You’ve spent a good deal of money and time on your firm’s shiny new website, compelling and well-written blog posts, and other online marketing efforts. Presumably, you want more out of this substantial investment than just someone saying, “That was interesting,” before they click away to their Instagram feed or go back to shopping for the latest in facemask fashions. But no matter how wonderful your content or website is, you won’t accomplish much beyond that if you fail to provide readers and visitors with clear, attractive calls to action.
Calls to action are how you stick the landing, get them on the hook, bag the elephant, or whatever other metaphor floats your boat. It is the bridge between what you want to say and what you want readers to do. And what you want those folks to do is call you, contact you, or walk through your law firm doors. Your website and online efforts to increase web traffic, improve SEO, lower your bounce rate, and educate visitors are all for that one central reason. The more people who contact you through the web, the more opportunities you will have for new clients and the more opportunities you will have for higher quality cases.
None of that will happen unless you master the art of calls to action.
What Is a Call to Action?
A call to action (CTA) is an imperative. It is an instruction and an invitation. It is any phrase that asks the reader to take the next step and continue their interaction with you. The most popular call to action on websites today is certainly “Buy Now,” but calls to action work a little differently for attorneys and law firms. Because you are providing a professional yet very personal service instead of a commodity, you need to convince your audience to contact you or to learn more about what you do (so they gain confidence in your abilities and then contact you).
Five Tips for Constructing Enticing Calls to Action
Including a successful CTA on your website is not as easy as adding “Call Us!” to the bottom of your homepage. They need to be thoughtful, compelling, and motivating. Think of those soaring and eloquent pre-battle speeches in movies like Braveheart or Lord of the Rings. Had William Wallace or Aragorn told their followers, “So, I guess we should go fight these guys. C’mon,” it wouldn’t have brought out the passion or bold action they needed.
You can spare the cinematic drama, but you still need to inspire and move folks to do what you want them to do. Crafting effective CTAs just takes thoughtful effort rather than making it an afterthought. Below, we’ve shared our five best tips:
- Make calls to action easy to execute and easy to see. First and foremost, you want your CTA to be easy. No one wants to fill out a five-page form to email you or jump through a lot of hoops to get you on the phone. Potential clients should be able to take action in just a few seconds and with only a few clicks. Also, your CTA should jump out at the viewer: consider using large, colorful buttons and bold headings.
- Make each call to action worth their while. Your reader won’t pick up the phone or fill out a form unless they feel like they will benefit from the deal. If you’d like your potential clients to contact your office, give them a reason to do so. Make it very clear on your web page that you can help them solve their current problem or answer their questions. If you’d like them to sign up for something more tangible like a free e-book, newsletter, or webinar, ensure that you are offering something filled with useful and interesting information.
- Have multiple calls to action. Marketing researchers have found that not everyone likes to reach out in the same way. Some people want to pick up the phone and hear a real human voice, while others would rather engage in an online chat, write a short email, or even visit your brick-and-mortar place of business. Including multiple CTAs on your website caters to the different people who visit. While you don’t want to overwhelm your audience with choices and offers, having two or three clear offers throughout your website allows your readers to make a comfortable choice.
- Have a call to action on every page. One of the biggest mistakes we see attorneys make is only including a CTA on their home page – or only on their main practice area pages. Because the vast majority of your traffic will enter through pages other than your homepage (such as a blog post or FAQ page), it is vital that all of your pages include CTAs.
- Don’t leave them hanging. Far too many attorneys let potential clients fall through their fingers by not following through appropriately after a website reader has initiated contact. This is no time to declare “Mission Accomplished.” Be sure to promptly return phone calls, respond to emails or online inquiries, and write drip email campaigns.
