This Is How to Write the Best Call to Action That Will Boost Comments and Subscribers

By: | May 28, 2016 | Tags: , , , , , |


#Bloggers can get comments and subscribers with a Call to ActionDid you publish a blog post today?

According to statistics, almost four million posts have been written today.

That is quite a great deal of competition for readership.

This is a follow-up to my post 13 Ways a Call to Action Will Make You See Enormous Blog Stats. The article explained 13 strategic places to put a Call to Action (CTA) so that visitors would subscribe and subscribers would comment.

Bloggers wrote in response to the article, many with the same question seemingly asked in unison, “Now that you have told us where to put a Call to Action, can you please tell us how to get visitors and subscribers to respond to our Call to Action?”

Consider these comments from readers:

Jill wrote, I have tried to put a CTA in my posts before. Usually at the end. I’ve asked for comments and suggestions. It’s rare I get any, but occasionally I have a post where a few of my regular people will comment and we get a good discussion going. 

Jen shared, The CTA I find the hardest is in my newsletters, I have tried everything to get them to “hit reply”, finally I added a 5 question survey-ya! Worked like a charm.

Where my main struggle is now is to get subscribers to open the newsletter. Later I am going to hunt around and see if you have a post on that one.

No longer is there a need to search for the article. This post will explain how to get readers to subscribe and how to get subscribers to comment.

How to Get Visitors to Take Your Call to Action to Subscribe

  • Change your message. If your Call to Action always looks the same, people will tune it out and ignore it.

For example, people have different opt-in boxes for different posts just so the message on each page is different. The Call to Action will get people’s attention if it doesn’t always look the same.

Osama Gohar explained he uses a “Follow” widget and finds that works for him in converting visitors to subscribers. He changes the color to give them a different appearance. This will result in getting visitors to notice them.

A Call to Action will increase blog traffic #blogging

I am happy to report new visitors to my Inspire Me Monday Linky Party subscribe to my blog– during the weeks I change the wording of my Call to Action.

Some weeks I write, “For arranging this networking opportunity, it is considered polite to follow your hostess.”

Other weeks I write, “Although it is not required, it is considered polite to follow your hostess. That’s me!” Do you want people to heed your message? Change the wording.

This applies to the end of your blog post. Don’t write “Share this post” each time. For example, at the end of my “Sticky Blogging” post, I wrote, “Readers, please share, so other bloggers can discover the importance of centering your posts around a problem.” I have never used this wording of a Call to Action before or since.

  • Pique readers’ curiosity.

Two places you can successfully get readers begging for more is on your own blog and at Medium.com.

The most logical place is on your blog, especially if you don’t have a Medium account.

On your blog: The Sticky Blogging Technique recommends starting with a problem. Introduce a problem in your introduction, a problem so painful that it actually has a name. It is called “a pain point”.

Introduce the problem in detail. Pour it on thick. Let readers know you understand their pain. Then, insert a “Read More” tag. By doing this, your page views on the post will double since readers will have to click twice to read it.

Readers are also more likely to take your Call to Action to share the post since they will want others to know the solution to the problem.

Medium: Make an account at Medium.com if you don’t already have one.

Copy and paste your introduction. Instead of typing “Read More,” like you would on your blog, type Click to continue reading. Link back to your post at a suspenseful part.

This is my introduction to my Sticky Blogging article, How to Be Memorable in a Sea of Bloggers:

According to a CoSchedule blog survey, bloggers report their biggest challenges are planning content and creating really good content.

Which concern can you relate to? Can you relate to both?

Sticky Blogging is the newest trend in blogging that addresses those concerns. You can put those concerns behind you. This post will solve them for you.

If people want to know how to plan content and create strong content, two of the biggest problems I wrote bloggers have, they have to take my Call to Action and click on my link.

  • Offer free incentives. According to Sue Anne Dunlevie and Tim Paige, people love to possess things. 7 Ways to Take Charge of Your Readership Problem [Incentives] offers a whole slew of ideas for free incentives that you can offer your readers in exchange for subscribing to your blog.
  • Offer Social Proof If you want your visitors to take your Call to Action and become subscribers, you need to offer proof that their time on your blog will be well spent. The Bandwagon Effect in psychology explains that people like to be with the crowd. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. If everyone is reading your blog, it must be a good blog to read, people reason.

You can offer social proof by putting a testimonial in your sidebar from a satisfied reader. I have testimonials on my About page. I offer social proof in a different way in my sidebar. Notice I mention that I was featured on a big blog, Basic Blog Tips.

How to Get Subscribers to Take Your Call to Action to Comment

  • Get subscribers to open your Email. You have to make subject lines as clickable as headlines. If readers don’t open your Email, they certainly won’t comment on your article.

CoSchedule‘s Headline Analyzer is a great way of checking the strength of Email subject lines. Readers love “How to
” posts. Start your Email subject lines with “How to
”

Another way of getting readers to open your Emails is by wording the subject lines in a way that will get their attention. Using words and phrases from the following list can be effective: Alert; Great News; First, let me start with an apology


When I started my subject line with First, let me start with an apology
 three times the people opened my link that normally open it! I apologized for not writing about where to put a Call to Action sooner in my post 13 Ways a Call to Action Will Make You See Enormous Blog Stats.

Use power words in your subject lines just like you would do in your headlines. If you tell readers they will get something immediately, or something that is free, they will be more compelled to open your Email.

  • Personalize the Subscribe button. Many bloggers change the wording so the button compels the reader to subscribe instead of just tells them to. Instead of Subscribe, the button reads, Yes, I want to increase my traffic, or No, I don’t want to increase my traffic. Of course, these are buttons for people who offer blogging tips. I’m sure you could think of ways to personalize the buttons for your niche.
  • Conduct A/B Testing to learn your subscribers’ preferences. My readers consistently responded to How to
  until I overused it. When I had Meet and Greets and Linky Parties, I would give them an “Alert” in the Email subject line, but that got old after a while. Vary your wording like with the Call to Action at the end of the blog post. Variety really is “the spice of life” like the expression goes. Change is effective. Change gets noticed.
  • Send your posts at times based on research. 10:00 am Eastern is best for sending Emails.
  • Send your Emails on days based on research. The day you send matters. Do not send your subscribers your posts on Monday or Friday. Monday people are busy reading their work Emails that came in over the weekend. Friday people are busy cleaning up from the work week. Tuesday is best.

In conclusion, sometimes people need friendly reminders. We are all on information overload. They might appreciate you making the suggestion to comment or subscribe. This post suggested ways to increase the probability your readers will take your Call to Action and comment on your articles and subscribe to your blog.

Readers, please share so other bloggers know how to get readers to comment and visitors to subscribe to their blogs.

Do you have any other methods to get readers to take your Call to Action? What methods do you find effective to get readers to comment or visitors to subscribe? I look forward to your views in the comments section.

Related Post
How to Get Loyal Visitors to Repeatedly Return to Your Blog

  1. Melinda Mitchell

    Excellent advice, as always, my BBFFJ!
    Thank you for working so hard to constantly bring us quality content.
    You are truly a wonderful teacher!
    A+ on this paper!!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi BBFFM,
      You are so kind with your nice words, as always. Thanks for writing.
      BBFFJ

  2. Jen

    Thank you Janice.
    Wow that was faster in response than I was expecting 🙂 Love these tips, I will try them out, especially the email subject lines and let you know.

    Thanks for the feature. I will now be known as the “blogger who asks too many questions!” haha!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Jen,
      I was happy to link to you. You can never ask too many questions. My mother taught me the only stupid question is the one not asked. Besides, your questions give me great introductions to blog posts, LOL.
      Thanks for the inspiration. Glad you found the post helpful.
      Janice

  3. John Doe

    I really love when you write posts about call to action. They are always so informative and so full of great suggestions on how to get more subscribers. As usual , Thanks for being who you are, the best.

  4. Mona AlvaradoFrazier

    “In conclusion, sometimes people need friendly reminders. We are all on information overload. They might appreciate you making the suggestion to comment or subscribe.”I realized I don’t remind readers to subscribe (and I’d love more subscribers). I’m going to try to customize my Follow widget, as shown at the top of your post.

    What I have remembered to do is put a prompt above the “comment” box which says “What Do You Think?” On almost every post I have more than one comment.

    As always, good post and great resources!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Mona,
      Great to hear from you. Thank you for writing. I am glad you are seeing results from customizing the way you end your articles. Give it up!
      Janice

  5. Rhonda Chapman

    Hey Janice.

    Thanks a lot for the reminder and tips.

    I love the idea of posting the intros to other platforms. I’ve only done that when sharing my guest posts on my own blog.

    I’ll give as many of your ideas a try.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Rhonda,
      I just came from your site. You are a copywriter!? If anyone knows how to get readers to respond, it should be you. I am flattered that you find my tips valuable. Thank you!
      Janice

      • Rhonda Chapman

        Hi Janice

        For sure, but what I mean is I haven’t posted on platforms like Medium. Only on other personal/business blogs as a guest blogger. I’m about to post on LinkedIn. We’ll see how that goes! 🙂

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Andrea,
      Thank you so much for stumbling the post. My StumbleUpon traffic has just restarted, so I reallyy appreciate it. Thanks for the kind words about the article. Glad you found the ideas helpful.
      Janice

  6. Barbara Radisavljevic

    I agree the title subject line will have to be good before I’ll open the post or the email. I subscribe to many more emails than I could ever find time to read. I’m probably not the only one. What motivates me is remembering the value I have received from previous posts by that blogger and hoping they are all as good. A title is a promise. The blog has to deliver or people may not bite the next time. I’m actually more likely to read posts my friends share in Facebook groups than the ones that come in newsletters.

  7. Janice Wald

    Hi Barbara,
    After reading what you wrote, I am happy I am in your Facebook group, LOL.
    Actually, I am like you. I subscribe to more blogs than I could read, and if the subject line sounds good, I click. That is why the subject line is so important. Thanks for writing me.
    Janice

  8. Cathy Lawdanski

    All good suggestions. I need to do some A/B testing, has no idea that just changing the color of your subscribe box could make a difference.

  9. Jed Jurchenko

    Some excellent ideas. I need to change up my call to action more often. Vising from the Bloggers Pit Stop, and very glad that I came across your site 🙂

  10. Donna Parker

    Janice, this is really interesting, I’ve had some success with the Call to Action type thing, but reading this,maybe I wasn’t doing it correctly. Thank you, you’ve given me a lot to think about, as always. Great advice. 🙂
    Visiting from Blogger’s Pit Stop, but always happy to be here. 🙂
    Enjoyed and shared. 🙂
    Hope this weekend treats you kindly. 🙂

  11. mainy - myrealfairy

    Janice, another great post. I have learnt something today as I usually do when I read your posts! Thank you so much for all the great info. I need to re look at my call to actions and follow buttons as this is something that is very slow with my development at the moment.

    mainy

    #blogger pit stop

  12. Julian

    Hey Janice,

    Very awesome stuff! 🙂

    Will have to try this out on one of my posts. I have one in the works so I’ll take your CTA advice there. 😀

    Thanks,
    Julian

    • Janice Wald

      So glad you enjoyed my article. Thank you for the visit and the comments.
      Janice

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