Is Your Web Copy Full of Holes?

March 31^st 2015 Sally Ormond

leaky web copy

Holes?

Yes. Holes.

If you’ve written your web copy without a single call to action, you’ve effectively filled it will holes.

Just as a hole-ridden bucket will spill water everywhere, your call to action free website is haemorrhaging customers.

It doesn’t matter how much traffic you’re getting to your website, sales copy without a call to action is like opening the door for them and sending them off in the direction of your competitors.

Your call to action is your opportunity to build a relationship with a customer. It invites them to get in touch with you and talk to you about their problems, so you can show them how you’ll improve their life.

You may be of the opinion that your customers are bright enough to know that they need to get in touch if they want to learn more without being told. If you truly believe that, good luck.

The problem is, if your copy has done a brilliant job, kept them enthralled and convinced them they should buy, without a “buy now” button, order form or phone number they won’t know what to do next. They may even think that if you can’t be bothered to make life easy for them and tell them what to do they won’t bother.

That’s why you must always include a call to action.

The different types of call to action

There’s more than one?

Yes.

As a rule, there are 3 main types:

The type that tell your customers to buy
Those that help build your list
Those that showcase your expertise

The first are those that say “buy now”. If you’re selling a service it may take the form of “Contact us now”, or “Call us today…” followed by a phone number and/or email address.

The second type help you grow your opt-in marketing list. They ask the reader to sign up to your newsletter, download a report or coupon in exchange for their email address.

The last one is used in blogs and articles. They link to other information within your website that may be of interest or use to your reader.

Get extra oomph with motivators

You can increase the power of your call to action by adding a simple motivator, such as: “Buy now and get 25% off, off only available until 15th March”. The added urgency will have more impact that just the normal “Buy now.”

Not just for websites

Calls to action should be included in all your marketing materials, regardless of whether they are on or off line.

It’s important to remember though, wherever you use them make sure they are:

Clear
Simple
Commanding

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