How to improve your email call-to-actions

A call-to-action (CTA) in an email campaign is meant to trigger a direct reaction from its recipients. Even the littlest changes in a CTA can have the biggest effect. What is the best CTA for your emailings?

The right position

The position you place a CTA in your email is very important for increasing your click-through-rates. Make sure it stands out compared to the other content in your email, like text and images.

Also, because recipients can see them without have to scroll, a CTA that’s placed in the top of an email gets better results than one that’s placed in the bottom.

Feel free to include the a CTA in your email more than once, but make sure they all serve the same purpose. Multiple CTAs make it confusing for your recipients to decide which one they have to follow.

The right words

Actions speak louder than words, and be that as it may, in this particular case you’ll need words to call to action. Make it clear for a reader:

• What is expected of him?
• Where the CTA will take him?
• Why does he have to go there?

The best CTAs answer these three questions, using as few words as possible:

• Contact us
• Apply now
• Sign up now
• Create an account
• Etcetera

Avoid CTAs that state the obvious. The internet has been around long enough even for the biggest technophobes to understand that they have to click on a hyperlink to make it work. In other words: don’t use ‘click here’.

The right shape and layout

CTAs come in different shapes and sizes: text, buttons or images. All have their own advantages in comparison to the others.

An image or button might stand out better compared to the rest of your email content. Except for when an email client doesn’t display images of course, in which case a text link will stand out better.

When using an image or a button, always make sure to include an alt and title tag in your HTML code for when an image is not properly displayed.

The right CTA for you

Do you want to know which CTA is best for your next email campaign? Should you go for green buttons or for red ones? There’s only one way to find out: by testing and measuring. Conduct split-runs or A/B tests and keep a close eye on your email results to see which CTA is the right one for you.

This article was originally published on Marketing Tech