Did you know that simple changes to your call to action (CTA) can have a considerable impact on how much revenue you generate from your campaign? Whether it’s direct mail or email, here are three ways to increase the chances that buyers will respond to your offer. 

1. Make it specific.  Although there are exceptions, the clearer and closely tied your CTA is to the offer, the better. If you are offering “buy one, get one free” pizzas, for example, “Buy Now!” will be less effective than “Get My FREE Pizza Now!”

2. Keep it simple.  Especially when your product is more complex, it’s important to simplify. When one financial services firm wanted to sell consolidation loans, for example, its offer and call to action were,

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For many people, however, that offer and CTA combination is way too complicated. Budget analysis? Get started? It’s overwhelming. But when the company changed its CTA to “Estimate my monthly payment,” it saw a 125% increase in conversion (source: MECLabs).

3. Get the sequence right. Don’t assume that people are farther along in the process than they are. If you spring the CTA too soon, you may lose them.

Say a couple wants to buy a home. The realtor doesn’t walk up to them on day one, before they’ve even started looking at houses, and say, “Here’s your new house. Do you want the 30-year or a 20-year mortgage?” The realtor first has to build trust, show them the options, and give them enough information to select the right home for them.

The simpler the offer and the less complex the product, the earlier you can put forth the CTA. If the product is takeout, you can put it right on the front of the flyer. If it’s more complex, such as a summer cruise, you might want to save it for page two or three of a glossy, four-color brochure. Does this spark some ideas about changes you can make to your CTAs to generate more revenue? If so, great! But don’t just wing it—let us help. Let’s test some of your ideas in your next direct mail or email campaign and see what gets the most traction.