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Playbooks / Call to action playbook / Write concise button copy for high-ratio of ideas to words

Write concise button copy for high-ratio of ideas to words

Write concise button copy for high-ratio of ideas to words

Leave no room for unnecessary words in the button text.

Your call-to-action copy should be effective and concise. In order to get the point across most effectively, you shouldn’t leave any room for extra words in your button text.

Some of the best converting CTA-button texts only use one or two words.

A good aim is to focus on clearly conveying an action, often by using a verb, to ensure that there is no doubt in the users mind as to what the button will do. Button texts like “Start Trial”, “Buy Now”, or “Pre-order Now” has proven effective time and time again.

A typical CTA-button text flaw is to only print the price of an item or similarly omit including a verb. This can lead to doubt in the user and may cause second guessing the action. The user might think: “Will this button make me buy the product?”, “Is this just the price or will I commit myself to buying?”, or “Will I see more product options after clicking this button?”.

You want to aim for writing succint copy. It doesn’t mean short, but instead a focus on achieving a high ratio of ideas to words.

Don’t tempt yourself to explain what your button will do in detail. If you add anything but the essential words to your button, you’ll find your CTA to so long that it becomes hard to read at a glance. Unreadable buttons also tend to be un-clickable.

« Combine header with a button to increase clarity Encourage action in button copy using command verbs »

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