sure people take the next action:

•    Write Short Sentences – The shorter the better.

•    Write Short Paragraphs – Don’t forget that many of your readers may be non-native English speakers, keep it short.

•    Use Bullet Points – Perfect for scanning.

•    Highlight Important Points in Bold – Don’t make them think.

•    Use as many Subheads as Possible – Break topics into small paragraphs and tell your audience exactly what to expect.

•    Use as Few Words as Possible – Practice writing and re-writing sentences for brevity.

•    Use Graphics – A picture is worth 1000 words.

•    Don’t Make Your Prospects Scroll Down – If I have to scroll on a landing page, you’ve lost me.

Tell Your Story with Great Design
Look at your design without any words and ask yourself: “Would I still buy this?” Great design can tell the story all alone. Here are a few design tips:

•    Get Rid of Distraction

•    Use Fewer Links

•    Keep the Navigation Ultra Simple

•    Avoid Multiple Calls to Action

Yes Your Way to More Sales
Once you’ve gotten your audience to take the first action, they’re much more likely to commit to a follow up action. If they’ve downloaded (and watched) your free videos, they’re much more likely to sign up for a free trial. If they’ve read your e-book, they’re much more likely to want to purchase your full-length e-book. We all have a psychological tendency to say “yes” again and again after the first “yes.” Get them saying “yes” and you’re on your way to a sale.

Don’t Forget to Subscribe by RSS or Email:

When creating SEO content, stuffing your content with keywords won’t work (keyword stuffing is also an unethical SEO tactic). Not only does your content have to sound unique and exceptional, keywords need to be placed strategically within your content.

When you write articles, keep your keyword list handy and insert keywords as you write. Your goal is to create quality content that adds value to your readers.  If your article sounds like nonsense with strings of keywords crammed into paragraphs, you’re not utilizing correct SEO practices. It’s fairly simple to add a few primary and secondary words within articles without jeopardizing your entire content quality.

How to Optimize Your Blog
There are three main reasons WHY you want to create QUALITY content on your blogs:

•    MORE pages indexed – Search engine spiders crawl content (quality content equals more page indexing!)

•    Provide visitors with GREAT information – When visitors find you on Google, the rapport with your readers begin right there! When you provide valuable, quality content you engage your readers. Great content gives you a competitive edge over every other business floating around on cyberspace.

•    Links – When visitors read an informative, helpful article, they write about it on their blogs/sites and link to it. They also share with their friends and they tell their friends, etc.

Calls to Action
Visitors read your blog posts because they want to learn more information or are interested in what you have to say/share.

At the end of each blog post, you need to add a call to action. A call to action is a specific task that you ask your visitor to do. You can’t just “assume” that after reading your great post that your visitor will know what to do. You need to push them in the right direction.

•    Subscribe - Visitors can subscribe to your blog by RSS feeds and email. WordPress provides a useful plug-in, Subscribe2

•    Tell a Friend – You’ll receive a better response if you remind people to spread the word about your blog. Tell a Friend is an effective WordPress plugin that makes it easy to remind/email people about your blog post

•    ShareThis – Allows visitors to share content with friends through social bookmarking platforms such as Facebook, Digg, Twitter, etc.
•    TweetMeMe – Invites readers to “re-tweet” your posts (i.e. share your article on Twitter)

How to Write Great Content – Best Practices

•    Brand your own writing style – Stand out amongst other bloggers by creating your own unique voice and style. Don’t try to copy other writer’s styles.

•    Write in a conversational style – Keep language simple and easy to understand. You don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist to create winning content.

•    Write UNIQUE content – Do not copy content from other sites and create content that solves a person’s problem or makes life/business easier.

•    Plan posts strategically and add “teasers” about upcoming posts/content – keep readers engaged so they’ll come back and read more!

•    Always encourage comments from readers and answer comments quickly. Include related posts at the end of each post.

•    Include guest bloggers on your site – You’ll add free content to your site and create new relationships within your industry/niche.

Content Examples
•    “How To” articles –  How To Lose Weight on The Flat Belly Diet

•    Lists – Top Ten Family Vacation Spots

•    Demonstrations – A video demonstrating yoga poses

•    Case Studies – How I Built a Worm Farm from Scratch

•    News – Write about late-breaking news that affects your business/industry

•    Humor – Add a personal touch and humor to your content. People love it when you share practical advice.

Don’t Forget to Subscribe by RSS or Email:

Your company just spent thousands on a new website design. You crafted the perfect blend of search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising – what happened to your sales? Where did you go wrong?

The explanation is simple: you forgot to include a call to action or your call to action is weak. As visitors scroll down to the bottom of your homepage, they don’t have any idea what to do next or where to click. Say good-bye to potential sales as lost customers vanish into cyberspace.

A “call to action” is an advertising concept that requests or directs a consumer to take that next step to purchase products or services.  You might request visitors to fill out a form or call you for a free consultation.  The biggest mistake with a call to action is thinking that visitors KNOW what’s expected of them – they don’t.

Think of calls to action as an answer to your website visitor’s question: “Ok, I like this site and I’ve had fun visiting – what do I do next?”  It’s up to you to invite them to take the next step.

You could have the most dynamic, persuasive copy scattered throughout your site, but that still won’t motivate visitors to sign up for your newsletter or call you. You need that call to action right there – front and center!

What if you include calls to action on your site but no one is taking ACTION? Calls to action can be creative and catchy, but don’t go overboard with confusing language – keep it simple and direct.

Bad example: Click here! This is a bland “no-action” statement.  No offer is included and it doesn’t entice your readers to take that next step.

Good example: Call Us Today or a FREE Home Inspection! This call to action specifically states the reason WHY you want visitors to take action and what they get in return – they will receive a free home inspection.

Place the call to action on every website page. On the homepage, the call to action needs to stand out and should be placed high (in the central column of the page).

Your call to action really depends on your marketing goals. Do you want more sign-ups for your newsletter? Do you want more people to purchase your newly released DVD?  These simple tips can help you create a dynamic call to action:

• Underline or link keywords to make the offer stand out - Sign Up for Our Newsletter and Receive Tips on How to Reduce Your Energy Bill this Summer!
• Offer an incentive such as a free product or discount to encourage visitors to take that next step: Donate Today to The Make-A-Wish Foundation and Receive a FREE T-Shirt!
• Use active words and urgent phrases such as: register, subscribe, buy and “for a limited time only.”