The 4 P’s – Calls-To-Action Simplified

At the heart of any lead generation campaign lives a strong call-to-action.

Calls-to-action tell prospects what to do in order to complete a transaction whether it’s in a display ad, email, social media, or any other marketing medium. Buttons at the end of web forms that say “Download Today” or “Click For Your Copy” are just a few of the most popular examples of calls-to-action.

But there’s much more to creating an effective call-to-action beyond just slapping a big web button at the bottom of your form. Prospects need to be drawn into a call-to-action with a combination of design, copy and layout. There’s no magic formula to creating calls-to-action. But if your conversion rates are somewhat meh, it’s time to review to see if you’re hitting all 4 of the call-to-action Ps.

P Is For – Placement

Don’t force your prospects to search for how to give you their information. Far too often we see landing pages that have thousands of words explaining why prospects are going to love this lead generation magnet, benefits, testimonials, and thousands of other lines that nobody is really reading. If prospects want to opt-in they have to scroll all the way down to the make the commitment.

So for each second you force prospects to scroll down, you’ll be giving them an opportunity to get bored and do something else. So just do yourself a favor and put your call-to-action above the fold, or at a position on your page that users don’t need to scroll down to see it. Your conversion rate will thank you!

P Is For – Phrasing

In the marketing world there is this huge emphasis on standing out and being clever through specialized buzzwords. But when it comes to calls-to-actions, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. You don’t need to invest time into creating some sort of thought provoking, brand new call-to-action that has never been used. Just give prospects a straightforward, jargon free verb that they can get on board with and make it into your call-to action button.

P Is For – Pop

There’s a lot to look at online. From cute cat videos to an infinite amount of things on Pinterest, prospects have been conditioned to stop caring in a matter of moments. So to give your call-to-action the attention it deserves, make it stand out with an appropriate text size, contrasting colors and a little bit of whitespace.

P Is For – Precise

Let’s just say your call-to-action is very obvious, has flawless phrasing and is a total prospect magnet. But instead of sending prospects to a download page once they opt-in, they’re rerouted to a general page. Sorry, but this is a major fail!

There’s an old marketing adage that says, a confused mind always says no. This couldn’t be truer when it comes to calls-to-action. If a prospect doesn’t know where to go next, or is confused on how to get their information, it’s extremely easy to stop caring. But fortunately, this is an easy fix. Just make sure you’re always sending prospects exactly where they need to be and provide any possible explanation. It may seem a little silly at times, but it can mean the difference between capturing a lead and letting one slip through your fingers.

Long Story Short

Now you have a solid foundation for building your next great call-to-action. But are you ready to see how it works in relation to the rest of the lead generation process? Then download our free planning guide, Lifecycle Marketing Planner below and learn how you can capture more leads and close more sales without spending a ton on marketing.