Your 'Call to Action' can make or break your marketing communications.

However you communicate with your audience - customers, prospects, potential partners and more - a good, solid 'Call to Action' is key to the effectiveness of your marketing communications.

A 'Call to Action' is the part of your message that encourages your reader to do something specific.

Without a powerful and direct 'Call to Action' the reader may not know what you want from them quickly and easily, and may leave, click out, or ignore your message.

What makes a more powerful 'Call to Action' than another? Urgency and visibility.

Here are some of my top action words to gain the most traction from your 'Call to Action':

• Read
• Subscribe
• Visit
• Buy
• Donate
• Register
• Click
• Share
• Call
• Order

And to create more urgency, you can add a:

• Deadline
• Expiration date
• Offer for a limited time
• Get it now

Make sure that your 'Call to Action' is very visible in your message, as well as available everywhere your visitor may land. Make it stand out, create it in another color, and/or add an image for more visibility. Place it in a prominent spot on the page, within the message, and on every page or document your visitor may see.

Firefox has a perfect example of a great 'Call to Action':


Having worked in the B2B tech sector for years, I've learned these types of technology companies are notorious for little or no 'Call to Action' (they could take a tip from the B2C tech companies):


Who are you encouraged to buy from?

Having an effective, powerful and urgent 'Call to Action' can and will increase the success and return on investment of your marketing program and/or promotion.