The Power of the Call to Action

On Tuesday, I went into the Facebook group, At the Top: Small Nonprofit Leaders, and announced that next week we will have a contest. If people commented and posted, they would get points and the top contributor would receive a sixty-minute mentoring session with me. In the announcement, I said I wanted people to engage in the group and that was why I was holding the contest. In just a few minutes, I had people commenting, liking, and posting. It reminded me that when people have a clear call to action, they act.

 

I began thinking about nonprofits. The year-end giving season is quickly approaching and calls to actions will be so important. Are you planning that call to action now? Are you putting in micro-actions in your communications now?

 

Let’s take a look at what a call to action is and what micro-actions we can do now to enhance our year-end giving.

 

Call to Action

Call to action is sometimes abbreviated CTA. It is the one thing you want your audience to do after consuming your content. A call to action gives your audience a clear next step if they want to engage with your organization. In letters, a call to action is in the last paragraph and on the P.S. Most experts tell you to use one call to action only so you don’t confuse people. Generally, that is a good rule of thumb but I have put two calls to action in my content from time to time. One call to action takes a larger commitment or more time to complete and the other is called a micro-action.

 

Micro-actions

Micro-actions are small efforts your audience can do right then. They take minimal time and effort but accomplish two things:

1. They get your audience accustomed to taking action in some way;
2. They move your audience along in your funnel.

Micro-actions can be “like” our Facebook page or get your freebie here (whether that be your donor magnet or your newsletter). You want the micro-action to be simple.

You should start using micro-actions now in your communications, on social media, or anywhere you have a call to action. Why? To get people clicking and engaging so they will be willing to take larger actions during the year-end giving season.

 

An Example of a Call to Action and a Micro-action in the P.S. of an Email

P.S. If you would like to donate $25 to help give a child in need a good Christmas, please go here. (here is hyperlinked to the donation page).  Help us spread the word of our life-transforming work by liking our Facebook page (hyperlink).

 

The first sentence is a Call to Action. The second is a micro-action.

Here are some examples of micro-actions:

 

Clicking like on Facebook	Download the freebie	Complete the survey
Commenting on a blog post	Join the Facebook group	Sign the petition
Commenting on a Facebook post	Visit our blog (or any specific page on your website)	Join us for a Live on (topic)
Sharing an email or social media post	Click here to read more	Sign up for the newsletter

 

What micro-action can you put into your next communication?

Join the contest in At the Top: Small Nonprofit Leaders. The top contributor gets a free 60-minute mentoring session with me to work through your biggest challenge right now.