4 Principles of a Compelling Call to Action

NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Your small business marketing content has less than 15 seconds to capture the attention of your readers, according to Chartbeat CEO Tony Haile's article on TIME.com. Because of this, optimizing the calls to action in your content has never been more important for small business marketers.

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A call to action - or "CTA" - guides your audience to the next phase of the buyer's journey and is an essential component of your inbound marketing strategy. In his latest post on PR Newswire's Small Business PR Toolkit, Interact Media founder Steve Lazuka details four ways to create CTAs that deliver results.

1. Personable. Lazuka suggests that your CTAs should set expectations and also speak directly to your readers.  
2. Include clear and concrete directions.  Your readers are likely multi-tasking while on your company website, so ensure all CTAs are clearly defined and they provide actionable steps (if necessary).
3. Eye candy. The easiest way to catch the eye of your reader is to create a CTA that stands out from the rest of the content. Create a button to display alongside your content so it won't be missed by readers who are skimming the page.
4. Short and simple. Provide your readers enough of the story to pique their interest and then follow up with an actionable demand. Keep the CTAs to a line or two in length to avoid a salesy feel.  

For a discussion on CTA best practices, read Lazuka's complete article here.

PR Newswire's Small Business PR Toolkit is a comprehensive resource that provides small businesses and entrepreneurs the tools to develop an affordable public relations and marketing plan that helps generate interest from potential customers, engage with key audiences and grow their businesses. The toolkit features relevant content such as informative white papers, interactive webinars and how-to articles and premium access to educational resources, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of special offers designed specifically for small businesses. To request information on how PR Newswire can help your small business, click here. You can receive updates on new Small Business PR Toolkit content by following @prnsmallbiz on Twitter.

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