Whether you want to encourage more people to buy your products, download your app, give feedback, visit your website, sign up for your newsletter, or share your blog post on social media, having the right call to action is key to achieving your goals.
Your call to action (CTA) is what tells the visitor, user, or customer the next steps that you want them to take. It’s a great way to increase conversions by turning visitors into leads and customers or turning customers into advocates for your brand.
An effective call to action can raise the viewer’s level of interest in what you’re offering, create a sense of urgency, and even persuade them to take the action that you desire.
This is why you need to put care and thought into your calls to action to make them as enticing as possible.
Understandably, crafting a compelling call to action can be a challenge, so today we’re going to share some powerful call-to-action phrases that have proven to be highly effective.
We’ll also provide real-life examples of how they’ve been used to inspire you as you craft your own CTAs.
How to write a compelling call to action
Here are some important tips to keep in mind when writing your CTAs to ensure they’re successful in creating the outcome you want.
Use active words
Passive language has no place in a call to action. You need to use strong verbs or adverbs that command attention and motivate people to take action.
For example, you can use verbs like comment, share, buy, go, download, visit, donate, start, etc. Or adverbs like soon, now, quickly, here, etc.
You can even throw in some tantalizing qualifiers or adjectives—e.g, innovative, secret, game-changing, best, amazing, insane, etc.—to make your CTA more convincing.
Be specific and concise
Don’t play around the bush or write long paragraphs to get people to take action. That’s not going to work.
You’re more likely to compel them to act when you give them a reason why. What do they stand to gain from taking this action? How would the action benefit you? Find a sweet balance between providing enough details and keeping it brief.
Create urgency or scarcity
Fear of missing out is always a powerful motivator. People will be more likely to act quickly and make a purchase if they believe there’s a limited quantity available, a sale is coming to an end, or the product they want is almost out of stock.
Don’t hesitate to include urgency-increasing words—”Hurry! Offer expires soon.” “Limited time only!” “Offer valid until midnight.” “One-time offer!” etc—in your CTA to boost conversion rates.
Leverage curiosity
One of the most effective ways to inspire clicks on your CTA button is by making viewers thirst for knowledge.
Inspire their curiosity by promising them answers to questions you’ve posed or giving them an excerpt of the main content so they’re motivated to click and find out more.
Check Out: Best Motivational, Funny, Uplifting, & Competitive Sales Quotes
50 Powerful Call to Action Phrases With Examples
Want viewers to be unable to resist clicking on your CTA button? Try adding these compelling phrases to your call to action.
1. Talk to an expert
Trust and credibility are the names of the game. When you show prospects that your brand and team as a whole are experts in your industry or niche, they’ll become more confident in trying out your service or product.
Use this CTA when you want prospects to chat you up or call for more information.
2. Download now for free
A simple and direct call to action that clearly states what will happen when the viewer clicks this button. Use this when you’ve got a report, ebook, case study, templates, or some other thing that people need to download to be able to use.
3. Schedule/Make an appointment
If your business is service-based like a spa, salon, clinic, or gym, using this CTA can help prospective customers overcome the difficulty of committing to a brand they’re not familiar with.
It encourages them to reach out to you to book their desired services in a way that doesn’t put too much pressure on them.
Also Read: Best Digital Marketing Quotes For Inspiration
4. Free shipping
I can’t count the number of times I’ve changed my mind about completing the purchase after adding items to my cart because of the cost of shipping. Offering free shipping can help you attract more customers and drive higher conversions.
You can even make your offer of free shipping conditional upon people ordering products over a specific dollar amount.
5. See how it works
Some products or services are a bit complex and require you to provide detailed information to prospective customers so they can fully understand what you’re offering before they invest in it.
Use this call to action to send them to a page where they can find the knowledge they seek or speak to someone on your team about their concerns.
6. Join (X) number of people
If you’ve already got a substantial amount of subscribers, users, customers, or clients for the product or service you’re promoting, use this call to action phrase to trigger FOMO. If prospects see that a lot of people are already enjoying your offer, they’ll be more inclined to join too.
7. Money back guarantee
This CTA suggests that you have such strong faith in your product or service that you’re willing to give people their money back if it doesn’t live up to their expectations.
It’ll give users more confidence in checking out your offer.
8. Claim your free trial now
Weaving the word “your” into your CTA can suggest ownership and push visitors on your landing page to go ahead and start a free trial.
Not only is this call to action phrase personal, but the word “claim” also implies urgency. Visitors will want to act while they can because they think the free trial may not be available if they wait longer.
Also Read: Best Mission Statement Examples
9. Get limited time offer
This CTA phrase works because it creates a sense of urgency. It tells consumers that there is a ticking clock on the offer and they need to act fast if they want to enjoy the huge discount, limited-edition product, free shipping, or whatever benefit you’re promising.
10. Reserve my seat
The scarcity tactic doesn’t apply to products alone, it can also be used to create urgency for your services or events and push people to hurry to register.
Let them know they stand the risk of not getting a spot in your webinar or service appointment if they don’t reserve their spot as soon as possible.
11. Get an estimate
Let’s say you run a company that installs solar panels and you want to give prospective customers a tool that they can use to calculate how much they could potentially save by switching to solar, or how much it’d cost them to install solar panels on their property.
Whatever the case may be, this powerful call-to-action phrase can entice them to click the button.
12. Shop now
This call to action phrase won’t bring home any awards for originality, but it will help you entice visitors to make that purchase.
To make it even more compelling, pair it with an eye-catching visual and title that clearly states the benefit of buying the advertised product.
13. Add to cart
An “Add to cart” CTA is just what the doctor ordered for your product page. Once the customer has shown intent to purchase, this CTA can give them that extra push to actually buy something instead of closing the page and walking away.
14. Get a quote
People want to feel wanted and they also love getting freebies. This CTA masterfully combines both elements to create an atmosphere that lets the prospect know that you’re waiting for them to reach out.
And what’s more, they don’t need to pay a dime to get this valuable information from you.
Explore: Mission vs Vision Statements – Examples & Difference
15. Listen now
If you want to get more people to listen to your podcast, seminar, audiobook, music, or webinar, consider using the call to action phrase “Listen now” on your product page, landing page, or social media posts. It can help you attract potential fans who are interested in the subject you’re talking about or singing about.
16. Sign up free
A lot of people hesitate to sign up for new services because they are afraid of incurring hidden costs. Including the word “free” in your CTA like in the above example is an innocuous way of assuring viewers that there is nothing to fear, which will encourage them to sign up.
17. Continue shopping
It’s all about the upsell and this call to action phrase can help drive more conversions for your business. Instead of taking customers straight to the checkout page after they’ve added things to their cart, add a “Continue shopping” button to entice them to buy more stuff.
18. Let’s go
Including words like “us” in your call to action can make it more personal and relatable. It will give viewers a sense that you’re all in this together and that they’re making a valuable contribution to your brand by clicking the button.
19. Find out how
Start by posing an interesting question to your audience, then suggest that there is a solution or answer to the question, and finish it off with this CTA asking them to discover the answer and how they can implement or contribute to the solution.
20. Order now
“Order now” suggests that there is either a limited amount of time to take advantage of the offer or a limited quantity of the product available to shop.
This will motivate visitors to take action right away by placing an order to avoid the opportunity that’s passing them by.
21. Free X days trial
Telling people that they can try your service without having to pay is a great tactic for increasing conversion rates.
So go ahead and throw this call to action phrase on your page to show people how long they can use your product or service for free. You can take it a step further by adding that they can cancel anytime.
22. Get started
Want to drive people to check out your demo, start a free trial, or sign up for your service? This CTA is very actionable and perfect for driving all kinds of products. It tells people that they’ll be able to begin enjoying your offer once they click on the designated button.
23. Learn more
In this example, very little commitment is needed from the viewer. They can go at their own pace, find out more information about your products, and engage with your brand in the process.
So, if you’re selling products that have lots of features and need a detailed explanation, you want to create a product page with a well-placed “Learn More” button to help nurture prospects.
24. Shop the collection
This CTA phrase is straightforward and clear. The moment you land on the page, you know that the brand has a range of products in a newly-released collection that it wants you to buy.
This way you won’t have to spend too much time browsing. Don’t forget to pair this call to action with fun, attention-grabbing visuals.
25. Contact us
Sometimes, customers want to talk to a salesperson directly before they hand over their money.
This call to action phrase lets them know that you’re happy to connect them to an expert who can allay their doubts and answer any questions they might have.
26. Get (X%) off
Who doesn’t enjoy not having to pay the full price for a product or service? This call to action phrase signifies that you’re offering the customer something of value and the promise of a discount can incentivize them to take the next step.
27. Claim offer
Your CTA phrase can be simple and still be a slam dunk when it comes to driving the action you want. In the above example, the Bark Bright company manages to combine elements of exclusivity, scarcity, and urgency into their call to action to make the offer persuasive and full of value.
28. Subscribe to our blog
If you have a blog and you want to grow your readership, take a page from Hubspot’s book and add this call to action phrase to your blog, at the end of each blog post, or a popup notification on your site.
29. Redeem now
This CTA tells the viewer or customer that you want them to have something of value—something that they deserve or have earned somehow. You’re essentially saying, “claim what belongs to you before someone else does or the offer ends.”
30. Try X for free
Take a cue from Prezi and insert your brand name into your call to action inviting them to take a chance on your product. It’s a more creative and personal request than simply asking them to “Sign Up,” “Register,” or “Get Started.”
31. Take the quiz
Quizzes are an exciting way to pass the time, learn something about yourself, or engage in friendly competition with others.
If you can find a way to incorporate a quiz into your sales funnel, you can use this call to action phrase to nurture and engage prospective customers.
32. View products
This is the perfect call to action to add to your home page when you want to direct people to a page where they can browse and shop all of your available products.
33. Donate now
Adding this call to action to your page when you want to gather donations for a cause can prove highly effective.
Make sure you accompany the CTA with a compelling reason why people should give their hand earned money to support the cause.
34. Get on the guest list
One of the most effective ways to make your call to action compelling is by using first/second person language and speaking to the audience directly.
This CTA example does a great job of that by making it seem like you’re personally extending an invitation to the viewer to take the action you desire.
35. Best value today only
This powerful CTA informs your prospects and existing customers that the amazing deal you’re ordering is only valid for a day and will disappear once the day is over. It will spur them to act now and take advantage of the offer before it expires.
36. Send me special offers
Rather than directly asking viewers to check out your popular products or sign up to receive notifications from you, put a spin on your offer like The Adventure Centre does in this example.
With this CTA, you can signal urgency and scarcity, make them feel important by offering them specials, and tap into their FOMO all at once.
37. What we do
The point of marketing is to push consumers to do things without being salesy or pushy about it. This example from IMPACT subtly challenges viewers to learn more about what the organization does in a non-forceful way.
Even without action words, it still manages to tempt people to click the CTA button.
38. See it in action
This phrase is perfect for the times when you want a consumer to test drive your product, see how it works, and discover all the incredible features waiting for them. It may make them more confident in the product and increase their willingness to buy it.
39. Explore more stories
Use this subtle CTA to motivate readers to check out other posts or articles on your blog, podcast, or YouTube channel after they finish whatever they’re currently reading. By clicking this button, viewers can discover and engage with other content that your brand creates.
40. Get it on Google Play | Download on the App Store
If you have a mobile app that you want users to download, these call to action phrases are perfect for motivating them to do that.
Android users can go to Google Play Store to cop theirs and iPhone users can get the application from the Apple App Store.
41. Apply now
Use this fun CTA if your marketing goal is to get people to apply for an open job position, apartment rental, educational degree or certification, and the like.
It will encourage potential applicants to throw their hats in the ring while the application window is still open.
42. Buy now and save
This CTA tells prospects that not only are they going to buy something awesome, they’re also going to save a lot of money in the process. That’s a tantalizing offer that many people will find hard to resist.
43. Join the movement
Make prospects and customers feel like they are a part of something bigger and exciting by using this call to action phrase. People will be more likely to take action just so they can connect with like-minded people or become part of a trend.
Get visitors to share a blog post or any other page that they find useful, relevant, or informative with other people in their social network by adding this CTA to the page, accompanied by social sharing buttons.
45. Be the first to know
This clever call to action gives you a chance to engage viewers and make them feel special by informing them of new products, services, and brand updates.
It can be more persuasive than simply asking them to submit their email addresses or sign up for your newsletter because it gives them an immediate benefit to look forward to.
46. See what others are saying
Social proof is one of the most powerful marketing tactics. Consumers are more likely to believe what other people like them say about a product or service than all the messaging in your ads. This CTA is a clever and creative way to push visitors to check out your customer stories.
47. Watch more
If you want to promote films, television shows, YouTube videos, or social media videos that you want to get more eyes on, “Watch more” is an exciting call to action you can leverage to help you accomplish that goal.
48. Refer a friend
Don’t just sit back and expect your customers to recommend your brand to their friends and family. Actively encourage them to do so by adding this CTA wherever applicable. For better results, include an incentive for them to take the step.
49. Show me the findings
Help viewers feel in control and give them a straightforward and transparent value proposition by using this call to action on your landing page.
It’s perfect for when you have a report, study, or survey that you want people to read or learn about.
50. Become a customer
This example features a homepage by the company, Sysco, explaining what the brand does and what viewers can stand to gain by joining the platform and buying their products.
It then finishes this off with a compelling CTA asking them to take the bold step towards becoming a customer.
Conclusion
Your call to action is one of the most important things to consider when creating a post or designing a page because it can make or break your promotional campaign.
You want to go with call to action phrases that stand out and invite clicks. Using or optimizing any of the above CTAs can help you get the results you’re looking for.
Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing.
Tom has been a full-time internet marketer for two decades now, earning millions of dollars while living life on his own terms. Along the way, he’s also coached thousands of other people to success.