Did you visit 10 websites today
On average we browse close to 10 websites per day. From The Independent to I Can Has Cheezburger, every website has a purpose and every web page on the website has a call to action.
You’ve probably heard this term thrown around a lot on the internet. Those hailing from a sales or marketing background have an idea of what is a call to action or CTA but for the unintended- call to action is an indirect or direct way to encourage the readers to take some sort of an action.
Think of all the times you’ve signed up for something you had no need for. Maybe it was for a cheat code for a game or a one-on-one pizza offer? Effective callto action prompts people to take actions even if they had not intended to.
Here’s a list of proven call to action for e-commerce websites and why they work:
Incentives
10% off on signing up usually gets the work done if you need to build an email list of prospective customers.
Giving something in return or giving a free sample is the age-old tactic direct mail writers used. Like Harper Bazaar
Harpers Magazine
May I send you a free copy?
There is no obligation attached to my offer…
Please let me know if you’ll accept my offer by January 31.
I’d buy that card reader out of curiosity and considering it’s free a lot of people must have responded to this CTA.
Image courtesy wordstream.com
Simplicity
A clear and simple design with a direct call to action caters to the targeted audience.
Pinterest has its CTA button in bright red. The text about thedream trip resonates with the right audiencetoo.
Visually Appealing
Large images accompanying minimal hard-hitting text can nurture readers to click on the button.
In fact one of the best ways to put the focus on the CTA button is to harness the power of images. Pictures usually communicate a story in one frame, which could be all that the reader might need to take an action.
Spotify does it beautifully.
Power of words
While Spotify does it with less than two lines of content, some websites like AWAI that provide various Copywriting course serve the best testimony to the effectiveness of their course through crisp copy.
Color schemes and Coordination
The call to action for e-commerce websites is either to add to cart, search or buy. Sometimes websites need to mention more than one call to action button on their page. To ensure that the significance of each isn’t lost amidst clutter and the two parallel ideas on the same page don’t merge, it is best to use correct colors.
Darker color on lighter background is the thumb rule to getting it right. Plus using neon colors to highlight one CTA works well too.
Makemytrip uses this technique rather efficiently.
