Using Calls To Action To Increase Support
Are you looking to build your nonprofit’s digital presence? Cause Inspired Media has put together a guide to help your nonprofit increase the value of your audience. It’s simple – all you need to do is utilize effective calls to action.
What is a call to action? Basically, a call to action (CTA) is a prompt that invites users to engage with a requested action on your website. This is typically written as a command, such as “Donate Now,” or “Sign Up Today.” On websites, CTAs generally take the form of a button or hyperlink that takes the user to another web page where they can complete the specified action.
Calls to action are like road signs that tell people what to do next. Without them, users can easily get lost on your website and become less likely to take the desired next step. Regardless of how compelling your mission and how detailed your website copy, users on your website will not convert without a clear, effective call to action.
A few months ago, for example, one of our clients was having trouble getting people to sign up for their newsletter. This was surprising because they had an updated website with a lot of high quality content. Their dedicated team at Cause Inspired Media had been managing their Ad Grant and saw success in getting people to their website; but getting them to convert and actually sign up for the newsletter was another story. By taking advantage of the consulting services included in Cause Inspired Media’s Ad Grant management package, this client was able to successfully install a pop-up that included a simple request to sign up for email updates. In the month since the client implemented this call to action, they have received over one hundred newsletter sign-ups, after not receiving any in the previous three months.
But not all CTAs need to involve pop-ups or extensive planning. Calls to action can be as basic or complex as you prefer. In fact, nonprofits should not feel like they have to limit the amount of calls to action on one page. Our team of experts at Cause Inspired Media actually recommends adding a call to action wherever it can fit without being obtrusive. The more CTAs on a page, the more opportunities a user has to convert. Keep in mind that calls to action should never compete with each other. Each CTA on your website should work toward the same goal.
When it comes to the verbiage, nonprofits should ensure that their calls to action are easy to understand, but not too simple. Calls to action like, “click here” or “submit” are weak and do not actually communicate value to the user. A good CTA completes the phrase, “I would like to_____.” A compelling call to action for a nonprofit should clearly communicate the benefits of the conversion they want the person to complete.
While people do not necessarily want to be told what to do, they should never have to ask themselves “what’s next?” on an organization’s website. If a nonprofit does not provide that information clearly, the user is likely to leave. In the past, we have seen clients with updated websites, high-quality content, and compelling missions that are frustrated with low conversion rates. But we start to see success when our nonprofit clients take our advice and add calls to action throughout their website. Historically, we have seen this improve goal completions immensely.
