Calls-to-Action: Read This Post Now.

Arguably one of the most important elements in an email, the call-to-action is what spurs your recipient to take action on your offer.

Emails can contain multiple types of calls-to-action, including preheader messages, buttons, links, and recently, animated gifs. Regardless of the type, calls-to-action are most effective when they:

1. Are Powerful.

The call-to-action language entices the click through by using the subscriber's language and provides a strong incentive. Examples:

Piperlime does a great job of speaking subscriber lingo and hits the nerve of all teenage girls that want to stand out from the crowd. 

Sephora sets up the call-to-action with the messaging that subscribers can try a product before it even hits the stores. 

2. Are Actionable.

The call-to-action should make it clear what action the subscriber should take. Don't make them guess like Abercrombie or Costco do.

3. Create urgency.

The call-to-action lights the fire under subscribers to act immediately on the offer. Examples:

Bath & Body Works tells subscribers that the offer is limited and creates that urgency in 4 words. 

Bluefly sends out "the Quickie" offer emails that provides subscribers a 4-hour window within which to take advantage of the offer. 

4. Aren't hidden.

Make your call-to-action stand out by not hiding it in tiny type a la Hermes or blended into an image like Lands' End.

(The now defunct) Circuit City does a great job of making each of their calls-to-action stand out by utilizing different colors and copy. 

5. Are bulletproof

and viewable both with images disabled and enabled. Bonus material... A few examples of animated gifs in the wild:

Williams-Sonoma shows off an animated gif call-to-action in their header graphic of the email. 

Eaton makes the call-to-action truly impossible to miss by adding in a text link version of it directly below the animated gif (which is blocked when images are turned off). 

Do you have any examples of truly spectacular calls-to-action? Feel free to share them and any other thoughts below.

Kelly Lorenz
Account Manager at Bronto