In your email marketing, every email should serve a purpose. There’s always something you want the recipient to do after reading your content. For eCommerce businesses, that typically involves getting your target audience and paying customers to visit your online store, use a promo, or sign up for an exclusive offer you're running.
But you can’t just leave the recipients to decide on what to do after reading your message. You need to tell them, or direct them. To do this, and to ensure your email campaigns are truly successful, you need to use a call to actions (CTAs) and lead the readers in the right direction.
In this blog, you’ll learn what a call to action is, how they work, and why they’re effective. Plus we'll give you some awesome examples of CTAs that work (tried and tested by ourselves and our clients worldwide), and a few bonus tips on crafting your own CTAs for your business.
What is a call to action (CTA) in an email and how do they work?
An email marketing call to action is a button or hyperlinked line of text that directs the user to a company’s home page, product page, or content resource that gives them more opportunities to learn about a brand or a product before making a purchase, and much more.
Email CTAs work by telling people what to do next. By strategically placing CTAs in your email campaigns, you are encouraging your readers to ask “What now? or what next?”. These buttons or links answer that question directly, and most importantly, they encourage your readers to quickly act on what your email content has convinced them to do. After all, there's no time like the present!
For example, if you're looking to drive sales for a specific product, your email copy should describe the product and the benefits of owning it. You might even include recent reviews from previous customers, but what will drive your customers to action is the CTAs you choose to use. Common CTAs used to drive sales are “Order now,” “ME! I want one!,” or ”Buy now for 10% off.”
Call to Action phrases you can start using
So without further ado, here's a list of call to actions you can start using in your email campaigns from now on. These have all been tried and tested by our marketing team here, as well as some killer ones suggested by our top tier clients.
CTAs that encourage a purchase
- Buy now
- Buy now. Pay later.
- Claim your discount!
- Get 20% off now
- Get free shipping
- Order today for an exclusive gift
- Reveal my mystery discount code
- See our hand-selected deals for this month
- Shop now. Get 40% off.
- Shop our best sellers
- Shop our winter collection
- Yes! I want one.
CTAs for events
- Book today for our early bird prices
- Book your tickets NOW
- Count me in!
- I’ll be there!
- I’m in!
- Register for our FREE webinar
- Reserve your VIP seat
- Sign me up
CTAs for content
- Download your FREE eBook
- Get the app now
- Keep reading
- Learn more
- Read the full story HERE
- Want to know more?
CTAs to collect feedback
- Complete a 3-minute survey
- Leave a review
- Let us know how we did
- Take our survey
- Yes, I’ll share my experience!
CTAs that focus on results
- Find out how
- Get the results you want NOW
- I’m ready to see a positive change
- See how you can benefit
- Start now. Get instant results.
- Start today - it'll be the best thing you do!
CTAs for service-based businesses
- Book your next appointment
- Make me a VIP
- Sign up and save 25%
- Start your free trial TODAY
- Upgrade now
- Yes! I want an upgrade.
CTAs for special occasions
- Claim your birthday gift from us
- Find the perfect Christmas gifts here
- Order now. Get it before Christmas.
- Our gift to you: 50% off
- Shop Santa’s favourites
- Spread the holiday cheer with us
- Yes! I want my birthday discount.
CTAs for video
- Hear from our CEO
- Listen to my story
- Our before and after
- Play video NOW
- See for yourself
- Showing you the difference it can make
- Watch now!
CTAs for social media
- Check out our social media accounts
- DM us on Instagram
- Follow us
- Have a look at our customer testimonials on our socials
- Let’s connect on LinkedIn
- Like us on Facebook
- See our customers before and afters
- Send us a tweet
- Stay connected on socials
5 Additional tips for effective CTAs
- Appeal to your audience’s fear of missing out (FOMO). Use words that provoke a sense of urgency and let your audience feel they’ll miss out on a good deal if they don’t act fast (e.g., 20% off TODAY ONLY).
- Find the most strategic location. Always place your CTAs where your reader will already be convinced and ready to take the next step.
- Highlight your brand’s unique selling proposition (USP). Your values should play a huge part in your brand identity and marketing efforts, so use them to drive your readers to action (e.g., “Order now to make a difference”).
- Make it relatable. Consider using first-person phrasing to make your CTAs more compelling to the reader (e.g., “Claim my free eBook”). This makes your CTA clearer and more relatable to the reader. It also gives the individual a sense of control.
- Test and improve. Experiment with different types of CTAs to identify what works best for you and your audience.
In conclusion
Your email call-to-actions directly affect how effective your campaign will be. To write a good email CTA, use language that’s relevant to your brand and the action you want your reader to take. Use actionable words and be direct. Keep it short and simple. Don’t leave your reader questioning what to do next. You need to command them but do so in a non-standoffish way. You don’t want to intimidate or scare your readers now, do you?
Once you’ve mastered how to write call-to-action phrases that encourage your readers to take action, your email campaigns will drive much more revenue and pave the way for sustainable business growth. Follow the information in this blog and you’ll see the difference it makes in your email campaigns from here on out.
