Article Marketing - 6 Call To Action Tips - Redux
A major Article Directory Blog just came out with a pretty good video and article about article marketing and your Call To Action
. Here are the 6 tips they supplied:
1. Tell Them What to Do - A reader should never finish one of your articles and be left thinking "What do I do next?" Your call-to-action should quickly answer this question and give the reader some direction. It normally fits best at the end of a blog post, video or article.
2. Keep it Simple - Your call-to-action should always be easy to understand and do. If it's too complex, your readers won't do it. Also, consider any barriers they may face in following through on your call-to-action because the barrier may demolish their interest in you.
3. Only Have One Call-to-Action - Your readers' time is just as precious as yours. If you give them more than one thing to do, they might not do anything at all.
4. Make it Positive - People like to be associated with positive ideas and concepts, so keep this in mind when writing your call-to-action. Including any negativity in your message could have an impact on how it's received.
5. Make it Beneficial - Be clear about the main benefits of completing the call-to-action. If you're leading them to a website or email newsletter, explain why they need to take action. Also, you have their attention, so tell them to complete the action now. This may be the only time they encounter your work, so use the call-to-action to open the possibility of developing a professional relationship.
6. Display the Full Website Address - If your article is picked up and reprinted by a publisher, using the full website address ensures the link will hold up in the reprinted version. Anchor text, on the other hand, may not be as reprint-friendly. Using the full website address also helps to build your brand.
Pretty good but I think we can do better:
1. Tell Them What To Do - This needs to be made as automatic as possible. If you have already gotten your reader involved by getting them to do something earlier in the article you have a better chance of them following through on your instruction at the end. This is in harmony with the Law of Continuity. For example, if I got you to watch the video at the beginning of this post you are more likely to follow through on an instruction I give you later.
2. Keep It Simple - I would say, simple and transparent. If you are sending your reader to a salespage, they should be expecting that. I prefer sending them to either a blog post or a video with their own Call To Action.
3. Only Have One Call To Action - Agreed as long as we are talking about the end of the article. Getting the reader involved, as I mentioned earlier is vital.
4. Make It Positive - This is a truism. If the tone of your article is using sarcasm or veiled insults to make a point, you may need to view this in that light. We've all seen this done effectively in Gary Halbert's work. (Though I don't recommend calling your readers ShitWeasels! Lol) And in the more recent past The Rich Jerk and his army of imitators did this to great success. But even then the tone of the action was portrayed positively, with some rude commentary for those that didn't take his action steps.
5. Make It Beneficial - I get my best results when I don't make it seem like the article or post is over. Getting to involved in stating benefits can halt the flow you have going. Your reader should almost feel like they are simply turning a page in a book or magazine. It is just how they get to the rest of the information they are involved in.
6. Display the Full Website Address - If you think I'm gonna pass up an opportunity to get a backliink with my keyword as anchor text, then you just don't get it. Why not do both? No reason not to get the best of both methods here as far as I am concerned.
The important thing here is to do what works best for you. In my SEO classes I tell my students not to trust what they read in forums as some will purposely mislead you. Now I'm not saying that the good folks at EZA would lie to you, but success is where and how you find it. As you use these methods, check your article stats and see what is getting click throughs and what isn't.
Nothing succeeds like success!
by: Jim Patterson
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