56 Examples of Engaging CTAs

Click Here. Buy Now. Read More. Those are all examples of calls to action (CTAs) you can use in your email marketing campaigns to drive customers to your site and improve engagement. 

A CTA can be text in the form of a button, image or hyperlink that encourages the user to do something—preferably head to your site. CTAs can even be a mix of those elements, like in this example from Old Navy.

They show your subscribers what they should do next—if the CTAs do their job. We’ll show you why this marketing tool is so important to use and examples of engaging CTAs to get you started.

Why CTAs matter

An email without a clear CTA is a dead end because there’s nothing left for the customer to do after they finish reading it—except maybe delete it from their inbox. Here are just a few benefits of consistently adding CTAs to your campaigns:

• Create a sense of urgency
• Push subscribers further down the sales funnel
• Improve engagement and sales
• Make brand predictable (in a good way)

Customers have come to expect and want CTAs so they know the next step to take for more information or to make a purchase. Here are more reasons why incorporating CTAs in your campaigns is important:

• Emails with a single CTA increased clicks by 371 percent and sales by 1,617 percent.
• More than 90 percent of subscribers who read your headline also read the CTA.
• The average click-through rate for CTAs across all industries is 4.23 percent—which is better than Google ads click-through rates.

If you’re ready to start experiencing those benefits, try incorporating these engaging CTAs in your next campaign.

56 CTA examples to try

A CTA’s main job is to get your customers to click it. To do that, your CTA needs to catch their attention and clearly state why they should engage. There are several different ways to achieve that goal. With a limited word count to get your message across (in most cases), you want to be mindful of each word in your CTA. Here are a few approaches you can use with your CTAs.

Make it personal

Just like you personalize the email content, the CTA should also feel tailored to the subscriber, like in these examples.

1. Start My Free Trial
2. Get Mine
3. See My Stats
4. Go To My Account
5. I’m In!
6. Book My Demo
7. Find My Store
8. View My Rewards
9. My Rewards (like in this example from Chipotle)

Create urgency

If a customer doesn’t take action when they first open your email, it’s highly unlikely they will come back to the message later. So, make them want to click it—now.

1. Buy Now
2. Shop Now
3. Order Now
4. Add to Cart Now
5. Sign Up Now
6. View Now
7. Get Started Now
8. Download Now
9. Start Now
10. Book Now
11. Explore Now
12. Watch Now
13. Sign Up Instantly
14. View Offer (Chick-fil-A)

You can also add an exclamation point—but only use a single one, and don’t use it every time. That could make your email come across as spam.

Offer an incentive

Everyone loves a good deal or discount, so use that approach with your CTA. 

1. Claim My Discount/Savings
2. Claim My 15% Off
3. Claim My Deal
4. Save 15% Now
5. Get 15% Off
6. Start Free Trial
7. Use Code: FREESHIPPING (to add free shipping to an order)
8. Reveal My Discount
9. Sign Up & Save
10. Join Free for a Month
11. Find Coupons
12. Activate Offer
13. Get the Offer (Target)

You can also add “Now” to the end of these to incorporate a sense of urgency, as well.

Tell them more

Not all CTAs have to be short, using only one to three words. You can be successful with long-form CTAs in some cases.

1. Sign Up for Our Daily Newsletter
2. Share Your Story With #Example (to encourage a social engagement around a campaign)
3. Let’s Start Working Together
4. Shop [Specific Product Name] (like in this example from Fathead)

Stick with the basics

There are common CTAs you’ll see in email marketing campaigns across the board. That’s because they’re clear and they work. These might not seem as flashy as some of the others on the list, but they are especially good for emails where you need multiple CTAs because of their simplicity.

1. Click Here
2. Continue
3. Learn More
4. Read More
5. See How
6. Check It Out
7. Subscribe
8. Download Ebook
9. Buy Tickets
10. Get the Guide
11. Get Access
12. See/View My Cart
13. Join Us
14. Become a Member
15. See All
16. Shop Bestsellers (Pink Lily)

Mix and match CTAs

There are endless options for CTAs. Test them out, switch out words and move the CTA around the design to see which format works best for your audience. You can also combine tactics with multiple CTAs, like in this example from Domino’s.

Once you get a clearer picture of what your subscribers want, you can also use this type of CTA approach across your channels—from your website to social media pages. Every email marketing campaign you send needs a CTA, so start engaging your audience with them today!