The call to action sin that will kill your response

Chief Creative Officer

Before we get to today’s sermon, would you mind forwarding this email to a handful of friends?

That’s a hard pass, isn’t it?

Because you can’t ask anyone to do anything before you’ve addressed the most essential element of any request …

A reason why.

And that’s it. That’s your nugget.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.

Because if it was, we wouldn’t see people slapping calls to action on their landing pages before giving their readers a reason to move forward.

“You never know when they’ll be ready to do something,” they say.

Sure, maybe we don’t know exactly when someone will feel comfortable to make a decision. But exposing our claws before we’ve made a convincing argument will make even the most gullible and weak-willed prospect notice that the whole place stinks of salesmanship. 

Maybe you’ve been guilty of being prematurely button-happy yourself. I know I have. 😅

But it’s an easy fix when you think about it. 

Whenever you’re tempted to ask your audience to do something, read through your message to see if you’ve given them enough information to move forward. 

Usually, the greater the ask, the more work you have to do.

For example, if I wanted to borrow one hundred dollars from you, I’d need to be far more persuasive compared to asking you for just five dollars.

But in either case, I couldn’t just stick my hand out and expect you to fork over the cash—even if that’s a popular business model among teenagers.

So, whatever you’re asking, just make sure your reader is ready for it.

That should keep you outta trouble for now. But if you want to go deeper on how you can nail the timing of your CTAs, then follow the Ghost of Nuggets Past into the archives for …

💡 Nugget #15 to help you speak to your audience’s stage of awareness.

💡 Nugget #25 to make sure you’re making a complete selling argument.

💡 Nugget #1 so you can avoid the dangers of “keeping it short.”

And because I’m a real prince of a guy, here’s a bonus article on how to use the “One Action Strategy” to determine the single, specific action you want your audience to take.

That’s a tidy little bundle of knowledge right there. And one that’s proven to work when in the right hands.

Anyone come to mind? If so, please do me a favor and forward this email along.

I’ve always said that this is the kind of guidance I would have appreciated earlier in my career.

But I’m still finding it useful even as a slightly hunched member of the over-50 crowd.

And also because fax machines didn’t have the staying power I expected.

Here’s a song to play you out >>> 

See you next time. — Matt


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Headshot of Matt Cascarino
Chief Creative Officer
Matt is a professional storyteller. That used to be a thinly veiled way to say you still lived with your parents. But the truth is stories have existed since the dawn of humanity and they still have the power to move people, even if it’s no longer from the path of a charging mammoth. Throughout his career on both the agency and client sides, Matt’s work has been known to compel audiences to indulge in higher thread counts, abandon Lenten sacrifice, or move to the suburbs. He’ll even conjugate a noun if he has to. The bottom line: Matt is our agency twofer. Strategy and Creative. The Big Idea and Stealth Deployment. He’s a single expense yielding a dual return. And who doesn’t love a bargain?

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FARM recently participated in the UPlift Design Challenge, where our team worked together to transform the home of a mother and her two daughters. From strategizing to installation, the process was rewarding and highly impactful. Read about our journey and how this organization changes lives one home at a time.

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FARM’s UPlift Design Challenge Experience

FARM recently participated in the UPlift Design Challenge, where our team worked together to transform the home of a mother and her two daughters. From strategizing to installation, the process was rewarding and highly impactful. Read about our journey and how this organization changes lives one home at a time.

Read Article »

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