The best call to examples make a huge difference for brands—especially when you’re in a competitive niche. Whether you know exactly what they do and what they’re for, you’ve probably encountered one online and off. If you’ve ever heard a radio show tell you to “Call now” to enter a competition, or downloaded a piece of software like Dropbox or Spotify, you’ve actively responded to a “Call to Action”, or “CTA”.
A call to action is a valuable tool in marketing. It’s designed to inspire a specific response from an audience and prompt them to take positive action. Every time you ask your consumer to buy a product, complete a form, or download something, you’re calling them to action on behalf of your business.
More than 90% of the visitors who end up on your website who read your headline will also read your CTA copy. This means adding a CTA to your Facebook page can increase your average click-through rate by up to 285%. That’s what makes a good CTA so valuable to marketers—the challenge lies in finding call to action examples that work.
The Importance of Creating a Powerful CTA
At a glance, a call to action may seem like just another part of any business conversion strategy. It works in tandem with your other key marketing elements, such as copy and images, to engage your audience and facilitate a conversion.
However, the right CTA is more valuable than many people realize.
In today’s fast-paced world, consumers often need guidance to convince them to do something valuable for your business. If a customer reads a blog post which ends with no call to action, they’ll simply hit the back button and go elsewhere. However, a good CTA can convince an already engaged visitor to go one step further and sign up for a newsletter subscription, reach out to your brand, or even complete a purchase.
Of course, not every call to action has the same impact on your customer.
Certain terms like “Buy Now” or “Submit” on a contact form can feel aggressive and overwhelming to your audience. Even seemingly little details like the color of your CTA button can make a difference. For example, SAP found just by using an orange CTA button, they could improve their conversion rate by 32.5%.
To get the most conversions from your call to action, you therefore need to learn what kind of words, phrases, and design resonates with your target audience, and works to consistently optimize your efforts.
The more you refine your CTA, the more you’ll benefit from:
- Improved brand reputation
- Increased conversions and sales
- Better visibility and reach
- New opportunities for growth
- Stronger relationships with consumers
Things to Consider Before Writing your CTA
So, how do you write an effective call to action? The first step is proper planning.
Different CTAs impact customers in specific ways. For instance, “Get your free trial” may be more compelling to a consumer on a budget than something like “Sign up now”. Before you even begin writing, it’s best to do your research by:
- Identifying your goals: Decide what you want to convince your customers to do straight away. Are you hoping to have them download an eBook and submit their email address for nurturing purposes? Do you want someone to make a purchase, or contact your team for a quote? Knowing your goal will guide you towards the right words and phrases.
- Understanding your audience: The more you know about your target market, the more you can select words and phrases most likely to resonate with them. Speaking your audience’s language improves your chances of making the emotional connection necessary to convert your clients. If you haven’t already, it could be a good idea to build some user personas before you start constructing your CTAs.
- Know the competition: Examining the competition before you begin creating your CTAs can be helpful. Not only does it give you a chance to gather some inspiration, but it can be a great way to figure out how you can differentiate yourself from other brands. A unique and novel call to action may be more convincing than something your customer sees several times every day.
Call to Action Best Practices
Before we cover our list of call to action examples, it’s worth looking at some of the techniques you can use to make your CTAs as effective as possible. Notably, every audience is different, so your CTA strategy may differ depending on who you’re trying to reach.
For instance, many companies assume placing their CTA button “above the fold” (before a customer needs to scroll) on a website is a good way to boost conversions. However, Neil Patel discovered people like to gather more information about his offers before clicking anything. Placing his CTAs above the fold therefore decreased his conversions by 17%.
Some golden rules to keep in mind when writing your CTAs include:
- Stick with strong action words: Short, punchy, and actionable CTAs always work best. Starting with a verb like “buy”, followed by an adverb like “now” helps to instantly direct your audience to the right behavior. Action words need to be clear and compelling so your customers know what their next step should be.
- Provoke emotion: Consumers make decisions based on emotion. If you can have an emotional impact on your audience with your CTA, you’re more likely to convince them to do something. For instance, “Find your dream home”, is much more engaging and emotive than “Click here”. Think about the factors which might convince someone to interact with your business and play on those elements.
- Keep it short: Call to action content should always be short and straight to the point. Many CTAs are even placed in buttons, which limits the space available even further. Stick to only a few words whenever possible and eliminate anything unnecessary.
- Speak directly to your audience: Many CTAs work best when they’re written in either first or second-person. “Get your eBook”, or “Give me my eBook” connects with people on a deeper level than simply “Download the eBook”. The use of the right tense can make customers feel as though the offer is specific to them.
- Make them stand out: Generally, a CTA should contrast the rest of the page or advert you’re promoting, so they’re easier to find and click. Use a brightly colored button, larger fonts, underlines, and even arrows to draw your customer’s attention. Make it easy for your audience to see their next step with your business.
Great Call to Action Examples to Inspire You
Now that you know all the basics involved in creating a compelling CTA, it’s time to explore some inspiration. There are plenty of fantastic call to action examples out there to give you ideas. We’ve chosen just a few of our favorites to help guide you.
1. Glossier
Glossier gets straight to the point with its compelling Call to Action. The pop-up that appears on the company’s website when you load the page instantly grabs your attention with an image, emojis, and a simple request. The fun piece of text above the CTA helps to highlight the company’s unique personality, and makes it feel as though you’re interacting with a friend.
The CTA itself is bold and easy-to-see, standing out from the rest of the pop-up. It’s also extremely simple. “I’m In” takes advantage of the first-person approach to connecting with an audience. The straightforward language also makes subscribing to the newsletter feel simple and straightforward.
2. Netflix
Short and sweet, Netflix uses its call-to-action to make you feel like you’re beginning a fantastic adventure. Before asking you to do anything, the company eliminates any concerns you might be feeling, by letting you know you can watch your shows anywhere and “cancel at any time”.
The header on the page immediately offers an insight into the value of the service, with words like “Unlimited” to highlight just how diverse the streaming product can be. Like most of the best call to action examples, Netflix also ensures its button stands out, with bright red coloring. By placing the form for entering your email on the homepage of its website, the team makes signing up simple too.
3. Dollar Shave Club
Dollar Shave Club is one of the top companies in the world thanks to its phenomenal and personality-driven branding. The company also knows exactly what its customers value most when making a purchase. To appeal to clients who might be concerned about the price of a subscription shaving product, it adds the cost directly to its CTA.
The “Try for £4” call to action button lets you know you’re getting a great deal. At the same time, the word “Try” reminds us we’re not going to be tied into any long-term demands. Dollar Shave Club instantly makes the process of buying something new feel safe, risk free, and affordable.
4. ConvertKit
Price is often one of the biggest hurdles holding customers back from acting with a brand. By addressing this issue in your CTA, you can improve your chances of instant conversions. ConvertKit immediately remove the friction from the purchasing process with its call to action, which invites users to start a free trial.
This CTA uses the term “your” to make visitors feel as though the trial already belongs to them, which reduces the sense of risk. At the same time, the surrounding copy around the button provides peace of mind, letting you know you can cancel at any time, without entering credit card details. Placed at the top of the fold, this CTA is also great at standing out from the rest of the page. It immediately grabs audience attention in a contrasting color.
5. Slack
Slack is one of the world’s favorite collaborative tools, thanks in no small part to its fantastic marketing efforts. The company knows how to make life as simple as possible for its target audience, and this shows through its CTA strategy.
In this call to action example, Slack immediately appeals to the “fear of missing out” phenomenon, by telling customers they can buy “now”, to get 50% off. There’s also a separate call to action letting you know you can sign up with Google to reduce the time associated with filling out forms. Not only does the CTA button stand out and address customer concerns, but it’s surrounded by content intended to give clients an insight into the values of the service, such as “level up your teamwork”.
6. Grammarly
Another of the best call to action examples worth learning from today is Grammarly’s clean, simple, and to-the-point CTA. The company tells you exactly what you’re going to do by clicking the high-contrast button “Get Grammarly”. At the same time, it targets any concerns customers might have by reminding them the service is free.
This call to action might be simple, but it’s great at highlighting the brand by drawing attention to the service’s name. Like many of the top call to actions mentioned here, Grammarly also leads into its CTA button by highlighting exactly what you’re going to get. The small paragraph of text above the button champions the “bold, clear, mistake-free” writing you’ll be able to create.
7. CrazyEgg
Clear and impactful, the call to action on the Crazyegg homepage is effective in a multitude of ways. First, it immediately stands out at the top of the page, grabbing the customer’s attention straight away. Secondly, the content above the button uses social proof to offer peace of mind, reminding you that over “300,000 websites” are already using the service.
The actual CTA button used on this page is also excellent for encouraging customers to take ownership of their next action. Using the first-person writing style, it encourages customers to see their own heatmap, indicating it already belongs to them. There’s also plenty of content around the button to ease the customer into the action, such as a reminder you can “cancel anytime”.
8. Basecamp
A reminder that CTAs should feel friendly and approachable, Basecamp’s call to action avoids any demanding or aggressive terms, like “now”, or “buy”. Instead, it encourages customers to simply test the functionality of the service for themselves with “Give Basecamp a try”.
This CTA makes the concept of signing up for Basecamp feel simple and risk-free, reducing the friction in the purchasing journey. The company also enhances the quality of the CTA with the surrounding content. There’s a line underneath the button providing a social proof statement to let you know how many people have already signed up. The content above the button also highlights all of the key problems the service can help solve.
9. Salesforce
While multiple CTAs on one page won’t always work for every brand, it certainly has the right impact on the Salesforce website. The two contrasting call to action buttons here give customers the option to determine whether they want to “start a free trial”, or “watch demos”, to develop their understanding of what the service can do.
Salesforce’s “free trial” offer appeals to customers in search of a risk-free solution when they’re seeking out a new CRM. At the same time, the surrounding content is brimming with social proof, letting customers know other companies have already achieved phenomenal results with the same technology. This makes the process of converting feel more straightforward.
10. Google Workspace
Google Workspace, like Salesforce, gives users a couple of options when it comes to clicking their call-to-action buttons. The “Get Started Now” option takes advantage of the value of strong and actionable vocabulary to push clients into doing something quickly. The button also stands out well from the rest of the page to grab audience’s attention.
The secondary option “Find the right plan” allows customers uncertain about which package to explore their options in a safe and informative environment. Surrounding content to highlight the benefits of the service immediately lets you know what kind of value you can expect from signing up too.
Master Your Call to Action
Hopefully, these call-to-action examples have given you some excellent insights into what a great CTA looks like. While your call to action might not seem like a huge part of your marketing strategy at first, it has a massive impact on your conversion rates.
The right CTA will improve your chances of converting clients, boost your brand reputation, and give you everything you need to grow as an organization. Remember, you can always test your call-to-action results with A/B testing.
Lastly, don’t forget to check out the best landing page builders to get started on building highly converting pages.
