Bob Milliken
Bob Milliken

Hey! Did you know that sending an email doesn’t guarantee that your recipient will take action. Create a compelling call to action (CTA) and get the boost in response (or sales) that you need without lifting a finger!

Anyone writing an email will tell you that they’re dreaming of the thousands of visitors coming to their site, or purchasing their products and services simply on the merit of a single email. While this scenario isn’t entirely realistic, there are ways that you can optimize the call to action (CTA) on your email, and boost responses from. Even a not-so-great offer can take on a life of its own if the messaging is consistent, on brand and timely for the reader.

Clean and Concise

There is often a tendency to overshare via email, as it’s a great way to get all of your thoughts down on paper and deliver them to another individual or group. However, is the recipient ready for all of those details? Creating a wordy or overly-involved email may be a great way to have your message ignored completely.

One Subject, One Email

Along with creating a clean, simplified email message, it’s important that you only attempt to tackle one subject at a time. People are incredibly distracted and have little time to focus. When you begin an email with one subject and then shift halfway through, you’re reducing the chances that your recipient will act on any of the items listed! In some circumstances a variety of actionable items in an email may be acceptable, such as a meeting follow-up or project management notes.

 ctasAction + Urgency

Don’t be afraid to use action terms to detail how you would like your recipient to respond. People are much more likely to give you the go-ahead and take the next step in a process when they clearly understand what you’re asking them to do. Create a sense of urgency by listing a specific time and date by which you need someone to take advantage of an offer or respond to a request. As soon as possible can be interpreted differently depending on your point of view, so avoid using this language if you want to drive real responses to your emails.

Your Take Away

Look for ways to stand out from the crowd! Whether this means through personalization for your audience or a tactic such as an interesting image, different font colors for action words or underlines, find a way to make your email look engaging and interesting enough that your audience wants to take action. Boring is definitely not “in!”

Call us at 604.270.1730 or send us an e-mail at TheITguy @cascadiasystemsgroup.com and we’ll be happy to show you other ways to better harvest your prospect list.

Bob Milliken is the TheITguy@CascadiaSystemsGroup.com specializing in helping businesses with their IT needs. Our mission is to provide IT strategies, service and support that exceeds client expectations, creates raving fans and builds long term lasting relationships.