Does every blog post need a CTA?
No.
Let me explain.
What is a call to action?
For those who are not familiar with the term, a “call to action,” abbreviated as CTA, is just what it sounds like: a summons to do something. So if you want to call it a STDS, feel free. (Although I wouldn’t.)
Of course, calls to action have been used long before the digital world appeared. For several decades, automobile dealer Cal Worthington (and his dog Spot) wanted people to come to his car dealerships, so in between the entertaining animals, the call to action “Go see Cal” was repeated in commercials like this one.
And things haven’t changed in the 21st century, except that most of us have retired the dog Spot. For example, some of my blog posts include the following call to action:
- Send me an email at john.bredehoft@bredemarket.com.
- Or go to calendly.com/bredemarket to book a Saturday morning meeting with me.
- Or go to bredemarket.com/contact/ to use my contact form.
These three bullets, when used, are preceded by a statement such as “If I can work with you to create your written content, please contact me.” Or whatever makes sense for the particular blog post.
But not all of my posts include the three CTA bullets.
Posts for awareness don’t need CTAs
Take my post from last Saturday, “Candy Street Market is coming.”
This post simply talked about a new candy store in Ontario, California, but never talked about Bredemarket’s content creation or proposal writing services.
So why did I write a post that doesn’t directly lead to business?
For the awareness.
Ever since I exited some of my prior identity-related markets in the spring of 2022, I’ve pivoted my marketing activity and am concentrating more on serving local firms in California’s Inland Empire. This isn’t a new activity; I’ve targeted local businesses since September 2021. But since I am no longer serving my former clientele of companies that identify individuals using fingerprints, faces, and identity documents, the local business is obviously extremely important.
But the locals need to know that I’m here.
Hence I wrote about a local candy store to provide awareness to businesses that Bredemarket is out there.
If their curiosity is piqued, then perhaps they’ll subscribe to the blog or explore what I do to find out what Bredemarket can do for them.
And even if not, at least the readers know another place to get candy in downtown Ontario.
CTAs on some posts wouldn’t be prudent
And then there are posts in which a CTA plain doesn’t belong.
I already linked to one such post above: my April 22 post announcing my change in business scope.
In short, the post let people know all of the business that I wouldn’t accept in the future.
Why post a call to action after announcing that?
And how would I word it? “If you are a biometric identity company that needs content marketing or proposal writing services, don’t call me”?
It comes down to goals
But you don’t need to detailed list of do’s and don’ts to determine which blog posts need CTAs.
It all boils down to one simple question:
What is the goal of the blog post?
As I stated in October, one of the six questions that you (or your content creator) should ask before starting work is about the goal for the piece of content.
- Do you want people to keep you in mind if they need your product or service in the future? (“That guy knows Ontario, and he writes content; maybe he can help me.”)
- Do you want people get more information on something (such as a service description)?
- Do you want people to contact you personally if they want more information?
- Do you want people to pull out their credit card immediately and buy something?
The answers to those questions will shape the final content, whether a CTA is needed, and the type of CTA.
This post DOES have a CTA
So let’s say you’re an Inland Empire business that needs a content marketing expert to write a blog post for you.
And let’s say that you have specific goals for this blog post.
And you’re targeting a particular audience for this blog post. (Maybe candy lovers.)
And you realize that buyers aren’t persuaded by a list of features you offer, but by a list of benefits for them. (Yes, benefits are important.)
Before Bredemarket writes a blog post for you, I’ll ask you about these items and others (see the list here), to make sure that my work is aligned with what you need.
So do you want to talk to me about that blog post that your business needs?
Here’s the call to action. Talk to me.
- Send me an email at john.bredehoft@bredemarket.com.
- Or go to calendly.com/bredemarket to book a Saturday morning meeting with me.
- Or go to bredemarket.com/contact/ to use my contact form.
Bredemarket 