Author Archive

Push My Buttons

Tonight, I’m putting on my email marketing to talk about call-to-action (CTA) buttons. If you or someone you love writes emails in Constant Contact, MailChimp, or another email marketing platform as part of their job, feel free to take and share my advice. If you only write emails in Outlook to your co-workers with attachments, go ahead and read any of my other blog posts instead. I don’t mind.

If you are still with me, the purpose of email marketing is to get your audience to take action, like sign up for an event or donate to a cause. Basically, you want your reader to push your buttons. So, here is some of my best advice for CTA buttons based on questions my clients have asked me.

What Should I Keep in Mind When Designing A CTA Button?

  • Size matters – If your button is too small, it will be hard to click on a mobile device. If it is too large, it looks less like a button and more like an image.
  • Shape it up – Most email platforms will let you round the corners of the CTA button or make it pill-shaped or rectangular.
  • Add a pop of color – Black and white buttons are boring. Use a brightly colored button with dark text. You can also use your branding colors for your buttons. The idea is to stand out on the screen and be easily found.
  • Location, Location, Location – Put the button above the fold, meaning toward the top of the email. It doesn’t have to be at the very top but don’t make people scroll to the end to get them to click. They may not read that far down.
  • Technical stuff – Leave enough white space between the blocks of text and the buttons. If the buttons are jammed up against a wall of text, it doesn’t look as nice.

What Text Should Go on the Button?

  • Keep the text short and sweet. Five to seven words maximum. Be clear about what you want people to do.
  • Feel free to be creative. Do you want them to “Sign Up Here”  or ask them to “Save Me a Seat”?
  • Bonus Tip: Don’t write the word “HERE.” It is vague and doesn’t tell people what will happen when they click. Be more specific.
  • Underline the text on the button so it looks like a link.
  • Check the button before sending the email to ensure it goes to the right page.

How Do I Build My Email Subscriber List Using Buttons?

  • Buttons are everywhere, including on your social media platforms. Take a look at your organization’s Facebook profile. You should be allowed one button; many use it to visit their website. Change it to “Sign Up for My Newsletter” for a month and see what happens.
  • Add a down arrow to your cover image that points to the button and draws attention to it.
  • Put your newsletter sign-up button at the top of every page on your website. If it’s at the bottom, move it up—again, don’t assume people will scroll down to find it.

I hope this was helpful to you. And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. 🙂

XO,
Elisa

Missing

Don’t you hate when things go missing? I don’t know about you, but something is always missing when I need it the most: my phone, my car keys, my purse. No matter how prepared I am the night before or how much time I leave to get ready in the mornings, there is always something I cannot find.

This morning, I had a networking event at 9 am. As a freelance writer who works from home, having to be somewhere that early and dressed to impress is a lot to ask. But I was ready. Last night, I pulled the perfect outfit from my closet, including shoes and Spanx. I checked the bathroom to be sure everything I needed was there: moisturizer, foundation, blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. At my age, I require all these items to put on my professional face.

I checked my purse for my car keys and wallet and charged my phone. There! I was as ready as I’d ever be for this event. Or so I thought.

At 8:30 this morning, I remembered the one thing I had forgotten: business cards! I can’t show up to a networking event without them. That would be very bad. It’s the epitome of being unprepared, which is so off-brand for me.

I just had new ones printed and picked them up from Staples yesterday. I was so proud of myself for remembering to order new ones. Now, where did I put them?! I ran around the house, looking in all the obvious places—my office, bedroom, and kitchen. I started to sweat, which was not good as I was wearing a bright blue blouse that left no armpit stains unseen. Fifteen minutes later, it dawned on me to check my car; sure enough, that’s where I had left them.

I arrived at the event 15 minutes late and extremely frustrated. But I took a deep breath and gave myself a quick pep talk. I wouldn’t let a bad morning ruin this opportunity to meet potential clients and make new connections.

“You got this,” I said to myself. As I opened the car door, I glanced at the passenger seat.

Where the f&ck is my umbrella?!

(For my UBC friends and anyone who doesn’t live where I do, it was pouring rain here today!)

XO,
Elisa

Lost Connections

A photo of the New York Times Connections PuzzleMy Dearest Connections,

When the New York Times introduced you to me, it was love at first sight. Sixteen words to sort into four common groups?! Categories that challenged my mind instead of my body?! You sounded so good on paper. While I was already in a committed relationship with Wordle, I couldn’t deny my feelings for you.

At first, we were a perfect match. You gave me a rainbow of choices and let me take my time until I was sure. On the day you put Fantasy, Frontier, Adventure, and Tomorrow in the grid, my heart soared. I knew what you were thinking—Disneyland Lands! It was obvious we were meant to be. It was later that night when I pre-named our children Webster and Roget and bought Genie Plus tickets.

I believed you would never ever disappoint me. And then, it happened. You just got weird—you and your kinky word pairings. Animal names spelled backwards? Words that included names of musical instruments plus the letter A? Food slang for head?!

That’s when I realized, you are one sick yppup*.

I thought we understood each other in the most literal way, but I can’t read your mind. I stuck around longer than I should have because I thought you would start making some sense. But we didn’t speak the same love language. And there were too many days you made me doubt myself as an English major.

So listen, Connections, I’m tired of the mind games and the wordplay. We are so over. You don’t complete me because I have found it impossible to win you over.

I hope you can find the words to forgive-understand-pardon-absolve me.

XO,
Elisa

*Puppy spelled backwards 😉

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