Ever sent an email that looked great but didn’t get any real response? You nailed the subject line, the design was sharp, and the content was solid – but your readers just… stopped reading.
That’s where Calls to Action, or CTAs, come in. They’re the bridge between interest and action – the moment your audience moves from passive reader to active customer. But do CTAs really matter? How do they work? When should you use them?
In this post, we’ll look at how CTAs turn your emails from friendly updates into powerful marketing tools, when to use them, and how to design them so they actually get clicked.
What is a CTA?
In sales terms, a CTA (or ‘call to action’) is that moment in your content where you encourage your reader to do something. It might be something as small as reading further, or it could be more significant and be the final step to closing the deal. When we talk about email marketing, though, CTAs tend to be quite soft, prompting readers to visit your website, where they can be funnelled into making a final purchase.
An email without a CTA isn’t pointless – after all, it helps build your brand identity and loyalty, but it is missing out on its potential, failing to help the reader get to the next step. In fact, CTAs are so ingrained in our engagement with businesses that, if you don’t have one, your readers can become confused, wondering how to proceed to the next stage.
Gone are the days when people would put in the energy to work out how to find your contact details or search for other options – now, your potential customers expect that easy click, and if it’s not there, they’ll find a competitor who made it easier for them.
CTAs don’t need to be aggressive, but you’re missing out if they’re not there at all.
Soft CTAs vs. Hard CTAs
Soft CTAs are encouraging, rather than forceful. They might take forms like:
- ‘Learn more about our products here’
- ‘‘Explore how our services could help your business’
- ‘Read our guide to…’
By contrast, hard CTAs are forceful, demanding action, and are often backed by urgency in the way they’re framed:
- ‘Apply now’
- ‘Limited to 100 - book yours today’
- ‘Get your offer before it’s gone’
A soft CTA extends the conversation with a gentle touch, letting your audience know you’re here for them with no pressure. A hard CTA introduces the idea of commitment, shifting from the concept stage to the action one.
They are both valid, though it’s important to fit the CTA to your audience and their stage in the sales journey, drawing in early with soft CTAs and moving on to harder ones to close the deal.
Why We Use CTAs
Without a CTA, your potential customer is likely to just drop away. It doesn’t mean your content is bad or that your email wasn’t doing what you set out to do; it simply means they have no easy way to engage with your services. In emails, CTAs are paired with links or buttons, enabling instant movement to the next step.
If the reader follows the CTA, then your email has served its purpose – it’s 100% success! Now, the next step in your sales funnel can take over.
When and Where to Use Your CTAs
There’s no point putting a CTA too early – most people won’t click it. Imagine if your emails started with ‘buy our product’ before you’d even had time to introduce what that product was. CTAs represent the final step for the email, acknowledging that everything the email set out to do is done, please now move on to the next stage.
With that in mind, the most logical place for a CTA is at the end.
At this point, you’ve done the warm-up, you’ve explained the benefits, you’ve built excitement and now… CTA! Huzzah!
So a CTA does always come at the end – but you don’t have to only have one.
Softer CTAs are also useful at various stages throughout an email. Many readers may tail off before they get to the end, others may feel the tug to act earlier on, while some just want to get on with it. Judicious soft CTA placement throughout your content helps catch those people who might otherwise jump away before the main final CTA.
Some CTAs are repeatable – basic links that you want to mention all the time, and those can become part of your standard email structure, in your email signature, or as part of the email layout.
CTA Placement:
- Main CTA - put at the end of your email, with a clear, unambiguous call.
- Opportunity CTAs - put sparingly through your email, where the content naturally encourages the action.
- Static CTAs - ‘always on’ CTAs that can be included in your email signature.
The Look of Your CTAs
Your CTAs should be tailored to your audience. If your content is text-based and guiding, then standard text-based links will work fine, but in most cases, you will want to consider a clear button. We all love to press a button.
Other CTAs can be linked from a larger graphic (which effectively becomes a button, even if it doesn’t look like one), or embedded in video.
Plus, remember: ‘call us’ can generate an instant link to a phone call, making it much more effective than the words alone.
A CTA to Contact Nathan Littleton
We’re at the end of this blog, so time for me to move you to the next stage. I’m Nathan Littleton, and I can help you boost your email marketing with effective CTAs and more. Why not book a consultation with me today?
