Successful blogs aren’t effective because they contain groundbreaking content that’s 100% original. They also aren’t effective because they have a gorgeous theme, stunning images, and accompanying Pinterest pins that are truly swoonworthy (although these features do help!).
So what is it that makes a blog effective in driving traffic to a website, generating subscribers, boosting a brand’s customers, and increasing revenue? CTAs. That’s right. Those calls to action are where the magic happens. After all, it’s your CTAs that transform your blog visitors into subscribers, clients, and customers.
What does all this mean? It means that it’s important to be strategic about where you put a CTA on your blog. It’s great to have a CTA at the end of each blog post. But if you don’t have them anywhere else, you’re probably leaving lots of money on the table.
So where should you add CTAs on your blog if you want to boost your subscribers, customers, and sales? Check out these 9 effective places to put a CTA on your blog.
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1. At the top of your home page
It’s true that not every blog visitor will enter your blog through the home page. Many people may land on a specific post first if they’re directed to it via social media or a link on another platform.
But because your home page is one of the main pages on your blog, it’s an important place to put a CTA. The hero section of your home page (the section at the top with a large image) is a great place to add a CTA. Because it’s a section of your home page that visitors will see even if they don’t scroll down, it’ll be hard to miss a CTA if you place it here.
Related: How to write a strong call to action for your website + free cheat sheet
Example: Melyssa Griffin has a CTA front and centre on her home page.
2. In a static header bar
It’s great to put a CTA front and centre on your home page. But as I mentioned, not everyone who visits your blog will land on your home page. And even those who do may not be ready to convert right after landing on your blog.
What’s another way to boost conversions on your blog? Use a static header bar (like Hellobar). A static header bar is a narrow bar that appears at the top of a blog page. It contains a short CTA.
Static header bars are effective because they remain visible at the top of the page even as a visitor scroll down. And at the same time, they’re not intrusive. Static header bars are also very noticeable if you make them a colour that contrasts with the colour scheme of your blog.
Example: Nesha Woolery uses a static header bar CTA to boost conversions for her free course.
3. At the bottom of a blog post
Most people who intentionally visit your blog are probably there to consume some sort of free content. How do you leverage this to boost your conversions? Put a CTA at the end of each blog post or content page on your blog.
Visitors who scroll all the way to the end of a blog post or content page are engaged. Don’t let this engagement go to waste by simply wrapping up your blog post and leaving your visitors to figure out what they should do next. Instead, take advantage of this interest by encouraging them to download a free resource, register for a webinar, or sign up for a free trial.
When you put a CTA at the end of a blog post, place it right after the final paragraph of your post. Don’t bury it under your comments section. This way, your visitors will see your CTA when they still have all the feels from having just read your epic post.
Related: How to correctly set up content upgrades on your blog + free tool list
Example: This Crazy Egg blog post contains a CTA at the end.
4. In the middle of a blog post
You may be used to thinking that CTAs belong only at the end of your blog posts. But here’s the thing: Some visitors may be interested enough to convert halfway through your blog post. But they may not have time to read all the way to the end. You may also have visitors who are interested in specific sections of your post only. As a result, they may never intend to scroll down far enough to see your end-of-post CTA.
How can you encourage these types of visitors to convert? Put a CTA in the middle of your blog posts. This way, you can catch visitors after they’ve consumed some content but before they bounce from your blog.
Related: 6 content upgrade tips that will skyrocket your email list + free fillable checklist cheat sheet
Need some help writing powerful calls to action your audience can’t resist?
Download my 80 free call-to-action templates for blogs, websites, and social media.
5. In the sidebar
If you visit popular blogs, there’s a good chance you’ll see a CTA in the sidebar. Sidebars are popular spots to put a CTA on a blog because the sidebar is set off from the rest of the page or post. This can make CTAs in sidebars stand out more. Sidebars are also great spots for image CTAs because they position them in a place that’s highly visible yet unobtrusive.
Example: Caitlin Bacher uses a sticky sidebar to make her Facebook group roadmap CTA highly visible.
6. In a timed pop-up
Even just seeing the word “pop-up” may make you cringe. But there’s a reason why so many brands use them on their blogs: pop-ups work! Because pop-ups typically appear in the centre of the screen, they’re almost impossible to miss. And your visitors usually can’t return to your content until they either convert or decline your offer.
To make pop-up CTAs less intrusive, you can set them to appear after a certain period of time. This gives visitors a chance to consume some of your content before you try to convert them.
Related: The 62 best words to use in your call to action + 80 free call-to-action templates
Example: TOMS boosts conversions by placing CTAs in timed pop-ups.
7. In a welcome mat
Welcome mats are a special type of pop-up. Instead of appearing in the centre of your screen, welcome mats cover the entire screen. As a result, they give you your visitors’ undivided attention. Just like with a timed pop-up, visitors have to either convert or decline your CTA offer before returning to the post or page they were viewing on your blog.
Example: Sumo uses a welcome mat to make this CTA to download a free resource impossible to miss.
8. In an exit pop-up
Just because someone is about to navigate away from your blog doesn’t mean that you need to give up on converting them. Instead, you can make one final attempt before they leave your blog (possible forever).
How do you do this? Put a CTA in an exit pop-up. Exit pop-ups are designed to show up when a visitor on your blog is about to leave. If you use exit pop-ups to make visitors an offer that’s hard to resist, you can succeed in converting them before they peace out.
Related: 7 call-to-action design tips that boost sign ups and sales + 80 CTA templates
Example: Help My Business uses an exit pop-up to make one last attempt to convert visitors before they leave.
9. In a slide-in
Can’t get around the idea of adding pop-ups or welcome mats on your blog? Consider using a slide-in CTA instead. A slide-in is a CTA that slides into the corner of the screen as a visitor scrolls down a post or page.
Unlike pop-ups, slide-ins allow visitors to continue reading content on a post or page. As a result, they’re less intrusive. However, because they literally slide into view, they’re also great for capturing your visitors’ attention and making sure they don’t miss your CTA.
Example: CoSchedule uses slide-ins to get visitors’ attention while still allowing them to read this blog post.
Be strategic about where you put a CTA on your blog
Your blog may have great visuals, an attractive theme, and awesome content. But if it doesn’t have a strong CTA game, you’ll have a hard time turning visitors into subscribers, clients, and customers.
To optimize conversions on your blog, test these 9 different places to put a CTA on your blog. You certainly don’t need to use all of them. But if you’ve only ever explored one or two options, you may be leaving lots of traffic, subscribers, customers, and money on the table. (And I know you don’t want that.)
Need some help writing powerful calls to action your audience can’t resist?
Download my 80 free call-to-action templates for blogs, websites, and social media.
