According to The Radicati Group’s Email Statistics Report, over 100 billion business emails are sent and received every day, including many email marketing campaigns. To cut through the clutter, marketers need to focus their efforts on the call to action to help drive customer engagement and boost revenue.
Where to place the call to action
When sending a brief marketing email, a bold call to action high up in the email body tends to work best. In longer emails, however, it can pay to integrate the call to action in multiple places, as this gives the reader several opportunities to engage even if they don’t read the entire message. The key is to make sure that the recipient can clearly see what they need to do, without distraction.
Deciding how many calls to action to include in an email marketing campaign ultimately depends on the goal of the email. If the aim of the email is to encourage people to sign up and drive revenue, then only one call to action is generally necessary. However, if you’re trying to get users to interact in several different ways, it can be helpful to add different options for doing so, such as via email, Twitter, Facebook or the company blog.
What should you say?
A call to action should clearly indicate what the recipient needs to do. The body of the email should highlight the benefits, while the call to action is there to close the deal.
Calls to action should be short and sweet, providing clear directions for to next steps. Phrases that are often employed in calls to action include “Shop Now”, “Learn More”, “Request a Demo”, or “Register Now”.
Only include additional information if it provides added value or reduces anxiety for the user. In order to make the decision to click less nerve-wracking for the user, it can be helpful to include a customer testimonial next to the call to action.
When including a call to action in your email, there needs to be a direct correlation between the content of the email and the destination of the link. For instance, don’t make a reader click on a “Register Now” button and then send them to the homepage. Instead, send them directly to the sign-up form.
The design of the call to action
Marketers are often unsure whether to use a text link or a button for the call to action. When considering which to use, look beyond the aesthetics and think about how your users will view the message. It’s important to take into account which device your subscribers are using, as images show up differently – or sometimes not at all – on different devices. Design the email to accommodate the majority of subscribers.
Most importantly, the call to action should be clearly visible and actionable. Focus on functionality, but employ workarounds that give the email the right look and feel. It’s preferable to build the call to action in HTML, rather than using an image, as this will mean the majority of subscribers will be able to see it. Also include a text link for those reading on devices that only support plain text. If you plan to include multiple calls to action, it’s helpful to make it clear which is the most important.
Try not to use the same call to action in every email marketing campaign. Aim to use unique and interesting calls to action, which put a new twist on more common phrases.
The call to action is the strongest, most important element of any email marketing campaign, so take time to consider its placement, wording and design. Don’t be afraid to be creative to make your brand stand out, create urgency, and build excitement. The call to action holds a lot of power, so if you plan your campaign thoroughly, you can increase email engagement and conversion significantly.
By Paul Ford, VP of product and marketing at SendGrid.
PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.
comments powered by Disqus