Twenty-five Effective, Call-to-Action Phrases for E-commerce Content

by My Web Writers

“Click here!” “Buy today!” “Limited time only!” We’ve seen them all, and ignored most of them. Not all e-commerce call-to-action phrases are creative. Most of them are incredibly cliché and really don’t motivate the reader to do much of anything.

You want to be different. You want to stand out. In order to do this put on your thinking cap and let your creative juices flow. Don’t use the same words that everyone else uses. Turn to a thesaurus if you need to and make sure you’re thinking outside the box.

Try these 25 effective, call-to-action phrases in your ecommerce content:

1. Just hit Reply and we’ll email you the details.
2. Entice him with x, y, and z.
3. Impress when you dress in x, y, and z.
4. Think (insert topic here).
5. Get the 411.
6. Come hang with us.
7. Write!
8. Tell us you want it.
9. Put it in my closet.
10. Use it ASAP.
11. Make my friends jealous.
12. Explore the product.
13. Book a table.
14. Take a chance today.
15. Achieve more now.
16. Build my collection.
17. Learn how to profit.
18. Improve my life.
19. Make me (look, smell, dress, etc.) better.
20. Check it out.
21. Some of our customer favorites are x, y, and z.
22. Try popular styles like x, y, and z.
23. Our top sellers, such as X and Y, receive outstanding reviews.
24. Shop for other items like x including y and z.
25. Our most linked to products are x, y, and z.

Remember that calls to action aren’t only about the words. Experiment with fonts, size, and placement on the page.  Feel free to be creative while enticing shoppers to buy more!

~Natalie

Put a Little Romance in Your Vocabulary- 10 Synonyms for Love

by My Web Writers

People commonly extoll the need for more words for love in the English language. For example, Counselor Sheryl Paul  argues that so many people struggle in love because our culture is committed to a single word and a single ideal for what we feel for each other. Others point to the plethora of words meaning love in other languages. While these points certainly have merit, perhaps English is getting a bad wrap. After all, one thesaurus offers 47 synonyms for the common word “love.” This Valentine’s Day (I’m assuming, can be cut if not and start from:) spice up your love life and your vocabulary by using a different, or more specific, word to express feelings of love.

Here are ten strong synonyms to convey love:

Adulation: Adulation implies enthusiastic praise and flattery. Sometimes it even connotes worship. Offer your love adulation. Write him or her a letter showering them with praises and flattering reasons why you love them. Describe a character’s expressions as adulation. Adulation is probably best for more established loves. Adulation too early can come across too strongly.

Affection: Affection can mean an emotional fondness, closeness, or concern. It can also connote physical caresses. Lovers can offer one affection, but the word can also be used to express love between friends, family members, and colleagues.

Amour: Amour spells romance. Call an affair, liaison, or passionate love affair and amour, either as a euphemism or to imply the ardor of the connection. You could also call someone with a tendency to fall in love (or lust) amorous.

Appreciation: Granted, it’s not as sexy as “amour,” but appreciation can convey love in a way that lets the other person know they aren’t taken for granted. Tell someone you love you appreciate them to express your gratitude or to acknowledge the reasons why you’re glad to have them around. Appreciation works well for co-workers and friends as well as more intimate relationships.

Enchantment: Enchantment means magic. Use enchantment to imply the magnetic quality of a lover or particular traits that captivate.

Fidelity: Fidelity, or faithfulness in a relationship conveys allegiance, ardor, or constancy of attachment. Fidelity is commonly used to express steadfastness in marriage or family, but it can also be romantic. Let your partner know that you’re on his or her team.

Friendship: Friendship or companionship adds affection and love to many relationships. Let your friends know you love them, or tell your partner she/he is your best friend. Though less fiery than romance, friendship is often equally satisfying.

Infatuation: It’s just a little crush. Infatuation can express that tightness in your chest you feel around a new love. Describe an early or fleeting love as an infatuation. Or, use infatuation as a way to describe an old love that still gives the lovers butterflies.

Respect: Respect implies admiration or feelings of equality or appreciation. Respect is a key component of love. Describe a strong love as imbued with respect. Telling someone you respect them can also be a way to convey your feelings to a colleague or friend.

 Zeal: Zeal is an enthusiastic devotion to a person or a cause. Often zeal has negative connotations, but it doesn’t have to. Describe the love of someone coming on too strong as zealous or the lover as a zealot. Or, you could express your strong love or admiration as a zealous attachment.

Use one of the above words to portray love with more nuance and clarity or to express yourself with more creativity. You might also be interested in our tips on how to Tell a Better Story. Use our Call to Action Verbs in connection with these synonyms for love for writing that captures ardor, enchantment, or steadfast affection as well as your audience’s attention.  ~Kasey

When Bad Jokes Happen to Good People

by My Web Writers

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “A difference of taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections.” While a bad joke with friends and family can be forgotten, with potential customers you might have just one chance to win them over.  Because senses of humor vary, using humor cautiously is in your best interest. That said, good comedy can evoke emotions that connect people to your purpose.

A Little Goes a Long Way

When writing funny copy, a little humor goes a long way. You know that person in your circle of friends who overuses bad puns, as though by telling every joke, eventually he or she will get a laugh? A little bit goes a long way, especially in marketing copy. Not only do you not want to overload your writing with humor and detract from the credibility of your content, subtle humor often reads better, showing your sophisticated skills.

One way to simplify your humor for a bigger impact is by choosing a consistent style. Consider the Allstate “Mayhem” commercials. The ads each feature actor Dean Winters as different embodiments of “mayhem”–a teen driver, heavy winter snow, termites, and so on.

The phrasing in the commercials features eloquent and funny descriptions of the disasters about to befall drivers or homeowners, but the humor lies most in the deadpan delivery. Further, the consistency of the different ads emphasizes the humor and creates strong branding for the company. In your copy, you can employ these same strategies by devising a unified comedic tone or running gag to use along with your stylesheet.

Consider Negative Reactions

If you consider your customer demographics, hopefully you can avoid a joke that offends unanticipated readers, but you should still consider how your writing might be read as distasteful rather than funny. For example, last year KIA ran a print ad that intended to depict the two sides of their new cars. The ad featured a cartoon strip of a teacher talking to a student and seeing her on one side as a little girl and on the other as a sexualized teenager. The company faced a big backlash because a large number of people thought the ad was inappropriate at best. In this case, failing to consider the implications of the joke forced KIA to deal with an offended public. Especially when joking about gender, race, politics, or religion, think through how others might read your humor, or avoid these jokes altogether.

Keep it Positive

All told, using comedy that is on the light side is most likely to make your readers and potential customers smile. By using jokes that refrain from making fun of a particular person or group of people, you depict your company as friendly and trustworthy rather than gossipy or mean. Upbeat jokes also work well with call-to-action marketing copy, so you can draw the reader in with humor and use active writing to bring in a sale.

Finally, remember to read your humorous copy aloud. Your writing should capture the tone and timing of the joke as though you were telling it to your reader in person.

~Kasey

Nab These Call to Action Verbs

By My Web Writers

Spice Up Your Meta Descriptions

After writing your fiftieth, meta description using the verbs “buy”, “look”, and “find”, you’re probably snoring.  Imagine how customers feel.  If just one of the below “vacation rentals” entries sparkled, it would capture a gold medal for creativity and extra site visits.

Capture Visitors with Enticing Action Verbs

Retailers lose income opportunities when potential customers ignore blah snippets.  Even a lower ranked snippet can capture additional clicks if its meta description and titles are alluring. Bookmark these engaging verbs for use in your web writing efforts.

Absorb	Accept	Acquire
Amaze	Add	Ask
Attract	Bestow	Borrow
Browse	Charge	Claim
Clean	Click	Clip
Collide	Cook	Copy
Create	Deliver	Design
Determine	Discover	Disrobe
Download	Dream	Drive
Earn	Embark	Empty
Engage	Enroll	Execute
Extract	Fall	Fatten
Visit	Flirt	Follow
Fondle	Gallop	Gamble
Gather	Gobble	Grab
Guess	Hobble	Hop
Hurdle	Hurl	Hustle
Inquire	Jingle	Juggle
Jump	Learn	Lease
Lie	Listen	Locate
Lose	Move	Nab
Obtain	Park	Peek
Polish	Print	Publish
Punt	Push	Query
Realize	Redeem	Refresh
Register	Rent	Sample
Save	Search	Seek
Shimmy	Skip	Slink
Smell	Snap	Sneak
Speak	Steal	Stomp
Store	Swallow	Trample
Uncover	Unveil	Watch
Wet	Whisk	Win

Shake up the use of verbs to capture more clicks and entertain your customers!

~Jean

Attention-Getting Phrases and Buzz Words

By My Web Writers

2012 Buzz Words

Think about the excitement that would run through your mind if you walked into a store and saw one display towards the front that said “Sale!” and another display nearby that said “New!”—you’d probably be inclined to at least look at the products.  On the other hand, if you walked into a store to see no signs, no direction, and no one offering to explain promotions, you’d probably turn around and leave.  A few other words that have been known to catch the attention of consumers are “Announcing,” “Introducing,” and “Bogo” (Buy one get one).

2012 Marketing Phrases

Not only do buzz words catch the attention of consumers, but key marketing phrases do, also.  These phrases can represent new products (“Just arrived” and “Try our new…” are good examples) or can show what items are on sale at that point in time.  A few good sale lines are “Stock up and Save” or “Save like crazy,” as well as the most popular “Buy one, get one.”

TOMS shoes is a company that has a great example of a good marketing phrase, though it has become more of a slogan: One for One.  Consumers know that TOMS are a One for One company—in their terms, it means that for every shoe they sell, a child in an underdeveloped country receives a pair of shoes.  They are also launching an eye wear campaign that follows the same One for One marketing idea.  They’ve taken a phrase and made it into more than a marketing campaign—consumers know TOMS shoes because of the One for One campaign (and phrase), and it’s made their sales grow exponentially in the past few years.

Whether you, like TOMS, take a phrase and make it your own or you simply watch the companies and stores around you to get an idea of what marketing phrases and buzz words are hot this year, remember that there are ways other than signs to market to your customers.  Do a bit of research, even conduct a small survey of your customers, and determine what words and phrases will benefit your business the most.

~Holly