Member-only story
11 Really Bad Calls to Action
Watch for these.
We are bombarded by them constantly. Some are subtle, others not so much. They are calls to action, or, as what us old guys call, closes. Ultimately, websites will generally finish with a call to action. The action desired may vary. It may be to buy something, sign up for a newsletter, or get a free sample.
Sometimes the CTA itself was flawed. And sometimes it’s a bad match of CTA and the company using that particular CTA. Sometimes the CTA is just bad for you if you act on it. Here are some hypothetical examples of bad CTAs.
1: Or else.
As illustrated in the above cartoon, depending on who’s using this particular CTA, or close it can be powerful. The legality of it, however, could be a little iffy.
2: Speak with our team of experts.
That sounds good. But what are those experts expert at? Probably what is in the best interests of the company employing them.
3: You have thousands of options. We are one of them.
Not particularly powerful, but at least it’s honest.
