When creating a print or digital campaign there can be a tendency to concentrate on details such as the right tone, catchy copy, the right imagery, nice fonts and big logos and along the way lose sight of the overall objective of the campaign. What is your consumer or client going to do with the campaign information? How will they act on this information and how will you measure success?

Regardless of whether your campaign objective is to build brand awareness or generate direct sales you should always have a strong call to action (CTA).

Here are some tips to ensure you have a CTA that will work:

• Provoke a response

  Make sure your CTA provokes an immediate response by including a verb that directly invites the consumer to take action such as “Call Today”, “Download Here”, “Sign up for our newsletter” or “Register to attend” etc. Tell your audience what to do and provide an instant solution on how to do it. Don’t give people an option to wait and think about it.

• Be clear

  If a CTA is not easy to understand your consumer won’t act. Your CTA must offer a relevant or interesting result. They should know exactly what will happen when they click, call or visit. Make sure the CTA explicitly tells them what they’re getting in exchange for their engagement.

• Keep it simple

  Short clear compelling copy that tells them exactly what to do and what’s going to happen. Make sure your creative provides answers to potential questions that your offer might raise.

• Remove risk

  A no-obligation offer such as “Free Trial” removes or reduces risk, giving the consumer the confidence to buy and act straight away.

• Design

  Make it stand out from the rest of the content. Use contrasting colours, relevant graphics, effective typography and use of negative space to draw attention to your CTA.

• Follow through

  If your campaign is driving traffic to your website, make sure there is an accompanying landing page with relevant content that relates directly to your CTA. Likewise if you are directing people to your social platforms, make sure there is a post that is relevant to your campaign. You must also ensure that you have seamless systems in place to respond to ‘Call Now’ CTA’s, make sure your sales team are briefed and that they know your campaign offer inside out.