Marketing tips for editorial pros – the 4 Cs of an effective call to action

Whether we’re sending a letter, responding to a request for a quotation, writing website copy, designing a brochure, creating a directory listing or contacting a (potential) client via email, the call to action is always helpful but often forgotten. The best of them compel people to do something

What is a call to action?
A call to action tells your reader what you want them to do – and it does it in a nutshell, thereby creating a sense of immediacy.

Even though the information the customer needs in order to respond may be included on the contact page of your website, your listing in an online specialist directory, the banner heading of your letter, or in the signature of your email, it’s always worth adding a reminder so that the reader doesn't have to spend time searching for the instructions you want them to find.

What does the call to action look like? The 4C framework
As with all things marketing, I prefer to avoid promoting strict rules because I worry they might impinge on the nervous marketer’s creativity. Instead, consider these 4 Cs as a framework for good practice:

• Clarity: Make your call to action stand out – your design will depend on your personal preferences, but consider these options: using a separate final paragraph in a letter or email; repeating the information in the postscript of a letter; creating a tinted box on a brochure; formatting the text in bold or in a contrasting colour on a directory listing; creating a click-through button, with the instruction written on it, on your homepage.
  
  
• Conciseness: Make your instructions short and to the point; this will mean they are quick and easy for the reader to understand and act upon.

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• Communication: Think initially about the core instruction that you wish to communicate, the what-you-want-them-to-do bit – “call me on this number”; “fill in this form”; “visit this website”. You might then include a reiteration of what the consequences of their action will be – in other words, what you’re doing for them: “call me on [number] for a free proofreading quotation”; “email [include hyperlink] for a free, no-obligation 200-word sample edit”; “contact me at [number/email] and I’ll confirm your booking within 24 hours”.

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• Customer focus: Think about what your customer’s problems are and how you can incorporate the solution into the call to action. What you’re offering will depend on your core client base and your business model. 

​Below is a partial screen shot of my home page. It shows two simple calls to action asking my readers to do two particular things: visit the author resources page and contact me.

You probably use them already … 
Many of us use call to actions in daily situations without even realizing it.

When we’re talking to friends and colleagues, it’s not uncommon to sign off with a summary sentence in which we round up what’s required, how it’s required and by when: “Right, you bring the wine; I’ll bring the cheese. I’ll see you at yours at 7pm” or “Good, that’s agreed – give me a call to confirm the meeting by lunchtime tomorrow” or "Great, send me the details by noon and I'll talk to X on your behalf."

By summing up in this way, we’re informally clarifying everything that’s been discussed (perhaps at some length) beforehand, so we know exactly what action is required – who’s doing what, when, where and how. Using the same technique in our business communications works in exactly the same way.

Why is using a call to action a good idea?
The call to action focuses the client's attention. There’s strong evidence to suggest that whether clients are reading the information on a webpage, or scanning a letter or CV, they don’t dilly dally, and are more likely to do something when they're told to do it.

Says Jakob Nielsen regarding websites: “How long will users stay on a Web page before leaving? […] Not very long. The average page visit lasts a little less than a minute” (“How Long Do Users Stay on Web Pages?”, 2011).

And here’s Gill Wagner on the issue of letters: “[A]t most you have […] eight seconds before the decision-maker will make the first yes/no decision about whether to crumple and toss” (cited in Harnby, 2014).

Nudging your client to take the action you want them to take is therefore crucial if your marketing materials (online or in print) are to have the biggest impact on time-limited readers.

Solving the client's problems
In “11 Kick-Ass Call to Action Examples, and Why They Work” (Word Stream, 2014), Dan Shewan takes a look at 11 very different calls to action used by a variety of businesses, including a résumé/CV builder, a credit-card reader, and a retailer specializing in products aimed at men.

He shows how these businesses focus on the desires/needs of their potential customers, and how the calls to action (1) use language that reinforces those desires/needs and (2) offer the customer a solution that will lead to fulfilment.

Encouraging engagement … 
Calls to action can say different things to different clients; they can be designed in a variety of ways; they can be placed in a variety of positions depending on the message you want to communicate and when you want to communicate it.

Not everyone is a good copywriter, but that needn’t stop any of us from creating calls to action that help our busy customers navigate our marketing materials easily. Us the 4c framework to guide you.

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.