Simply getting your name, your image, or even your message out into the marketplace isn’t enough. Every marketer worth his or her salt knows that you want customers and prospects to respond. Too often, however, businesses fail to ask their customers to do anything. There is no call to action.
Not every call to action needs to be a request to make a purchase. People get tired of being asked to fork over their money all the time. But you should be trying to engage your customers whenever and wherever possible. Maybe you want to pass along helpful information to them that will help them make a decision or solve a problem. Maybe you want to invite them to an educational event or to a social event just to say thank you. Whatever your interaction, it won’t happen unless you ask them to do something—and then give them an opportunity to do it.
Chances are you have lots of opportunities where you can include a Call to Action (CTA). Here are just five places that lend themselves to a CTA.
1. Your email signature: If you have a current white paper or special report, make sure you offer it underneath your signature. And make sure there is a link to a landing page that let’s people request the report.
2. Every page of your website: Remember, this doesn’t need to be a sales pitch. Include different CTAs on different pages. It works best if your CTA relates to the content on the page. (Note: DON’T put a CTA on your landing pages. You don’t want to confuse readers with two different offers).
3. Your presentations: If you ever do educational (or even sales) presentations, offer additional information (case studies, special reports, calculators, etc.) at the end of your presentation. Make sure the link is easy to write down—just in case people don’t get a copy of your presentation.
4. Your blogs: Blogs are great places to introduce a topic broadly. Most blogs aren’t terribly long, so they often don’t go into deep detail. Offer a white paper or a case study that fleshes out the topic at the end of your blog.
5. Your Free Downloads: When someone downloads one of your white papers or ebooks they’ve already indicated their interest. Offer them more information at the end of the paper or ebook. If they respond, you know they’re really interested!
Marketing is about more than just what you do online. Download 21 Tips to Improve Your Direct Mail Campaign for help with your offline efforts as well!