We have already seen what a Call To Action is. Now let's see how a good CTA is designed.

When you are writing a CTA for your marketing message you must take in account at least four main variables:

1. The words you are going to use.
2. The action you want them to take.
3. Its location.
4. Its appearance (color, size, design if it's an image)

Let's see today something about the first one.

A lot of people limit their CTAs to links with phrases like "Click here" or "Buy it now!" and the like. In fact, although this kind of sentences could seem good CTAs because they are very straight forward and imperative, they're not.

A simple "Click here" at the end of your message can mean a lot of different things. Some readers may think it's a link that leads to a buying page, and many of them will not click it if they are not very interested at first. But, what if this link leads only to a page with more information? Maybe many doubtful readers will click it if they had known.

So be specific about what the CTA will really do, and let your readers know what to expect. Express clearly what they are going to find. If you want them to know more about your product just write something like "Learn more about the new BrandNewProduct". Don't use just a mere "Click here".

Maybe you want them to buy your product right now (of course), but chances are that the link you use doesn't lead directly to a purchase, but more to an information page or to a selection page. Trust your customer. If you're selling a new shirt model, instead of using a "Buy now!" CTA, you can use a "Choose your favorite color". At the landing page she will be intelligent enough to make the purchase if she's interested.

In order to raise its effectiveness, try to choose wisely the rest of the contents that support your CTA. Give recipients information enough about your product, but not so much that they have no reason to click the link.

It's important not to repeat the same CTAs over and over throughout the document. Use your imagination and run away from the common ones.

Summing up: a good CTA text must state clearly, with only a few words, why the recipient must click it and what to expect when she does it.

In next posts I'm going to talk about the rest of the variables that affect a good CTA.