Not generating sales from your printed marketing materials? Maybe your CTA is off.
Even though most businesses focus on marketing and advertising their business online, there is still a place for print.
In fact, according to the British Print Industries Federation (BPIF), 23.3% of all media advertising spend goes on print. This includes things like direct mail, outdoor advertising and press ads.
Businesses and organisations spend money on print media to boost brand awareness and reach but most importantly to increase sales. If you’ve been investing in print media for a while but are not seeing much return on your investment, it could be that your CTA is letting you down.
What is a CTA?
CTA is short for ‘call to action’. In short, it’s a sentence or a short paragraph that tells people what to do next. This could be as simple as telling people to ‘call us’ for more information.
Are CTA’s important?
Every piece of marketing or advertising you produce needs to include a call to action, without one consumer’s may be left wondering what to do next and you could be missing out on a sale.
Call to actions should always be straightforward. If it’s overly complicated people will become confused and irritated. To avoid agitating your customers, follow these steps to create a comprehensive call to action:
- People have short attention spans and within seconds they could be turning the page to read something else. So, don’t mince your words. Tell your audience exactly what to do, such as ‘visit us instore’.
- Choose your words wisely to either trigger an emotion or give a sense of urgency. Some terms which cover these include ‘50% sale ends Tuesday’ or ‘exclusive discount for members’.
- Detail what’s in it for them e.g. ‘call now for your free consultation’ or ‘get your free sample from our store’. You’re telling them to call or visit your store and telling them why they’ll benefit by doing it.
- Use language which is familiar to your audience. For example, if you’re talking to an older generation, they may not understand ‘slang’ terms.
- Make your call to action stand out by using colours, a different style of font or larger fonts.
- Don’t go overkill on the call to actions. It’s recommended that you use one to two for every 400 – 500 words.
Print media still plays an important role in marketing and advertising. It can reach a large audience and with a strong call to action, it can be a great tool for increasing sales. To find out how we can help with marketing your business through print, complete our online enquiry form and a member of our experienced team will be in touch.
