In this article, you’ll learn…

• How to use subject lines, buttons, and language to craft better calls to action
• What to include in your calls to action to make them interesting and compelling

Think of the elusive call to action as a lead-generation gateway. Creating a great call to action can be tricky. Clearly identifying what you offer and how you want to convey that offer requires thoughtful consideration and good timing.

Here are 12 tips for optimizing your calls to action to ensure they compel potential customers to act.

1. Create concise subject lines
Online readers are expert skimmers, so create short, effective email subject lines that contain clear benefit, and be sure to instantly answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” Make the message personal, and speak in “human,” not jargon.

The three most popular types of subject lines that get subscribers reading emails are those featuring discount offers, free product offers, and familiar brand names.

According to a study by Experian Marketing Services (PDF), the use of the words “you” and “your” in subject lines has increased 3.7% since 2008, appearing in 20.9% of email subject lines. The use of the word “free” has decreased, showing up in only 12.4% of email subject lines, compared with 16.9% in 2008.

2. Test the subject line
Experiment. Test which subject lines get click-throughs. Try new things. Are you subscribed to a company email list? What gets you clicking? Again, refer to your analytics to see what content is inspiring your subscribers.

3. Consider using buttons
Sometimes, you may want to use a button as part of your call to action. Choosing the right button is critical to getting visitors to click. The goal is to create a subtle, easy-to-use image. Experiment with button shapes. Contrast the colors of buttons to make them pop, and use clear and bold text. And keep it simple! The simplest calls to action are almost always the most successful.

Notice the design of Facebook and Twitter buttons. Each has only two colors and one letter. Overly complex buttons may confuse and mislead. You can never go wrong if you keep your calls to action clean, simple, and to the point.

4. Get the language right
Your calls to action should tell readers exactly what’s in it for them. Use confident language. Be bold and assertive, but don’t stray from your brand’s style and tone.

• Brevity: Say what you need to in as few words as possible.

5. Make it urgent
Creating a sense of urgency will motivate the reader to click through to the page. Use words such as “today” and “now.” Use wording that provides incentive to the reader to click right then and there. Urgent, action-oriented words are more successful than words such as “free” in inspiring your subscribers to take action.

6. Remove distractions
Keep your message clear. Do not litter your email with busy distracting designs, too many colors, or multiple fonts. Remember—keep the message in your calls to action simple and to the point.

• Color: Use color wisely to make sure that your call to action stands out from the other information on the page. Use a color wheel to help you decide on contrasting colors

7. Use numbers when possible
When people search online, they are looking for specifics. Numbers convey at least the impression of a clear, specific message. Therefore, find ways to incorporate statistics and other numbers to share based on the overall goal of your call to action. If your goal is to promote an event, for example, use numbers to show the specifics (e.g., dates, prices, attendees, specials).

(CTA): relates to conversion CTA is a specific message/graphic urging the user act. CTA Design is the art of moving visitors from one page to the next, and finally persuading them to take an expected, predetermined action. www.acromediainc.com/glossary_interactive_web_development

8. Make it newsworthy
Research news pertaining to your industry, sign up for RSS feeds, and visit Google Alerts for daily ideas on spinning news into a creative call to action.

9. Ask questions
Asking a question is a great attention-grabbing tactic to motivate reader follow-through. Make questions compelling, personal, and irresistible.

10. Plan its design
Good tactics go into creating good calls to action. Getting the position of the call to action right largely depends on the design layout. Place your calls to action high up and centered on the page—right in the reader’s main area of interest.

Another way to make your call to action really pop is to leave a significant amount of white space around it. On the other hand, using an alternative and interesting color palette would also effectively draw attention to your call to action. Make your calls to action big. The bigger… the more noticeable.

Using all those various ideas correctly will effectively lead the reader to your call to action.

11. Focus on creating good content
Although great design is key to a successful call to action, the words you use and the way you use them are the most important. Start the call to action with a verb, followed by a subject, such as “Ask an expert.” Be bold and declarative.

Offer the reader something valuable. Use incentives such as coupons and special offers to keep the subscriber reading. Tease your “special offer” at the beginning of the email—and close with a hard sell.

Feature images of your product, or, better yet, use video to send a message. A study by GetResponse (PDF) found that more than “80% of respondents [planned] to use video emails in 2010, while in 2009 only 15.7% of responders used video in their email campaigns.”

Use alliteration, metaphor, and rhyme. Target your audience with dynamic content, and produce the dynamic content via list segmentation and the use of autoresponders. Find popular phrases and words related to your product or service, and use them in your copy to boost search engine optimization.

12. Choose an email service provider that offers simple email optimization features
For example, drag-and-drop email editors simplify content creation and allow you to send emails faster and more effectively. Other software features that enhance your calls to action are flexible and intuitive navigation; the ability to move, copy, or delete content blocks; and easy graphic-editing tools (so you don’t need to know HTML or CSS coding).

Plus, email personalization, social media integration, dynamic content, and RSS content capabilities will automate your campaigns, and make them more interactive.

Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2012/7884/12-ways-to-strengthen-your-call-to-action#ixzz1usEiO5oO

Without reinventing the wheel, we’ll simply revisit the exercise from EMINENT DOMAIN: Know Your Target Audience. Jan 15 thru March 15, 2012 step by step we’ll complete the exercise, post our findings and feedback here supporting one another through the process while gaining a new intimacy with our individual target audiences.

Excerpt from EMINENT DOMAIN: Know Your Target Audience:

“There must be an understanding of the customer and their needs. It is most important to understand the target audience. Essentially a marketing strategy is built around the core values, vision and objectives of the organization. In development of market strategy, one becomes aware that in order to have product, price, promotion or placement, the organization must have done its research on the market and the consumer need for its service. Without an understanding of the targeted audience, the organization cannot market at all. It is important to build the product, its price, distribution and promotion around the needs of the people and of course, from there, work to persuade segments of the segment into wanting the product.

What many business people starting out really do not understand about marketing and understanding the average consumer is that more that likely the target is open to finding information about your product or service… Still it is your job and the purpose of the marketing strategy to define who should be looking for you.

Knowing your target audience is also eminent in developing your website. The variables that define your target audience also shape your site and how the search engines will guide potential clients to your virtual door.

Ask yourself these questions to help you better understand who your business is working for; your target audience:

1. Who does your product appeal to, and what are their general characteristics? Start out broad. General attributes to consider are your target audience’s age, sex, location, income level, and marital status.

2. What is their motivation for buying your product or services? In short, what is your customer’s pain? Why do they so badly need you? The point is your product adds some sort of value to their lives. Figure out what that value is.

Is your product something they need or something they want? Does having your product elevate their social status somehow? Does it make them feel better about themselves? Or is it something that merely entertains them?

3. How does your target audience shop? To best market to your ideal customer, you need to figure out their purchasing habits.

• Do they tend to make impulse purchases, or are they more rational, logical consumers?
• Where do they shop? Online or in person?
• Are they loyal to particular brands or are they always susceptible to jump ship?

4. Where does your target audience congregate? In order to communicate with your target audience, you need to first know where they are. By knowing exactly where your target audience is, you can focus your marketing efforts into those areas so that you have a better chance of capturing their attention.

Figure out which social networks and other websites they frequent most. Which type of physical establishments do they hang out in? Which TV and radio stations do they tune into? Which magazines do they read?

January 15th here we come! Post your questions and feedback as comments below. You may also contact me, Jacqueline Taylor-Adams at (215) 774-1237 or email dobusiness@tayloradams4me.com.

What does your bio say?

Statistics say Twitter profiles that have a bio will attract up to eight (8) times more followers than profiles without bios. You have 160 characters to make an impact and activate action. This task can be quite a challenge. Here are some tips:

• You don’t have to tell us everything about you. Get your priorities straight. You are a complex person and your business is too. It might take some serious thinking, but you need to prioritize just what it is you want to get across to your followers that defines you. Being a happy husband, a proud daddy and a golf addict might be large parts of who you are, but if you are using Twitter to promote your online graphics designing business, these might not have a place in such a short bio.
• Focus on critical keywords that describe you and/or what you do. Think about it as SEO for Twitter. Think about things that people would search for to find you, and try to include those keywords in your Twitter bio. Your followers will be more likely to stick if they were searching and found you based on relevant keywords.
• Think about what kind of followers you want to attract
• Be real; be you. Describe yourself, what you do. Mention your hobbies, interests, and/or niche, industry (what you mention should be relative to your profile’s focus). Why are you on Twitter in the first place? Try to answer this question in your bio. You don’t have to do it directly, but if your bio says you are a social media expert and all you do is share cat photos and videos on Twitter, your followers will probably start to fall off.
• For heaven’s sake, don’t tell us you are an expert or guru!

Include a website in your Twitter profile. When the website supports your bio, you increase confidence in your profile. Now, you just have to make sure tweets stay relevant.

Help me do better. Share how you feel I can do better…

My twitter bio says:  @TaylorAdams4Me
Simply building branding and business: sponsorship properties, advertising, marketing consultation, business development and telcomm products and services.
www.TaylorAdams4Me.com

Now, post your twitter bio and twitter handle, so we can follow you!

A logo is your mean weapon in the realm of BRANDING, and it should properly reflect the image that your company wishes to portray. A logo may consist of a word or words, a phrase, a person’s name, a symbol, a picture, or a combination of any of these. It can be used in all your advertising and promotion, and also instead of, or in conjunction with, your company name as your main company trademark or service mark.

MANY LOGO OPTIONS
The best logos reflect the NATURE of the business they symbolize yet are simple enough to retain legibility over a wide variety of reproductions — business cards, letterheads, merchandise, web site, etc. Many logos are based on a simple but effective illustration. Often, setting the company’s name in a distinctive typeface will form a memorable logo. Sometimes the letters are modified to create a special effect. In other cases, portions of the letters are omitted or exaggerated. Logos are particularly important for business web sites, providing visual shorthand for immediate identification.

SERVICE MARKS
A Service Mark identifies the source of a SERVICE rather than the source of a product. For example, a utility company may use a service mark to identify the service it offers.

STRONG TRADEMARKS
A Strong Trademark consists of a word that has no recognizable MEANING, such as Kodak or Microsoft. Strong trademarks receive broad protection from being used by other companies in a deceptive manner.

WEAK TRADEMARKS
Weak Trademarks consist of a common word, such as First or Best, or a word that suggests some CHARACTERISTIC of the product, such as Wet n’ Wash, Mop n’ Glo, or Shake n’ Bake. They receive less protection, unless the public identifies them with a certain manufacturer as a result of wide advertising and long continuous use.

PROTECTING YOUR LOGO OR TRADEMARK
Make sure your logo design is available for USE. If you do intend to use a logo as a central focus of your business image, protect it by REGISTERING it with your state, or with the Patent and Trademark Office so that others can’t use it (Ma Bell failed to register their “yellow pages walking fingers”. Now all yellow-pages companies can use the graphic, and many do.)

HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED
In previous years, to secure a trademark or service mark, you had to prove to the government that you were already using the mark by submitting SAMPLES of labels, tags and other materials that displayed it. But the laws were recently changed. All you have to do now is state the intention to use the mark you desire to register. However, because there are other decisions to be made regarding registration, you may need to secure the advice of a lawyer specializing in trademark law. You’ll need to know:

• whether the trademark will be used strictly on a local or statewide basis
• everything involved in maintaining your rights to the logo or trademark
• what to do if you choose to register locally now and run into a conflict later when you want to go NATIONAL

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