Let me take you back to middle school…
You’re pimply faced and excited to be out at a place where you might actually get to touch someone of the opposite sex.
No one really knows how to dance, so there’s a lot of swaying going on.
You eye your crush across the room. They smile back at you. You get butterflies in your stomach. Everyone in the dimmed cafeteria disappears.
You set the stage in your mind…
The next slow song that comes on, I’ll walk over and ask them to dance. Slow songs are easy to dance to. I’ve been practicing in my room. This isn’t a big deal. We’ll both have fun. They want someone to ask them to dance.
Okay, I’m going to do it.
Wait, why didn’t you do it!?
And then the dance is over. You go home, a little disappointed, slightly spattered with red punch.
Why didn’t you just ask for the dance?
Things haven’t changed that much. Have you learned to ask for the dance yet?
Every website should have a targeted call to action
Every website should have a call to action. Every piece of marketing should have a call to action. Every advertisement should have a call to action—even your AdWords.
Consumers want to be guided into a decision. It’s easier that way. If you’re not asking them to do something, they almost feel rejected.
Why not ask them to dance?
A good call to action provides:
- A means to focus your content
- Something tangible to measure
- Guidance to prospects
Take a visit to your website. Browse through your brochures, marketing materials—even your business card. What guidance are you giving people? Which direction are you nudging them in? How are you helping them make the decision they came to make?
Here are a few steps for creating an effective call to action:
- Determine the consumer’s problem, present a solution, then highlight other benefits of your service that meet that solution.
- Sweeten the pot — It’s much easier to say, “Yes,” when you feel like you’re getting more value than you expected. This doesn’t have to be a discount or free service, it could just be a one-page report that very directly answers prospect’s most common questions.
- A trail of little Yeses — A good call to action, often times consists of several smaller calls-to-action. Are you interested in making a positive cashflow each month with your rental property? Yes. Would you like to receive our free report showing how investment properties can easily increase the rents they collect? Yes. Would you be interested in talking with an agent about the top 5 ways we’ve been able to increase investment property cashflow? Yes.
- Light a fire under them — If given a choice, people tend to push things over to “tomorrow.” Make sure you’re using language that creates urgency. Offer early bird specials, limit the number available, host a webinar with a set timeframe, etc.
- Always be selling — Prospects will not always come to your site via the homepage. Especially if you have a content strategy that revolves around your blog, you want to make sure you are converting that traffic. Make sure that your call to action is not only on every page, but that it is specific to the type of web traffic that will be drawn to that particular content.
You’re not in middle school anymore. You can’t let jitters hold you back from asking for what you want.
Your customers will feel relieved that you effectively presented a solution to their problem.
Good marketing is about highlighting a solution. It’s creating value that benefits all parties involved. It’s providing guidance, so the consumer can make the decision they already want to make. It’s removing doubt by showing confidence.
Deep down, we all just want to be asked to dance.