Seven “Call To Action” Copywriting Secrets
Hey, I asked for suggestions a few posts back and Rebecca Geiger had a great one. She wanted to know “How To Write A Call To Action” and I thought it was a great idea for an article because it’s one of the fastest ways to get more opt-ins, comments, retweets or even sales online.
So what is a “Call To Action” anyway?
Well simply put, a call to action is nothing more than a closing statement in any of your writing that asks for action. You’re calling people to act right now.
For example…
“If you enjoyed this article then feel free to share it with your friends on Twitter right now. It’s easy to do, just click that little green “retweet” button above this post today. Much appreciated.”
Another example…
“To get your advance copy of ‘MLM Extreme’ send this card in today. Include the $4.00 registration fee and you’re ready to go. There’s a limit of one per family and supplies are slim so please send your card in today.”
And another…
“Please call right now. We take all the risk so you don’t have to. Give it a try yourself for 30 days — if you’re not satisfied — return it for a full money-back refund. This deal will never be available again. So don’t let this opportunity pass you by. The number of my office is 1-800-8888. It’s toll free so it won’t cost you anything at all. Thank you.”
And so on.
You get the idea, right?
Seven Call To Action Secrets:
1) Be specific. Tell your reader EXACTLY what to do.
Don’t say…
“Call 1-800-878-8888.”
Do say…
“Dial 1-800-878-8888 and wait for Pamela to pick up the phone. She’s a nice lady, slightly overworked. She’ll ask you your for your coupon code (it’s 24-CMM) and your name and mailing address. Give it to her. She’ll let you know there’s a special offer on. It’s okay if you aren’t interested. There’s no obligation to upgrade at all…”
2) Reason why. Give your reader a reason to act now.
Just be honest about it…
• We only have thirty copies left.
• We’re taking down this web page tomorrow.
• You’ll get a free gift…
And so on.
3) The rule of three. Try embedding 3 calls to action in your writing. I know this sounds excessive but it isn’t. Think of the old-time sales pro. “Always be closing.” They don’t all have to be “in your face”. One can be a whole paragraph. The other can be a short sentence. Another could be in the “P.S.” section. This will often increase your response.
4) Be detailed. Don’t be afraid to write a lengthy call to action. If you have a really complicated product or service then your call to action might take up a paragraph or two easy. Don’t waste space, but don’t be afraid to use the space you need to write a proper close.
5) The rule of “you.” Pepper your writing with you, your, and yours. This is an old rule but it’s absolutely necessary for your call to action. You need to give your reader ownership over the action before they’ll respond to your request. We almost always act in our own best interests so don’t be afraid to appeal to what they want…
Two more to go…
6) Tie it together. Your “call to action” should be smooth. Not blatant. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a screaming call to action that made me want to puke. But you don’t have to yell to sell.
And you don’t have to use “hype” in your call to action. Keep your call to action in the same tone and style as your article, or sales letter and you’ll do just fine.
7) Suggest Don’t Tell. Asking, “Would you pass me the salt?” almost always works better than yelling: “PASS ME THE SALT!” And doesn’t incur half the resentment.
A Cheeky Request
Hey, I know this is kinda cheeky… seeing as this post is all about writing calls to action but I would like to know what you do to keep your reader’s engaged too. If you leave a comment today I’ll get back to you in a jiffy.
Maybe you could even leave a few suggestions for posts on the Jason Better Blog too. I’d love to hear your ideas and I’ll see what I can do. Thank you.
See you soon,
Jason The “Better Networker”
The Jason Better Blog
P.S. New here? I totally hate to split my call to action into two parts… but if you would like to get more free tips like these ones then it would be awesome if you would join my friends. Just type your name and e-mail in the form below and you’ll be whisked away.
25 Comments
Mitchell Dillman on December 18th, 2009
Hey Jason,
Just a few quick thoughts on ‘Calls to Action’…
As a kid we went to church every week. Now, whenever this topic comes up or even when I’m in the process of writing one myself, I’m always reminded of that old ‘Preacher Man’ at the end of his sermon every Sunday morning. 
Seems like those guys could always throw down a good call to action!
Now, on another note, I’m not sure why or where the heck I remember this one from…
When writing calls to action, in addition to the you, your and yours, always try to include as many of the ‘action verbs’ as possible…
You know… am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, have, has, had, do, does, did, will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, and must.
These ARE sure to inspire and WILL make YOUR reader take action.
Anyway, just a few ‘memories’ out of the old jello bowl…
Hey, you stay out of trouble this weekend my friend!
Mitchell Dillman
P.S. It may be a bit technical…How do you and many other bloggers insert all the pretty little pictures in all your posts?
[Reply]
December 18th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Hey Mitchell,
Now that’s a tip! Action verbs.
I sooo need to work on my verbs. It’s
almost like eating vegetables… hah.
About pictures…
That my friend, is definitely a topic
for a post… but in short…
There’s a little button when you’re editing
posts in wordpress right above the bold and italic
buttons… click that and you should be well on your
way… I’d play around with the buttons on a practice
post to be sure.
Hope that helps.
For now…
[Reply]
Rebecca Geiger on December 18th, 2009
One more thing…
Thanks again Jason for your friendship, leadership and best of all the tastiest part of my morning coffee routine
Everyone who is reading this post say Thank You by retweeting with that little green button.
ps. you made my day!
[Reply]
December 18th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Hey Rebecca,
You seem to be everywhere on Twitter…
So yep, you’re definitely famous… Reminds
me of that shirt I saw… “I’m A Pretty Big Deal
On The Internet” lol. Love those.
But thank you for such a wonderful post idea.
You rock.
[Reply]
Jerome Ratliff on December 19th, 2009
Great call to action secrets Jason. I’m sure to try them out.
My favorite is, “Reason why”. I’ve integrated this sense of urgency in the past and it no doubt works.
Keep doing what you’re doing.
Jerome Ratliff
[Reply]
December 19th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Hey Jerome,
Thanks for stopping by. No doubt. Urgency
and reason why are two of the oldest
copywriting “tricks” in the book.
[Reply]
Adam Goldman on December 20th, 2009
Hey J’,
how about a post about social bookmarking tools?
I’ve been using onlywire and its ok,
but I’m sure there is a better free tool
outhere. You know any?
Or maybe… Top sites to publish articles
to, or something like that.
Anywayz that’s just my thoughts 
Have a great day, keep them coming,
Adam
[Reply]
December 20th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Hey Adam,
Cool ideas. I did write an article
on social bookmarking a while back…
But maybe it’s time to dust that off
and tackle specifics? Hmmm…
Good ideas.
[Reply]
Hani on December 20th, 2009
Thanks Jason…I’ve learned something new again today (as I always do from your posts). I never new about the rule of 3.
Also, everyone who is doing online video, don’t forget to include your call to action there as well.
[Reply]
December 20th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Hey Hani,
Yeah, totally. I think a lot
of people fail to connect
writing, with speaking, or any
other form of marketing. Often the
same tips apply.
As for the rule of three… I’ve seen it
work wonders when the call to action
is suggested… a few times.
You’ll also see this if you look at great
copywriting. They’ll repeat the same benefits
in three unique ways… it’s subtle… but often
powerful.
[Reply]
Damayanthi on December 21st, 2009
Hi Jason,
Thank you for this great post and grateful to Rebecca for suggesting.
Damayanthi
[Reply]
December 21st, 2009 at 9:24 am
Good Morning Damayanthi,
Isn’t Rebecca great? Always full of ideas.
And helpful too.
I’m glad you enjoyed this post. It’s one
of my favorites too.
[Reply]
Which Post Got More Comments?Network Marketing Business Blog on December 24th, 2009
[...] simple advice. Always have a “call to action” and if you’re wondering how to write one then click here for Seven “Call To [...]
Eddys Velasquez on December 29th, 2009
Hey Jason!
Thank you for sharing this article with us
I have just began to implement the calls to action in my blog and it is going super!
I also have a question on SEO..I understand that every page on your website blog should be a different keyword..but for example on the main page with all the blog posts how to you focus on just one keyword if all your posts are different..and should you focus also on 1 main keyword for your blog as a whole?
Thanks for your help!
Your Friend,
Eddys Velasquez
[Reply]
January 4th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Hey Eddys,
Sorry it took me so long to get
back to you. It turns out, my spam
filter ate your comment because of the
link you shared… so I had to delete that.
Although consistency in your keywords is
definitely important… I wouldn’t worry so much
about the variety on your home page… All of your articles
are going there so there’s it’s hard to hammer the
exact same SEO keywords and it would be boring if
you did.
It’s important to focus… but you also need variety too. Some
keywords like “Network Marketing” are so crowded that it could
take years for you to rank for them. So I would recommend going
for less used search times and hammering on those.
In other words, keep to your main keywords, but don’t be afraid to throw in
variety from time to time.
[Reply]
Derek Alvarez on December 31st, 2009
About the rule of 3:
I read in the paper the other day that when people hear the same thing 3 times, they start to believe it’s true.
Maybe that’s what’s at work here?
We all heard the word ‘hope’ a kajillion times during the last election and that seemed to stick
Another thing I’ve learned is to use some subliminals in your speaking.
Like, “By now you must realize that product X…”
Get it, “BUY now…”
P.S. I used to design landscapes and there is a rule of 3 for grouping plants, as well.
I guess that’s the way nature intended it
[Reply]
December 31st, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Hey… I’ve heard of that design
rule too.
As for the rule of three in writing. Part of
the reason long copy is so effective is
repetition. We tend to forget where we read
our “facts”… even if it’s in the sales letter
right in our hands.
Yeah, and politicians are big offenders here. hah.
[Reply]
Hani on January 3rd, 2010
I also heard that people need to hear things 7 times before they actually take action.
[Reply]
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 am
You know Hani,
I’ve read the same thing. If only they
had told me seven times so I could remember
where I read it? 
Another old mantra of advertising was,
“You have to expose them 12 times” but
gosh I hate hearing that one because so
many advertising “agencies” use that as an
excuse instead of measuring results!
[Reply]
Mike on March 10th, 2010
Reading this reminded me to go to someones support site and get a refund. Thanks to your call to action example that was backed up with a money back guarantee.
lol. Anyways…
Nice article. I have taken much advise from this blog, and copied lots of Ninja tricks too
[Reply]
March 10th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Hey Mike,
I’ve only had to ask for a refund once before… and that
was because I bought the same product twice without knowing it.
[Reply]
March 10th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Weeelll, I wouldn’t have had to ask for it if I was able to login and actually go through the product. I was only able to go through it once. The day I made the purchase.
Not to mention every promotion this person sent out thereafter was waay more advanced than the product I thought was “advanced enough” to buy.
Long story short – I was sold by the call to action!
[Reply]
March 11th, 2010 at 8:36 am
That sucks.
As long as you learn from what they did right.
Because they must be doing some things right if they’re
getting sales… If they had followed up… they might have been
able to fix the problem but most people don’t follow up.
It’s a shame.
Personally, I try to switch things
up to keep you engaged.
They say,
Variety is the spice of life…
Sure, I could write about the exact
same thing every day… but you’d
fall asleep and recommend my blog
to insomniacs!
But I’d like to know what you think…
What do you do to keep YOUR readers
engaged?
[Reply]