Introduction
Call to action is an effective part of every nonprofit website. They enable visitors to take action and be a part of the initiative. The call to action is arguably one of the most important parts of a nonprofit’s website. They can drive engagement and maximize online donations for nonprofits. A call to action or a CTA is an ask. You are using powerful language to ask for contributions.
No matter how fundamentally sound your website is, if you don’t have a good CTA, chances are you may not attract as many people to donate as you would expect. In this article, we shall take a look at some ideas that you can incorporate for your CTA and also some actual CTA examples that you can conveniently use on your website.
Ideas for a good call to action
Here are some tips and ideas you can use to create unique CTAs that cater to your nonprofit, specifically.
- Use verbs: particularly action verbs, you want to use words that urge the visitors to jump into action. Words such as change, fight, act, and intervene are quite effective.
- Keep it small: get to the point, do not waste precious words, and instead drive the point home in a few words.
- Talk about your cause: mentioning the cause or movement in the CTA can help empower the CTA itself.
- Use contrasting colors: eye-catching details can attract attention. Use bold colors for your CTA to draw attention and help visitors make quicker decisions.
- Create urgency: if you want donations, you have to show the urgency, words such as now and today are very impactful.
- “I want to”: As human beings, we want to be part of a narrative, if your CTA uses the words “I want to join the fight/ act today” visitors are inclined to donate more.
- Take it step-by-step: You should not overwhelm visitors with too much information, instead try to create your CTA in a step-by-step manner, so people can follow it easily.
- Convey emotion: nonprofits fight for causes that can be quite heartwarming, use this emotional narrative in your CTAs to urge visitors to contribute.
Types of examples
Now that we have discussed how you can create your CTAs, it will be easy for you to make ones that are unique to your website and cause. However, you could also do with some examples. These can be sprinkled throughout your website and used as per their purpose.
Get more information
These phrases are designed for CTAs that appeal to visitors who are actively seeking out information. Some examples are:
- Learn more
- Start today
- Get involved
- Find out more
- Keep me informed
Donation
These phrases are the bread and butter of any nonprofit. They are used to specifically contribute to the cause and every nonprofit site must have a few of these:
- Donate now
- Contribute today
- Make a donation
- Give to “our cause”
- Help ___ in need
- Click here to donate today!
- Transform ____ lives today
- Give to _____ in need
- Show your support by helping ____ today!
Place a call
For the nonprofits that work best through telephonic conversions, these are designed to make visitors pick up their phones and dial the number:
- Call us today
- Let’s talk on____
- Call now
- Let’s chat on_____
Volunteer
Often nonprofits want the community to be involved and they are actively looking for people who will volunteer and donate. These CTAs can be found on virtually every nonprofit site.
- Join us today!
- Join us now!
- Join the fight
- Volunteer today
- Volunteer with us
- Become a member/ ambassador
- Take action
- End___ today
- Support____ today
- Protect___ from _____
- Stop unjust_____
Emails and blogs
Nonprofits want to remind visitors and donors that they are actively working towards achieving their goals and accomplishing their missions. These CTA phrases can help visitors and donors subscribe to their blog or mailing lists.
- Join our mailing list today
- Subscribe to our blog
- Sign up for our newsletter
- Subscribe now
- Find an event near you
Final words
The aforementioned phrases and ideas are designed for nonprofits to acquire donors. They help turn a simple visitor into a contributing member. Their importance cannot be understated. If a nonprofit wants to succeed it has to find ways to implement CTAs in its content.
While the ideas and examples above may work for some, there is no objective way to determine if they will work for your nonprofit. All you need to know is that for CTAs to work effectively you have to plan and strategize your content. By incorporating them subtly throughout your content, you will be able to convert the maximum number of visitors into donors.