When someone reads your print ad, you want them to call you, email you or go to your website, right? Those are actions. If they read your print ad and move on without taking action, you aren’t going to do business with them.
When someone sees your online ad you want them to call you, email you or go to your website. Those are the same actions. If they see your online ad and move on without taking action, you aren’t going to do business with them.
If you’re at a Bridal Show and a bride comes by your booth you want her to stop, talk to you and then set up an appointment (unless you can make a sale at the show). Those are all actions. If she just walks on by without taking action, you aren’t going to do business with them.
When someone gets to your website you want them to make a purchase (if that’s even possible on your site) or contact you (phone or email) so you can make the sale. If they just leave your site without taking any action you aren’t going to do business with them.
So you see, you want ACTION, but are you making it clear what action you’re looking for? If you want her to call you, does your print ad say “Call today for an appointment, 888-555-1212”? If you want her to call or email you from your website does every page on your site say something like “Call today for an appointment, 888-555-1212”?
If you want action you need a clear, relevant call-to-action on every page. The key word there is “relevant”. It probably shouldn’t be the same wording on each page or ad.
Here are some examples of how this looks in the real world… your world:
- If you have a Photo Gallery page you could say “To see more beautiful photos like these, call or email us today for an appointment, 888-555-1212.”
- On your Testimonials page you could say “Find out how you can become our next wedding testimonial. “Call or email today for an appointment, 888-555-1212”.
- On your About Us page you could say “Thanks for visiting my site. Please call or email me so we can discuss your wedding needs, 888-555-1212”.
You should see two consistent themes:
1) Never say “Call me” without putting your phone number, no matter how many times it’s already on your site, or that page.
2) Each call to action relates to the content that’s on the page. If you got her to read that particular ad or page, tell her what action you what her to take next. It sounds incredibly simple and it is… and it works.
I gave a presentation to the CT ADJA chapter and we looked at the websites of some of the attendees. We were looking at the site of a photographer who was at the meeting and her site had decent content, but no calls to action. She emailed me two weeks later to say how much better her conversion was once she added those simple words.
Conversion = Action.
Without Action there is no change. To get more Action you need to be clear about what the action is that you want. Just listing your phone number or email address is not a call to action. You have to specifically say “Call me” or “Email me” and then put your phone number and email link.
The more specific and relevant the call to action is to the content on your page, the more likely someone reading it will take action. Now, what action are you going to take now to improve your conversion?