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When writing effective calls to action in your emails, it’s easy to skip over a step or a key point. That’s why you’ll want to use this handy seven-step checklist guide to ensure you’re writing calls to action that get great results. Bookmark this, Pin it, print it out, or whatever you need to do to keep it on hand.

Let’s get started…

Step 1. Be Sure Your Instructions Are Specific

Don’t make any assumptions about whether your prospects know how to do something.

For example: If you want them to order, then tell them HOW to order. Do they…

Click a link?

Fill out a form?

Pick up the phone to call you?

Send a check?

E.G., “Get started with your order by clicking here…”

In short, don’t just tell people to take action. Instead, be very specific about how they should take action.

Step 2. Check That Your CTA is Clear

Your goal is to provide a clear, succinct call to action.

You see, here’s the thing…

If taking action sounds like it’s difficult, then people won’t do it.

That’s why your call to action generally only lists the step they need to take NEXT, such as clicking an order. You don’t provide instructions for what comes after, because then your call to action will be all muddied up. Worse yet, taking action will appear difficult, and that will destroy your conversion rate.

For example: “Click here to get your copy of this bodybuilding video right now!”

That’s clear and it’s succinct.

Now check out this example of what NOT to do:

“Click here to go to the order form, and then fill out your name, address and credit card number. Click the buy button. Wait for the confirmation email. Click the link inside your confirmation email, and you’ll get instant access to this bodybuilding video!”

See the difference?

The first example is clear about what the prospect needs to do next, but in order to remain clear it doesn’t go into detail. The second example is unclear, convoluted, and it just plain sounds hard.

As you craft your call to action, ask yourself:

Are the instructions clear?

Are the instructions succinct?

Do I focus on the immediate next step I want prospects to take?

Next…

Step 3. Ensure You Give People a Reason to Take Action

In the last step you told people what you want them to do. Now you need to give them a good reason to take that particular action… why they should do it.

Ask yourself these questions:

What are the main benefits people will receive if they take action?

What kind of results might they expect?

What negative consequences might befall them if they do NOT take action?

What are other reasons they should take action?

Once you’ve thoughtfully answered those questions, then you can inject a “reason why” into your call to action.

For example: “Click here to order now, because a slimmer, healthier you is right around the corner!”

Step 4. Create a Sense of Urgency

People will procrastinate if you let them, and that means they won’t click and they won’t buy. That’s why you need to create a sense of urgency. Ask yourself these questions to help you decide how to create this sense of urgency:

Is the main product or service limited in any way? (E.G., You can only take on four copywriting clients at this time…)

Are you offering a special offer in the form of a discount?

Are you offering a special offer in the form of a bonus product or service?

Are you making a time-limited offer, such as a discount that’s set to expire in a few days?

Are you making a quantity-limited offer, such as a bonus that’s only available to the first 200 customers?

Will your prospects experience any sort of unpleasant consequence if they don’t order now, such as a shipping delay?

Is there any other way to inject urgency into the offer?

Example: Click here to order right now in order to guarantee delivery by December 25th!

Even if you can’t create real urgency, you can still create a sense of urgency by using time-sensitive words. For example:

Act now
Hurry
Right now
Today
Right away
Ends soon
Offer could end at any time
Hurry before it’s gone for good

Example: Hurry and click here to order this amazing cookbook!

Next…

Step 5. Set the CTA and Link Apart

This is a hot one…

This step is very simple: separate your call to action and link or button on a separate line from the rest of your text. This makes the link or button stand out, which in turn gets your prospects’ attention.

Step 6. Make Sure Your Link Works (Duh!)

We’ve all seen those “whoops, here’s the correct link” emails. Don’t make this mistake. Save embarrassment by following these steps instead:

Clear your cache. (Important!)

Click on your links to be sure they work.

Follow all the way through the process (such as the order form) to be sure all links, scripts and processes work.

Check the links and pages on your other devices (e.g., see how they look on your phone).

Ask a couple friends to check your links and pages as well.

And finally…

Step 7. Test Multiple Versions

If you followed all the steps above, then you’re going to have a pretty darn good call to action. However, there is always room for improvement. That’s why you’ll want to track and test your calls to action to see if you can boost your conversion rate.

Follow these steps:

Check if your email service provider offers testing tools. Most major (such as Aweber) providers let you split your email list into two groups, and then test responses.

Decide which ONE factor you’re going to test.

This might be:

The call to action text.

The color of the button.

The design of the button.

Using a link instead of a button.

Using a different link (e.g., direct link versus TinyUrl-style link).

The font color of the call to action.

The font style of the call to action.

The font size of the call to action.

Create two versions of your email that are exactly identical except for the ONE factor you’re testing.

Randomly split your email list into two groups.

Send your two different versions of your email to these two groups.

Look at the data to see if one version gave you a significantly better click-through rate. The higher-converting version is called the control.

Rinse and repeat with a different version to test against your control.

Rinse and repeat with different factors to improve your conversion rate.

Now let’s wrap things up..

You can use this checklist to double check your current calls to action in your email campaigns, especially those that currently aren’t performing very well.

You’ll want to consult this list before you create your next email. You might even want to print this off so the information is at your fingertips. Whatever you do, just be sure to use this info (over and over again), because it can really boost your conversions and profits!

Need email marketing help? The Email Marketing Kickstart Workshop is ready for you to enroll! If you want to learn how to use email marketing in your online business, get people to open your emails, click your links, and buy then you NEED to grab your spot right now at http://www.LearningIM.com/email-marketing-kickstart-workshop

It’s one thing to get your subscribers to open your email.

No… That’s a HUGE thing! *lol*

It’s another thing entirely to get them to keep reading every single word of your email, right down the part where they see your call to action.

Simply put: if you can increase the number of people who see your call to action, then you’ll increase your conversion rate.

So with that in mind, here are 20 proven ways to keep your subscribers reading…

1. Make It About Them

Your readers aren’t cracking open your email to read about you. Truth is, they’re a little self-centered. As we all are. They want to read about their problems, they want to read about solutions that could help them and they want to read stories, tips and articles that are relevant to their lives.

Here’s a quick and easy way to check if your emails are about your reader: check how many times you use words like “you” and “your,” versus using words like “I,” “me” and “mine.” If you use self-referential words (like “me”) more than reader-oriented words, it’s time to rewrite your email to make it about your reader.

2. Tell Stories

A good story engages readers, pulls them into the email, and keeps them reading until the end. Especially if you interrupt the story before its climax to share other information, and then return to finish up the story at the conclusion of your email.

And as an added bonus, a good story makes your content more memorable, too. That means your readers will be thinking about your content long after they’ve closed your email.

3. Build Anticipation

Get this: as soon as readers open your email, they’re going to be looking for signs that reading it is worth their time. One way you can persuade them to keep reading is by building anticipation right up front for what’s coming. In other words, let them know the benefits they’ll get if they keep reading.

For example: “You’re about to discover a simple three-step process for house-training your new puppy in 10 days or less…”

4. Make Them Curious

Another good way to keep people glued to your email is by making them curious. In other words, don’t just build anticipation – make them curious about what’s coming up.

For example: “In just a few moments you’ll discover a surprising tweak that can double your conversion rates!”

5. Format for Easy Readability

Have you ever taken one look at a hiking trail, realized it looks way too hard for the hike you had in mind, and turned around to head back?

That’s kind of like what your readers are doing when they open your email. If your content merely LOOKS like it’s going to be difficult to read, your subscribers are going to bail out early. Here are three quick tips to avoid this problem:

Break up long paragraphs of lists into a bulleted list.

Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs. This is particularly true at the beginning of the email. Hint: Try to open with a one-sentence paragraph, which makes the content look really easy to read.

Break up the content. For example, insert sub-headlines into the middle of your content, which breaks up long blocks of text. Added bonus: it draws a skimmers’ eyes back into the content.

Next…

6. Use a Friendly Tone

When you craft an email, imagine that you’re writing to a friend. That way your email will take on a warm, conversational and friendly tone.

Bonus Tip: Add variety to the way you open and close your emails. For example, instead of always opening with, “Dear [name],” try something like “warm greetings” or “Hello!”

End result? You seem more like a human rather than a robot, which helps you build a relationship with your subscribers.

Next up…

7. Break Big Topics Into Multiple Emails

When people open an email, they don’t expect to find an article the length of “War and Peace” inside. That’s why you should break up big topics into multiple emails. This makes your content easy to read, which keeps your readers’ eyes glued to the page.

And as an added bonus, sending a series of related emails makes it more likely your readers are going to open and read the next email you send, too. That means they’ll see your links and calls to action repeatedly, which gives your conversion rates a nice boost.

The more contacts you have with your readers about a particular offer, the more clicks you will receive.

8. Build Credibility and Believability

Sometimes people simply stop reading your emails because they don’t believe what you’re saying. That’s why you need to build credibility and readability.

Here’s how: Deliver on your promises. Avoid hype. Avoid false promises. Instead, under-promise and over-deliver.

Be honest. For example, if you’re reviewing someone else’s product, be honest about the product flaws. People will trust you more if you’re known for telling the truth (even if that truth means you won’t make as many sales that day).

Next…

9. Insert Plenty of Tips and Examples

Slogging through a “how to” article isn’t any fun if the reader isn’t quite understanding what you’re trying to teach them. And if the reader is confused, they’ll bail.

The solution? Provide plenty of tips and examples to make the concepts more clear. If you need an example of how this works, just look at the additional tips and examples provided right in this very post!

10. Offer Something Unique

Did you know that peoples’ brains actually light up when they encounter something unique? That’s right, the brain rewards learning new information. And that’s why you should always seek to offer new information, or even just new twists on old methods. If you can get your readers’ brains to light up, you can bet those readers will read every last word of your email.

11. Make Use of Graphics

One good way to break up the text, make the content more aesthetically pleasing, and illustrate complex concepts is through the use of graphics.

This includes:

Infographics
Charts and tables
Screenshots
Illustrations
Mind maps
And any other relevant graphic that will engage your readers’ interest.

12. Provide Actionable Info

The idea here is simple: teach your readers how to do something, and then provide an action step they can take. Try to give them an action step that will produce fast results.

For example, you might show readers simple ways to boost their conversion rates. The action step might be to change one of their email subject lines using a specific (proven) template that you provide. It only takes a few minutes to take this step, and yet readers will get fast results This makes it more likely they’ll open up the next email you send to them!

13. Create a Regular Column

The idea here is to give your readers something to look forward to every week.

For example:

My #1 Tip Tuesdays, where you offer a high-value tip.

Freemium Friday, where you give your readers a valuable and highly desirable product.

You get the idea – I’m sure you can come up with your own regular features and columns that your readers are sure to love and anticipate.

Next…

14. Get Personal

Basically, use a couple lines in every email to tell your readers a little bit about you.

For example:

“I just got in from my 10-mile training run…”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I just had to share this pic of my newborn son…”

Obviously, you don’t want to drone on and on about yourself, because readers will lose interest fast. But dropping in a few tidbits here and there will make you seem more human. And if these tidbits are relevant to the niche, that’s even better. People will start caring about you, which means they’ll be more interested in reading every email you send.

15. Surprise Your Readers

The idea here is to say something others in your niche aren’t saying, offer a controversial viewpoint, or even pleasantly surprise them with a freemium.

Bonus Tip: Don’t use the same formula for every email. For example, don’t always send “How To” emails. Instead, drop a video with a few tips.

Bottom line: mix things up, as the variety will keep people reading (and coming back for more).

16. Let Their Voices Count

Asking your readers for their opinions does two things. First, it makes your readers feel special when they know their opinions are valued. Secondly, it gives you insight into what your readers want, which is always a good thing.

So what should you ask readers about?

These:

Ask them what kind of content they would like to see next.

Ask them for their most pressing questions (which you can answer within the newsletter).

Let them choose between content idea options.

Ask for their feedback.

Let them beta test.

Basically, ask your readers how you can better serve them.

17. Tie Your Email Into Current Events

Tying your emails into current events helps you enter the conversation that’s already going on in your reader’s head. That means they’ll stop what they’re doing and read your email. That’s exactly what you want them to do!

For example, if the Olympics are going on, you might tell a story about the Olympics that ties into your niche.

18. Keep Focused On the Benefits

Earlier I mentioned that your readers should understand the benefits of reading your content as soon as they open your email. But don’t stop there. Keep your readers focused on the benefits.

Here’s how:

Keep letting readers know what’s coming up. For example, halfway through your newsletter you can drop another set of curiosity-arousing benefits.

Let readers know the benefits of taking action on what they just learned. (Hint: provide the actionable information we talked about earlier, where people will get good and fast results)

Let readers know the benefits of following your call to action, such as clicking on a link. This increases your conversion rate.

Next…

19. Spice Up Your Content

Don’t just educate your readers—edutain them. This means you entertain them while you educate them. Be careful with this though.

You can entertain them with:

Occasional humor.

Stories.

Expressive language that includes analogies, metaphors and similes.

In other words, don’t write like you’re creating a stuffy textbook. Make the content both entertaining and useful, and people will keep reading.

20. Ask Questions

Here’s a really good way to engage readers: ask questions. You can ask a single question, or you can even provide a short quiz. Either way, it not only engages readers, but it’s also a good way to get them to self-identify.

For example, “Do you ever have trouble falling back asleep when you wake up in the middle of the night?”

Whew… That’s a lot of info, and I hop it helps!

Your conversion rates and profits rest entirely on you holding your readers’ interest and keeping them reading right to the end of each email. The good news is that you just discovered 20 proven ways to keep readers hooked and reading. Just be sure not to cherry-pick through these ideas. Instead, implement as many as possible, and I’m betting you’ll see some great results!

Need email marketing help? The Email Marketing Kickstart Workshop is ready for you to enroll! If you want to learn how to use email marketing in your online business, get people to open your emails, click your links, and buy then you NEED to grab your spot right now at http://www.LearningIM.com/email-marketing-kickstart-workshop

One of the best ways to improve your conversion rates for a particular promo is by sending a series of emails.

Here’s why:

1. People usually don’t buy something the first time they hear about it. So when you reach out multiple times, you increase their desire for the product… and your conversion rates increase.

2. Multiple emails give you multiple chances to reach prospects. Not every prospect reads every email you send. So when you send out several around the same promo, you get more people seeing that promo. That means higher conversions rates.

So how do you grab these benefits for yourself?

Simple: by following this three-step guide to creating an effective three-part email series.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Choose a Trending Topic

The first step is to choose an in-demand topic that’s already trending in your niche.

Choosing an in-demand topic means your readers are already interested in it, which is a good thing. Choosing one that’s trending means that interest is continuing to climb. A trending topic also lets you jump into the conversation that your prospects are already having with others.

Now here’s the key, of course: this trending topic needs to be relevant to whatever it is that you’re selling. For example, if you’re in the weight loss market, you might talk about a new diet that’s getting a lot of buzz.

Here’s how to find these hot topics:

Check the news. Big media agencies spend a lot of time and money figuring out what topics will attract interest, so they’re often the first source of trending topics.

See what’s trending in niche communities. Check out blogs, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups and other communities in your niche. Then take note of which topics get a lot of discussion, likes and shares.

Find out what’s selling. Check marketplaces like Amazon and Clickbank.com to see what sorts of topics people are buying. If they’re already buying information on a specific topic, that’s a darn good sign that they’re eager to know more about it.

Check Google Trends. This will give you an idea of whether interest in a topic is increasing. (See www.google.com/trends.)

Check social media. Sites like Twitter and Facebook let you check what’s trending in your niche.

Next step…

Step 2: Outline Your Emails

Once you select your topic, then you need to outline three emails around this topic. One good way to do this is by offering three separate steps, tips, secrets, ways or ideas.

For example:

Three Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

The Easy Three-Step Process for Creating a Three-Part Email Series

The Three Secrets of Retiring With $1 Million In The Bank

Three Awesome Kitchen Remodeling Ideas For Under $250

The Three Warning Signs of a Heart Attack That You Should Never Ignore

Keep in mind that each email should range from about 400 to 600 words. So choose tips, steps, or secrets that you can cover somewhere within this word range.

Once you know what three steps, tips or secrets you’ll cover in each email, then it’s time to get writing.

Which brings us to the final step…

Step 3: Solve Part of Your Prospect’s Problems

Each email you send should do two things:

#1: It should provide useful information to your readers. This first part is where you impress your readers by giving them good content that helps solve their problems.

#2: It should promote a paid product. This is the part where you benefit.

So how do you strike a balance between content and pitch?

Here’s the first secret: Send an email that’s at least 75%-90% content, with the rest of it being focused on your promotion.

Here’s the second secret: The content portion should be useful yet incomplete. That means that you should help solve PART of your readers’ problem, but they need to order your product in order to solve the rest of their problem. In essence, your free content should naturally and seamlessly lead to the paid product.

For example:

You send out a three-step process for setting up a blog. You then promote a set of blog themes and plugins at the end of each email.

You create a series that shares three tips for losing weight. You then sell your full dieting course at the end of each email.

You create an email series that shows people how to set up a successful Facebook ad campaign. You then offer your “done for you” campaign-management service at the end of each email.

You get the point. Your email solves part of the problem, which naturally leads to the product that solves the rest of the problem.

Are you ready to boost your conversion rates, make more sales and enjoy more profits from your mailing list? Then put to use the strategy you just learned about for sending three-part email series.

It’s as simple as:

1. Choosing a Trending Topic

2. Deciding What to Write About

3. Solving Part of a Problem

This is a tried and true formula that works for me, it’s worked for countless others, and I know it will work for you too. So put it to work for you as soon as possible to see what kind of results you get!

Need email marketing help? The Email Marketing Kickstart Workshop is ready for you to enroll! If you want to learn how to use email marketing in your online business, get people to open your emails, click your links, and buy then you NEED to grab your spot right now at http://www.LearningIM.com/email-marketing-kickstart-workshop