How to Add a Call to Action to Your Post

by Ali Luke

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You might have written your best post ever — but without a call to action, it’s not going to get you the results you’re hoping for.

A “call to action” is a copywriting term. It simply means asking or telling the reader to take a specific action. That might be:

Subscribing to your blog or newsletter
Buying your ebook
Sharing the post on Twitter or Facebook
Downloading a free report
Trying out a particular technique or idea

… or almost anything that will benefit you and/or the reader.

Your call to action should be clear and specific. Don’t simply link to a post and assume that readers will get the message: tell them “click here to read…” or “find out more by clicking this link” or similar. If you’re asking for comments, give them a specific question to think about.

There are two places to put your calls to action:

#1: At the End of Your Post

The final line of your post is a natural and effective place for a call to action: you’re helping the reader decide what to do next. It’s crucial you don’t leave this to chance. After reading a post, the reader has lots of options open — including leaving your site altogether.

Some great closing lines are:

What do you think about [topic]? Let us know in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on Twitter by clicking on the “Tweet” button to the right.
To find out more about this, read [link to another post on your blog]

#2: Throughout Your Post

You don’t just have to put calls to action at the end of your post. By including them earlier, you prime readers to take action, and get them thinking.

For instance:

To introduce a list post: See what you think of these ten ideas (and add your own in the comments).
To sell an ebook: I’ve just launched my new ebook, [title of ebook]. I’ll be saying a few words about that at the end of this post, but if you want to find out all about it now, you can click on this link [link to sales page].

Now, it’s your turn. Think about your blogging goals (e.g. growing your subscriber base or your newsletter list) and come up with a call to action for your next post.

Bio: Ali Luke is a writer and writing coach, and has a weekly column on content creation for DailyBlogTips. Her new writing community/teaching site, Writers’ Huddle, is open until January 31st: check it out here.

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11 Responses to “How to Add a Call to Action to Your Post”

Devesh on January 23, 2012 12:55 am

I always put the “call to action” at the end of the post and it’s most converting & effective place. I usually put a newsletter or subscription option in the end of the posts and it works pretty well.

Great Post, Ali.

-Dev
Leif G.S. Notae on January 23, 2012 9:50 am

Yes, I keep trying to do these, but since I am not a natural at it I tend to forget. This is another timely piece for me to read and I am glad you put it up here today Ali. Thanks for sharing this with us, fantastic job as always!
suraj on January 23, 2012 10:13 am

In some case i put “call to action” At end of the article. Its help reader in deep knowlegde about particular topic.
Amandah on January 23, 2012 12:37 pm

Great tips! I like the point about being clear and precise.
Jamie Northrup on January 23, 2012 1:04 pm

I’ve noticed when I put a call to action at the end, the comments usually answer that question. Most people these days comment for the backlinks, and don’t read the whole article, so they usually end up leaving better comments when the call to action asks them for something specific.
Radion on January 23, 2012 8:48 pm

Call to action is a great turn of phrase, though for online I find that a “provocation to respond” to be a more descriptive term. Sometimes stating something that you know your readers will find contreversial or even annoying works great for prying a response.from an otherwise quet audience (everybody is a ‘long time listener first time caller.’)
Warren on January 24, 2012 9:29 am

I always feel bad putting a call to action at the end of a Blog post. Seems to me like I’m blatantly tricking people. They read and they they use MY link to do whatever I want them to do. I know this is the only way to get it done but I wish more subtle ways would work.
Ali Luke on January 24, 2012 11:44 am

Thanks everyone!

@Leif — Glad you’re enjoying my posts; thank you!

@Jamie — Yes, I find the same thing with comments. I’m lucky with my blog that most of my audience comment because they have something to add, but I do agree with you that there’s often a tendency for people to comment just for backlinks.

@Warren — You’re not tricking people: if they don’t want to click the link, the won’t! Perhaps a good way to look at it is that you’re helping them by giving them a valuable resource or a next step.
Craig S. Kiessling on January 25, 2012 5:15 am

This article was exactly what I have been looking for! I’m going to take some time and cruise around some of the most popular blogs in various topics and see how they’re doing it as well.

Oh, and I just have to say, Radion’s “long time listener first time caller” comment was awesome!
Ferb on January 28, 2012 12:23 am

Hi Ali,

I’m having problem with getting comment on recent post and I hope it’ll help to improve my problem by using the above.

Thanks
Ted on January 29, 2012 10:04 am

This is a very good article about an important subject. Most people forget to ask their readers to do something!
I prefer the call to action at the end of the article, I believe it’s more effective that way.
Thanks for a great post!
Ted