If you are a business owner, chances are that you have realised the importance of blogging.
You’ll already know that it’s a fantastic way to:
- demonstrate your credibility
- provide value to your readers
- and promote your business.
Hopefully, you have developed a momentum with your blogging and are reaping the benefits as a result.
But are you still looking for ways to increase the effectiveness of your blog posts?
Are your blog posts working hard enough for you?
Ask yourself these questions:
- Are you fully leveraging the opportunity that a blog presents to engage with your audience?
- Are you directing your blog readers to do something once they have read your post?
- Or, are you leaving them hanging – with no clear direction as to what they should do next?
If the latter, I would urge you to heed this advice:
In this blog post, I will be revealing why you should use a call to action and how to write one effectively.
I have also created a free download which outlines five types and over twenty examples of calls to action that I urge you to start using in your blog posts today.
What is a call-to-action?
A call-to-action is literally an instruction to the reader of your blog.
It’s used in order to encourage immediate, well… action! It guides the reader towards a specific, desired outcome.
Much like you may well have call to actions on your website such as “Sign up to receive my newsletter”, you need these in your blog posts too.
Why you should use a call to action in your blog post
If you’ve written a great blog post, spent time promoting it on social media, and then have attracted people to it – well done!
But if, once they come to the end of it, you have just stopped or signed off with something like “Thanks for reading”, you are missing an opportunity.
Without them knowing what it is that you recommend they do next, you are risking them coming to the end of your blog article and then exiting your website.
Perhaps never to return again.
Use call to actions to engage and convert
With no clear ‘call to action’ within your blog post, you are failing to engage your audience further and to provide them additional value.
This is important because an engaged audience is much more likely to convert to become a follower of your content. A follower is more likely to become a subscriber to your newsletter. A proportion of your subscribed audience will potentially become paid customers.
The crucial point about why you should use a call to action is this.
Once they have finished reading most people do need to be prompted into taking the next step.
So, include at least one call to action to encourage them to take the next step.
What makes an effective call to action?
The call to action you choose to use within your blog will vary with each post. It will also depend on what your objective is when creating the content.
For example,
- If you are aiming to secure more sign-ups to your database, the call to action could be “Sign up to my newsletter”
- If you are wanting the post to be seen by as many people as possible, the call to action could be “Share this”
- If you are hoping readers will stay on your site to access more of your blog content, the call to action could be “Find similar articles here” etc.
These are just a few examples of how ‘call to actions’ can be used within your blog. Want more?
Writing an effective call to action
The way you choose to lead into your call to action will depend on the style and tone of your blog writing. Also, which of the approaches you feel most comfortable with.
There are no right or wrongs.
What is important, however, is that you use active, urgent language.
You want people to follow your instruction and do what you suggest straight away. You can encourage this by using ‘active’ words such as ‘click here’, ‘call me’ or ‘book today’.
You can also create a sense of urgency along with your call to actions by using supportive phrases such as:
- Available for a limited time only
- Offer expires on xx (date)
- Just xx (number) of tickets left
- Order now and receive a free gift
Keep a focus on creating calls to action that deliver benefits to the reader.
Visitors to your blog should gain value from your content and the actions you are encouraging them to take. It should not (always) be focussed on selling.
Your goal will occasionally be to sell something. However, a good rule of thumb is to make this the exception, not the rule.
Next steps
Do you know why you should use a call to action in your blog posts now? I hope so!
If you don’t currently use calls to action, review this today to get the most benefit from your blogging efforts.
- Consider what you want your blog readers to do next, and how this will help you achieve your marketing objectives
- Create compelling call to actions that will incentive your readers to follow your instructions
- Make them visible, as well as simple to understand and follow
- Use different types of call to action across your blog and review what works best over a period of time
My call to action for this post?
In case you missed it above, click here to download my free checklist of five types of effective call to actions.
It comes complete with over 20 examples that you could use in your own blog posts.
Let me know how you get on!
