Action. That’s what week 3 of Kickass Content Month, your guide to creating quality content, is about. FYI: the call to action is important, but there are other things you can also do to increase engagement.
This month-long focus on how to create quality content all came about when my favorite resource, the Content Marketing Institute, shared a checklist for creating quality content.
Today, we’re looking at how to make people TAKE ACTION—whether it’s downloading your free resource, booking a call, or posting on social media.
Here is the short answer:
Tell them what to do next (aka: the call to action).
I don’t mean be “salesy.” I do mean let them know what the next step is. Do they need to download a checklist, book a call, leave a comment, go out for ice cream? Share your article?
What do you want them to do?
Here’s how you let your readers know the next step …
Step 1: Include an obvious call to action.
By obvious, I mean not a two word link. Make sure they KNOW this is what they’re to do. That’s what a call to action is—direction on what to do. A registration link for a workshop is a call to action. Here are some common examples 👇
Call to action examples include:
- Register Now
- Grab your free tip sheet
- Book a clarity session
- Visit Ms. Moo’s ice cream shop
Step 2: Make it easy to comment, ask questions, and share.
I remember when blogging first became a thing, I had to force clients to keep comments on. They simply didn’t want to open themselves up to possible negativity and complaints. That plan backfired for them, and companies have since learned that people need to be able to comment and ask questions—whether publicly or privately. They also need to easily be able to share it whatever you post.
The easier you make it, the more positive engagement you’ll have.
What that means:
- Make the place where they can comment or send a message easy to find—like a link on every page of the website or a link to the system you use to collect feedback (think how annoyed you get when you have to dig through pages and pages on a website to find a customer service phone number 😡).
- Make sure somebody—whether it’s you or an admin—is monitoring feedback every single day. Nothing is worse than saying you welcome comments and then ignoring them.
- Include social sharing buttons on your posts so that with a click of an icon they can forward your content on to someone else who will love it.
Step 3: Link to relevant content.
If someone has stayed on your site and consumed an entire piece of content, give them more! They’re engaged. Keep sharing. There are “relevant post” plugins you can use, or hand pick related content. An added benefit is that search engines really like internal links.
Homework!!!
I have a little homework assignment for you that will help on your quest to create quality content that people act on. Over the next few days when you’re on your favorite sites, notice how many of these three things they’re doing. I bet anything the brands you love most do all three of them.
Before you do that, though, get your own content planned out for the next quarter. Planning is key to creating quality content, and the Kicka$$ Content Planner is your map.
