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How to use Calls To Action on your Blog for Profitable Conversions

How To Use Calls To Action on Your BlogYou need to know How To Use Calls To Action on Your Blog for Profitable Conversions.

Yes, you want your blog to be profitable.

That means, you must find the best ways to convert your readers into buyers and clients.

Here’s the thing I hear all the time.

“How do I get my blog visitors to buy from me?”

-or-

“How do I get my blog visitors to hire me?”

-or-

“How do I get my blog visitors to join my business opportunity or membership site?”

Well, in each of these cases, you need to be able to leverage your blog into a launch pad.

The Launch Pad Model

You see, people won’t usually visit your blog to buy from… or hire… you.

They have no intention of joining anything.

So it’s your job to set up your blog like a launch pad.

Make it a space to prepare people to take actions they may not even be contemplating.

You need to shake them out of their doldrums or comfort zone and encourage them to do something.

Even if you get a lot of traffic to your blog, it’s of little use if it’s “non-converting” traffic.

Non-converting traffic (a bunch of people who come to your blog but never buy) is one of the main reasons why your blog is not making money… or not enough, anyway.

Use Calls To Action on Your Blog

The way you shake them up is with Calls To Action (CTA).

Calls To Action come in many shapes and sizes.

It doesn’t matter much what they look like.

The only thing you’re looking for is results.

Profitable Conversions

Those results are what we call Profitable Conversions.

Get people who are casual readers to buy, hire or join.

When they do, they are no longer casual or passive readers.

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They have been converted into buyers, clients or members.

Now, in order to effect that conversion process, you need a catalyst.

Conversion Physics

In physics, scientists talk about conversion as a transformation.

Water turns into ice.

Ice turns into water.

Those are conversions.

But they don’t just happen.

Something makes them happen.

Water turns into ice when you put it in the freezer.

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So freezing temperatures are the catalyst that enable that conversion.

Ice turns into water when you leave it at room temperature.

Room temperature is the catalyst that enables that conversion.

So what is your catalyst?

What conditions can you create to convert passive readers into active buyers?

How To Use Your Blog for Profitable Conversions

Really, now, isn’t this the big question everyone wants answered?

It’s the way to make money with your blog.

And that means, it turns your blog into a business instead of just an endless conveyor belt of information and inspiration.

Of course, a lot of the success of your blog in terms of profit will be determined by what you are offering.

What is

  • your product/s
  • the opportunity you are promoting
  • or your service/s

If you have a weak product, service or opportunity, then no amount of positioning, pleading or selling will results in substantial or recurring profit.

But this article is not about what your offer it is.

I am going to assume that you have a great and compelling offer of some sort.

That doesn’t mean, though, that you can sell it, does it?

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Of course not.

You may be one of the legions of bloggers out here who have great products and services, but just can’t seem to convert your followers into buyers.

And it can be pretty frustrating, especially when your readers give you rave feedback on your information, assistance and products… but they never buy them.

Often, the biggest reason they resist is that you don’t have strong enough Calls To Action built into your blog.

Your Blog Is A Vehicle

Let’s make one thing clear.

Your blog is a vehicle, a means of delivery.

It could be a vehicle for

  • information
  • news inspiration
  • entertainment
  • or something else that your readers value.

You give all these things away freely and voluntarily.

You ask for nothing in return.

And that’s cool because, after all, you’re just trying to build a following, right?

Well, actually… no!

You are trying to build a following, but not JUST a following.

You want to build a following among highly targeted, interested and eager buyers.

Those are the people that you can convert into buyers.

Anyone else is just a bystander… a passive reader and consumer of your information, news, inspiration or entertainment.

They’re just along for the ride.

But for the true prospects and potential buyers, they can be converted when you introduce the proper catalyst into the equation.

That catalyst is your Calls To Action (CTA).

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There are many types of Calls To Action.

I want to show you some of the best ones.

Emotional Calls To Action

Emotional Calls To Action will probably result in most of the profitable conversions on your blog.

The problem is, few bloggers use them.

Or at least, they don’t use them often enough.

I think that’s because they really can feel “salesy.”

And heaven knows, whenever I speak to a blogger who isn’t getting sales, it’s almost always because they don’t want to be “salesy” or “promotional.”

Well let me tell you.

You’ve just got to get over that, or else forget about having a profitable blog.

Now, when I talk about emotional Calls To Action, I mean things like this.

Shock

Shock people out of their comfort.

Challenge them to rise out of their cushy, cozy, passive consumer mentality.

It could be something like “After using this system for just 7 days, I walked into my boss’s office and told him I was quitting.”

Now, that’s shocking to people.

If you are writing a blog post about

  • how great your business opportunity is, or
  • how some method of earning money online is a great choice for people to explore…

Things like that shock them.

It’s like

  • “really, it’s that good?”
  • “it works that fast?”

And shock doesn’t just work for making money.

Say you’re a dentist, and your blog is about implants vs. dentures.

You can give lots of great reasons for people to visit your office for an implant consultation.

A lot of that just starts sounding like white noise though, doesn’t it?

But throw in a statement like “95% of my implant procedures are completed in just 2 visits.”

Now you’ve got people’s attention.

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You just knocked them out of their

“I’m just gathering information” (passive) posture…

and squarely into a

“Wow, it can’t hurt to get a free consult” (ready to take action) pose.

Shock is a powerful way to get those kinds of conversions.

Interest

Now you might not feel comfortable shocking people.

A milder way to do it is by appealing to their sense of interest.

So, using the example of the dentist, you might say “implant procedures are far simpler now than they were 10 years ago.”

Okay.

Someone considering implant surgery may find that interesting.

I don’t think you’ll find it to be nearly as effective, though, as a more shocking statement like the one above.

Desire

Desire is another thing that many bloggers prefer to shock.

It feels nicer.

“People will love your new smile,” would be an example of something people would probably desire.

So, the implant surgeon might get their attention with that.

You can see, though, that it’s still are far softer Call To Action.

Fear

Fear is a very strong Call To Action, probably even more than shock.

“People who choose dentures over implants usually suffer continual bone loss that can result in painful, substantial and costly surgery later on.”

People make some of their biggest decisions as to when or what to buy, based on their fears.

Sure, you may desire a nice smile.

But you are scared to death by the thought of having to undergo extensive surgery a few years down the road.

Aren’t you?

Scarcity

Scarcity is another extremely powerful motivator.

Nobody wants to lose a great deal or wonderful opportunity if time is running out.

“Schedule an appointment for your free consultation today. If you want to proceed with the Treatment Plan we give you, you can get 50% off! This offer expires on the 23rd of the month, though. After that, you’ll have to spend the full price.”

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Another version would be something like “this offer is only good for the first 10 people.”

So whatever you can do to let people know that your great offer won’t last forever, or won’t be for everyone, will definitely help you increase your profitable conversions.

Rational Calls To Action

I find that bloggers are usually more comfortable appealing to their readers’ intellect rather their emotions.

Rational Calls To Action include things like these.

Convincing

You try to convince your reader that it’s a good idea to buy something, or hire you or whatever.

You give them good reasons why they should.

“It’s the best thing I’ve found”

or

“More people are now using this than any other system”

Those are the types of statements designed to convince people that your product or service is a good investment.

This is a key tactic for you to sell your product.

It is also key to how you sell your services.

Proof = Evidence

You could also offer proof that your offer is good.

“9 out of 10 people who tried this said it was the best they’ve seen”

“I earned $200 the day I signed up”

Things like that.

Features

Yet another rational CTA is the one that suggest that people are looking for certain features in a product or service.

So you might tell your readers things like…

  • this course has 18 information packed modules plus an entire case study
  • this theme has a 2-column option with a full range of color and font options

Those are features that your prospect may really be interested in.

I don’t generally recommend that you do too much “feature marketing” because people are not usually looking for features.

They just want the bottom line benefit that the course or the software can give them.

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But this is a very common way for people to market on their blogs, probably because it is really easy.

All you have to do is repeat the features listed on the package or the sales page of an item… and you’ve got a whole lot of things that you think your readers will want.

Your Call To Action in this case is basically… “Buy this product or service, and here’s all the things you will get.”

It’s kind of like a car commercial that tells you all about the 4-wheel drive, the low mileage, the automatic braking system and on and on.

That’s a very rational way to sell a car.

Very unlike the emotional pitch with the pretty girl, or the successful businessman driving down the highway in their brand new convertible.

So which approach do you think is more effective?

Argument

Another rational Call To Action is something I call “the argument.”

Essentially, you ask people to buy something because they can’t come up with a good reason not to.

You simply list the main objections that you think people would have to buying your product or service.

Then you overcome those objections in your article.

Let’s say, for instance, you are asking people to buy a graphic design service that is more expensive than similar ones.

You might make the argument that “sure we charge double what others do, but that’s because we have 10 times more to offer.”

So you are anticipating people’s complaint about your pricing by arguing that it makes perfect rational sense for them to pay more.

Social Calls To Action

Besides emotional and rational Calls To Action, there are what I call the “social” ones.

These are rooted in all the relationship building you do with your readers.

Connection

Members of your blog’s audience will often convert into buyers and clients because of the connection they feel with you.

If you have taken care to build a genuine relationship with them, then feel like they know you.

They feel connected to you.

Then, when you recommend a product or service to them, they are more likely to buy it than if you were somebody they felt some connection with.

It’s the same reason you might watch a movie that was recommended by your best friend, even though you probably would never have watched it just from seeing a commercials for it.

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So work hard at building strong relationships with your audience.

They are the gateway to profitable conversions on your blog.

Authority & Expertise

Positioning yourself as the authority in your field, or the expert, will help your Calls To Action be compelling.

This speaks to the issue of trust.

Be sure to do some guest posting to build your authority in your niche.

Accept offers to be in the spotlight, like when I accepted an offer a while back to do an interview with Amplify.

Use Calls To Action on Your BlogYour readers will trust you more when they perceive you to be an authority and an expert.

So when asking people to sign up or buy, let them know that a great reason to do so is that you know your stuff.

Remind them that other people turn to you for help, and so should they.

This is an excellent place to use testimonials from people you’ve worked with before.

That bolsters your claims of authority.

How To Use Calls To Action on Your Blog for Profitable Conversions

You should develop all these various Calls To Action on Your Blog.

I’ve given you some key ones you can choose from.

But the best case scenario is to have you actually test them all out to see which ones work best for you.

And, of course, you should think in terms of using all of them at one time or another, as your blog audience grows.

Every one of them will help you get profitable conversions from your audience.

All of your Calls To Action must, of course, be truthful and factual.

Never concoct something just to sell stuff and get those profitable conversions.

If you do, you will lose the trust of your readers… and trust is far more important than cleverly concocted Calls To Action.

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What Calls To Action are you using on your blog these days?

Are they resulting in profitable conversions?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Let me know this article has helped you understand How To Use Calls To Action on Your Blog for Profitable Conversions.

-Donna

Donna Merrill
Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.

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20 Responses to How to use Calls To Action on your Blog for Profitable Conversions

  1. Juan Carlos September 11, 2018 at 8:32 am #

    It’s really not easy to get conversions from blog and website but if you have a great call-to-action content and headings, the chance of conversion becomes higher. Your guide on increasing conversion from call to action is really brilliant and useful for everyone in the internet marketing, we will also try to implement these strategies soon for our Instagram Growth Management.
    Thank you for your great post.

  2. Maria Tayler
    Twitter:
    July 24, 2018 at 8:35 am #

    Hey Donna,

    Such fabulous content Donna…! A Call to action is an only way which persuade your site visitors to do an action. I had read many articles related to this but this one is really instructive for me.. I’ll keep in my mind what you have mentioned in the post. And I’m utterly sure, It will definitely helps in increase the conversion and audience.

    Thank you for your cool post. .:)

    Regards
    Maria

  3. Awogor Matthew
    Twitter:
    July 17, 2018 at 12:59 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    It’s been a while, how are you doing?

    Thanks for the wonderful post you shared today. I think as a copywriter, I don’t only implement Call to Action on my sales or advertorial copies, but I do likewise on my posts. What profit will it be if no action is required in a post? Thanks for adding this great value to our blogging career.

    Remain blessed.

    Awogor

  4. Sajid Akhter July 17, 2018 at 8:46 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Excellent post as usual. You have explained things very well in your post discussing things in details. Call to Action button is such an important part of one’s blog. It helps you to convert your visitors to potential sales. It is very important for any blog to generate revenue in order to survive and continue with the work. Call to action button gives you that opportunity to grab hold of your visitors who might be interested to buy stuffs from your site or use your affiliate links, etc.

    Thank you for sharing this lovely post. Have a good day. 🙂

  5. Nishant Maliakel Oommen
    Twitter:
    July 17, 2018 at 2:36 am #

    Hey, Donna. Resourceful article.

    Thanks for highlighting the importance of Call To Actions.

    For a business oriented blogs its important that the article is fashioned in a way that it inspires people to engage with the platform. Most people fails to realise the importance of adding simple CTA’s. CTA’s can be as simple as check our product page to “buy an n99 filter antipollution mask, BEAT POLLUTION!”.

    Unless we motivate the visitors to navigate through the website it becomes hard for us to sell.
    Nishant Maliakel Oommen recently posted..How to Promote your Online Apparel Store – Himani KankariaMy Profile

  6. Enstine Muki
    Twitter:
    July 14, 2018 at 10:00 am #

    Hey Donna,
    Happy weekend.
    Not been here for a couple of days or weeks. But I’m glad things are pulling on well.

    These are exciting tips for people who do blogging as a business. If an article is meant to bring readers to some target, there must be a solid call-to-action that stands out too.

    I hope you are doing great this weekend
    Enstine Muki recently posted..Is Wealthy Affiliate Worth it? Success Stories and Earning Proofs!My Profile

  7. Kimsea Sok
    Twitter:
    July 12, 2018 at 4:37 am #

    Hello Donna!

    How have you been?

    The CTA is extremely important for blogging that makes this post a very useful article.

    Also, I received questions that asked in typical and different ways such as “is blogging dead?”

    Of course. blogging isn’t dead, but it adapted to the generation of inbound marketing.

    Awareness => convert => sale => delight.

    The CTA acts as the important fact of convert stack.

    This is why we develop different and typical CTAs associated to the persona.

    The more CTA capture more leads, and the better CTA captures the right persona.

    Thanks for sharing a big list of CTA, and I’m sure I missed lots of them.
    Kimsea Sok recently posted..How to Choose A Perfect Domain Name for Your WebsiteMy Profile

  8. Marquita Herald
    Twitter:
    July 10, 2018 at 10:42 am #

    I really needed this right now Donna! It’s ironic that I had such a successful career in sales and marketing and yet now find it so hard to promote online. Part of it has to do with the difference between consumer and B2B selling and the fact that my clients were CEOs and major wholesalers and incentive houses, soooo different! I can’t imagine myself ever using in-your-face promotional tactics, but I can certainly nudge the dial more toward the center to improve effectiveness. Thanks so much for the great examples and advice!
    Marquita Herald recently posted..A Journey Beyond FearMy Profile

  9. Anil Agarwal
    Twitter:
    July 10, 2018 at 8:51 am #

    Hi Donna, I loved this post as I talk a lot about call to actions and their importance whenever I talk about website conversions on my blog.

    Most people either look for ways to increase their search traffic or brand visibility instead of making small tweaks to their landing pages or product pages when it comes to increasing their website sales and conversions.

    By using highly powerful call to actions, you can literally change the fate your website’s success. Instead of using “subscribe to my email list”, you can get much more people to join your email list by using call to actions like “Get me to the VIP list”, “Download your free stuff” and so on.

    I agree 100% with what you said about blogging. A blog is really a vehicle, a channel which helps you convert your leads into buyers. But if you’re not using proper CTA’s, you can’t blame your users for low conversions on your site.

    Thanks for the post Donna. Keep posting more about conversions. Keep rocking.

  10. Hassaan Khan
    Twitter:
    July 8, 2018 at 7:07 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    I loved the premise of this blog post. I mean if someone wants visitors to take action, they got to create the environment to make it happen. It applies to everything we do as bloggers, for instance, choosing blog post topics, writing content, connecting with others, sharing on social media, and more. What I got from this blog post is that relevancy is the key here.

    Also, I’m a big fan of testing out strategies and see what works for me. If someone is using CTAs, make sure to A/B test once in a while.

    Great post, Donna!

  11. Moss Clement
    Twitter:
    July 8, 2018 at 10:46 am #

    Interesting and very informative post, Donna. Truthfully, calls-to-action is a great way to convert prospects to buyers, but one need to know the right way to use calls-to-action. First, defind what you want to achieve with this remarkable tool. Do you want to convert buyers, email subscribers, grow your followers, etc. As Ryan pointed out, he places this tool at the end of the end of his articles to convert readers to buyer for his book. That’s a powerful ways to use calls-to-action. You did a great job helping us know the various types of calls-to-action how to use them correctly.

    Thank you, Donna.

  12. Emenike Emmanuel
    Twitter:
    July 6, 2018 at 7:34 pm #

    Amazing piece, Donna.

    I tell my students that human beings are generally dumb. If you don’t tell them what to do, the action they should take when they land on your website, they will do nothing.

    So, it’s important we add call-to-action at strategic places that will trigger their purchasing sense.

    Thanks for always sharing great value.

    Emenike

  13. Cori Ramos
    Twitter:
    July 6, 2018 at 12:41 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Thanks for writing about this topic, especially the way you laid it out – makes it so much easier to understand what makes a great CTA.

    I use scarcity CTAs when promoting deals that have an expiration date – and that seems to work. And for my blog posts it’s a social and convincing CTA that work best.

    Thanks for sharing these different methods with us. Awesome stuff as always. 🙂

    Have a great day and weekend.

    Cori
    Cori Ramos recently posted..How To Get The Permalink Of A Social Media PostMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill July 22, 2018 at 5:04 am #

      Hi Cori,

      Scarcity is a great and powerful technique.

      Give your CTA a time limit, like “only for 30 days” or some such thing.

      You can also limit the amount of participation, like “only for the first 10 people.”

      Absolutely, my friend 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..The Best Kind of Content to Offer on Your BlogMy Profile

  14. Vishwajeet Kumar
    Twitter:
    July 6, 2018 at 9:01 am #

    Hello Donna,

    What a Fabulous post. Call To action is very important to keep your users engaging more with your blog. I really like the concept of Blog is a vehicle and indeed it is. We have to drive it in a right way. CTA can be done through various ways and email lists are one of them. It is quite effective CTA techniques. Thanks for sharing this informative post.

    Have a Great Day 🙂
    Vishwajeet
    Vishwajeet Kumar recently posted..How to choose a right Product for Affiliate MarketingMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill July 22, 2018 at 5:01 am #

      Hi Vishwajeet,

      Yes, the whole point to a well-structured and targeted CTA is to keep readers engaged with what you’re doing.

      No better way to foster that engagement than by getting them to subscribe to you email list.

      That’s where you take the relationship to the next level.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How to Turn Facebook Live into a Sizzling Marketing ToolMy Profile

  15. Gaurav Kumar
    Twitter:
    July 6, 2018 at 6:26 am #

    Hi Donna,

    It is really necessary to have a targeted call to action. Many times people wrongly implement call to action and get zero result. You have really nicely pointed all the points that a blogger should keep in mind when creating a call to action campaign or adding CTA to his blog. Thanks for sharing.
    Gaurav Kumar recently posted..How To Create An Amazon Affiliates Site With WooCommerceMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill July 22, 2018 at 4:59 am #

      Hi Guarav,

      Certainly, you must have your CTA well targeted.

      You want your audience to know you are talking specifically to them, and to their needs.

      That will get you a much better “action rate” or “conversion rate” for your CTA than something too general.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Blogging Is Fun But Can I Make Money At It?My Profile

  16. Ryan Biddulph
    Twitter:
    July 5, 2018 at 6:09 pm #

    This is a helpful post Donna because bloggers tend to feel awkward when it comes down to CTA time. I did for years of my blogging career because I feared receiving money, and the fear manifest through a choppy, unclear, CTA campaign. For months now I end my blog posts with a clear CTA; if you want to become a full time blogger you can buy my eBook. Simple. Clear. I lay out the promise and follow with an invitation for folks to buy my eBook. Sales have increased since following this clear, powerful, no-nonsense approach.

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