Six Steps to Writing a Great Call To Action

Writing is not always an easy thing to do. While most everyone can string words together to form a complete and coherent sentence, it may not be effective at what it’s intended to do. Descriptive and informative writing is not the same as persuasive writing, and that’s what you really need to get good at if you’re going to write something that truly moves your customers to action. On the web, that persuasion also needs to be personalized so that it really speaks to the reader. It’s too easy to click away to the next page if there’s nothing compelling to be found.

A lot of study has been put into understanding how to inspire people to take action. Writing may seem like a mysterious art form, but in some ways it’s as scientific as any other field of study can be. Writing effectively requires a system, and here’s a good one I use sometimes. It’s called the Customer Focused Story and it’s a six-step process that helps you develop a message that inspires your website visitors to take action. Sometimes I use an even longer system but this is the basis of what really gives the call to action it’s power.

Begin with the idea that visitors to your website are ready to take action. They’ve searched for something you have, clicked the search engine listing to get to you, and are on your site. They’re ready! They just might not know it yet. Now, your job is to give them all the information they need to feel ready. What do they need to know?

1. They need to know that whatever product you’re offering will be useful to them. Not their neighbor or the coworker who told them about it.

2. They need to know that you, the business owner with the product, understand what they need and will be there to help them.

Fine-tune your copy so that it provides this information. If your copy helps them to define their feelings that, yes, you have identified their problem, you do know what they need, and yes, this product is right for them, then chances are very good that your copy will be effective.

As you’re developing the Customer Focused Story for your own product, website or brochure here are some steps to work through.

STEP 1: Name the audience and the problem our product can solve.

The first thing you want to convey is “this is who I am speaking to and here’s what I can do to help.” You want to elicit in your prospects a strong identification with their situation and the solution you’re offering. Otherwise, there’s no incentive to keep reading.

STEP 2: Specify other solutions that don’t work.

It can be counter-intuitive to talk about other solutions and avoid immediately launching into the wonderful solution you have. But there’s a good reason why this step works: the “Yeah, but.” How many times have you been telling someone something about your products and they respond with, “Yeah, but…”

In other words, they don’t trust your product because they’ve tried products that made similar claims and they didn’t work so why should yours be any different? That’s why you put those “Yeah, but” issues first. Get ‘em out in the open and move on to step 3.

STEP 3: Explain why those solutions don’t work.

Acknowledge that your prospects have probably looked elsewhere and been disappointed. You’re demonstrating empathy, demonstrating that you don’t have anything to hide, that you’re not trying to pretend that other solutions don’t exist. You are also letting them know that they are not the only ones who have struggled to find a solution to their problem, and you understand because you’ve tried them all yourself, and so have your friends or family.

STEP 4: Talk about what they need to do to solve the problem.

At this point your reader understands why the other solutions failed and is ready to hear what does work. They’re ready to hear what they can do and what they must do to solve their problem once and for all. What are the requirements of your solution? What do they need to do to be prepared? How can they make sure they don’t make the same mistake again?

STEP 5: Tell them why you’re qualified to deliver the solution that works.

Now here, almost at the end, is when you get to write about how you are qualified to deliver a solution that works. Your qualifications can include your personal experience, training and education, and testimonials about how you’ve helped yourself and people in the past.

STEP 6: Tell the reader exactly what the next step is and how to take it.

Your reader has been with you all this time, following along and finding at each step something that they sincerely identify with. They’re hopeful and excited, full of understanding and a readiness to try again. Now all they have to do is get whatever you’re offering for themselves. So tell them exactly what they need to do to take the next step.

For instance: Have them go to your website and complete a short assessment to help them determine whether your product is right for them, call you to talk about how your products might help them or have them download a free trial.

Finalize It

The very last thing to do to complete your marketing message is to make sure it is personalized. Not that you are using their name, but you’re using terms like “you,” in place of “the customer” or “the person,” or “whoever.” This speaks to the reader in a more personal way. I recommend also using “us” and “we” to be empathetic to the reader. Read over your message from the top to make sure everything flows well. Introduce some transitional sentences if necessary.

Many people feel that a good Call To Action is just as simple as having a big flashing button that says “click me.” But there’s a lot more to the message than just showing them where to click. Follow these steps as outlined above for a marketing message that is strong to the core. You might also polish it up with some customer testimonials to make it really “sing”!

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