A call to action (CTA) is the line that tells a reader what to do next: a button, a link, the last sentence of a post or the ask at the end of a talk. Clear ones usually start with a verb, name what the reader gets and leave no doubt about what happens after the click: “Get the packing checklist” says what arrives, and “Submit” doesn't. Below are 100 CTAs sorted by goal, each tagged with the page it belongs on.
The businesses in the examples are invented. Where a CTA carries a claim, such as a time, a head count or a deadline, use it only if the claim is true for you. After the list come the rules for using one well: where it goes, what to put beside it, how big a button has to be, and the most common mistakes.
| If you want the reader to… | Start with | CTAs |
|---|---|---|
| If you want the reader to…Create an account | Start withSign-up CTAs | CTAs1–10 |
| If you want the reader to…Try before they buy | Start withTrial and demo CTAs | CTAs11–20 |
| If you want the reader to…Pay for something | Start withPurchase CTAs | CTAs21–32 |
| If you want the reader to…Subscribe to a newsletter | Start withNewsletter CTAs | CTAs33–42 |
| If you want the reader to…Swap an email address for a resource | Start withDownload CTAs | CTAs43–50 |
| If you want the reader to…Book, call or ask for a price | Start withBooking and quote CTAs | CTAs51–60 |
| If you want the reader to…Give, volunteer or sign | Start withNonprofit CTAs | CTAs61–70 |
| If you want the reader to…Come to an event | Start withEvent CTAs | CTAs71–77 |
| If you want the reader to…Read the next thing | Start withEnd-of-post CTAs | CTAs78–86 |
| If you want the reader to…Reply, share or vote | Start withSocial CTAs | CTAs87–92 |
| If you want the reader to…Act after watching or listening | Start withSpoken CTAs | CTAs93–96 |
| If you want the reader to…Come back | Start withWin-back CTAs | CTAs97–100 |
Sign-up and account CTAs
On a homepage or app page the ask is small but the doubt is big: is this worth an account? Name the first useful thing the reader gets, and how long it takes.
- “Send your first invoice today” — invoicing app, homepage. Promises the first result instead of the account, and the reader can picture doing it before lunch.
- “Set up your shop in 10 minutes” — online store builder. A time estimate answers the question most sign-up forms raise, so time a typical setup before you promise it.
- “Start my meal plan” — meal-planning app. First person reads like the reader's own thought. Test it against “your”; neither wins on every page.
- “Create a teacher account” — classroom app with a separate parent setup. Splitting the audience at the button sends each reader to the right first screen.
- “Claim your username” — writing community. Usernames are unique, so the urgency is real rather than manufactured.
- “Try it without signing up” — online PDF tool. Removing the sign-up removes the objection. Ask for the account once the reader has seen it work.
- “Continue with email” — any app that also offers sign-in with Google or Apple. Plain, but it names the exact next step, which a lone “Sign up” above five logos doesn't.
- “Join 2,400 copy editors” — paid community. A current, true number shows the room isn't empty. Update it or drop it, because a stale number reads as decline.
- “Save your first trail” — hiking app. The verb comes from the hobby, not the software, so the account feels like a side effect.
- “Open a savings pot with $1” — banking app. Names the smallest real commitment, which answers the money objection inside the button.
Put the first one next to its weak version. “Sign up” tells the reader only that an account is coming. “Send your first invoice today” tells them the next screen is about an invoice, and that they could finish one before the day ends. That is a promise the onboarding has to keep: if the click leads to a long profile form, the button has said something untrue about the next step.
Trial, demo and consultation CTAs
Business software and professional services. The reader is weighing risk, so say how long it lasts, what it costs and who they will talk to.
- “Start your 14-day trial” — project app, pricing page. The length is the promise. If it costs nothing, say so in a line under the button.
- “Try it with your own data” — analytics tool. Tells a skeptic the trial won't be a polished demo account; they'll see their own numbers.
- “Book a 20-minute demo” — business software. A short, fixed length makes a sales call feel like a meeting rather than a commitment.
- “Preview it on your website” — chat widget. Removes the imagining: the reader sees the result on their own page before deciding.
- “Talk to an engineer, not a salesperson” — developer tool. Names the fear and rules it out. Use it only if an engineer really picks up.
- “Get a sample edit of your first 10 pages” — freelance editor. A sample is a trial for services: the client sees the work before paying for it.
- “Book a free 30-minute consultation” — accountant or lawyer. The familiar wording is the point: readers know what they're booking, and the length and price answer the rest.
- “Compare plans” — pricing page, secondary link. Gives readers who aren't ready a smaller step that keeps them on the page.
- “Get a quote for 50+ seats” — team software. Sends large buyers to sales and lets everyone else start on their own.
- “Start on the free plan” — freemium app. A permanent free option lowers the stakes of trying, because nothing ends after two weeks.
Purchase and checkout CTAs
Product pages, carts and checkouts. The reader has mostly decided. Use the words they expect, and answer the last doubt (price, delivery, returns) right beside the button.
- “Add to cart” — any online shop. Don't be clever on a product page: shoppers scan for these exact words.
- “Order by 3 p.m. for same-day shipping” — kitchen supply store. A real deadline with a reward attached. If the cutoff isn't real, it's false urgency.
- “Get the 3-bag starter box” — coffee subscription.
- “Choose your size” — clothing store, before a size is picked. The button asks for what's missing instead of failing with an error on click.
- “Preorder the hardcover” — author's website. Names the format and the timing, where “Buy now” would confuse readers when the book isn't out yet.
- “Pay $48 and place order” — checkout, last step. Repeating the total on the final button removes a surprise at the moment of commitment.
- “Try it for 100 nights” — mattress shop. Turns the return policy into the reason to buy, so the policy's conditions belong right beside the button.
- “Send it as a gift” — bookshop, secondary button. Speaks to shoppers buying for someone else, and leads to gift wrap and a note field.
- “Buy the set and save $12” — kitchen store. A dollar figure saves the reader the arithmetic.
- “Reorder my usual” — pet food store, for returning customers. “Usual” shows the shop remembers them, and the order takes one click.
- “Check out as a guest” — any shop, at checkout. Takes the account out of the way between the shopper and the order.
- “Email me when it's back” — out-of-stock product page. Turns a dead end into a sign-up the shopper actually wants.
Newsletter subscription CTAs
The ask is an email address. The CTA has to say what arrives, how often and why it deserves a place in the inbox. The guide on how to write a newsletter covers the promise these buttons make.
- “Get Friday's issue” — weekly newsletter. Names the next real thing the reader will receive, and the day it comes.
- “Send me one recipe every Sunday” — food newsletter.
- “Subscribe for one email a week” — any newsletter. Frequency is the commitment readers worry about, so the button answers it.
- “Join 9,000 editors who read it on Tuesdays” — trade newsletter. A number for proof and a day for habit. Only with the real number.
- “Read past issues first” — secondary link under the form. Lets cautious readers judge the writing before they hand over an address.
- “Get the 5-minute morning brief” — news newsletter. A reading time is a promise every issue then has to keep.
- “Get Calder's news before 7 a.m.” — local newsletter.
- “Follow the book as I write it” — novelist's newsletter.
- “Upgrade for the Thursday deep dives” — paid newsletter. Says what paying adds, instead of asking for support in general.
- “Try the paid edition for a month” — paid newsletter. A one-month commitment makes the first payment feel reversible.
Download and lead magnet CTAs
The reader trades an email address, or just a minute of attention, for a document. Name the document and how big it is.
- “Get the packing checklist (1-page PDF)” — moving company. Format and length tell the reader the size of the thing before they ask for it.
- “Download the 2026 salary report” — recruiting firm. The year signals current data, so update the report or retire the button when the year turns.
- “Send me the template” — marketing agency. “Send” sets up email delivery, so a form asking for an address isn't a surprise.
- “Download the spreadsheet, no email needed” — budgeting blog. Asks for nothing now and saves the email request for a reader who has used the file.
- “Read the white paper” — software company. Plain words for readers who want the argument before they talk to sales. These white paper examples show what should be waiting behind the button.
- “Get chapter one free” — novelist's website. A free chapter is the book's version of a trial.
- “Get the slides from today's talk” — speaker's follow-up page. Asks while the session is still fresh.
- “Get the case study as a PDF” — sales page. Gives the reader something to forward to whoever signs off. The case study examples include a one-page version built for exactly that.
Booking, call and quote CTAs
Local services and professionals. People want to know the price, the wait and who answers. A good CTA carries one of the three.
- “Book a cleaning, evening slots open” — dental clinic. Names the slot people struggle to find, right in the button.
- “Call now, a plumber answers 24/7” — emergency plumber. Says who picks up, because the fear at 2 a.m. is voicemail. Use it only if a plumber, not an answering service, really answers.
- “Get a moving quote in 2 minutes” — moving company. Puts a time on the form; time it yourself before you print it.
- “Book a table for tonight” — restaurant. “Tonight” matches what many people on the page came to do.
- “Text us a photo of the leak” — roofer. Asks for less effort than a phone call and gives the roofer what they need to quote.
- “See this week's open appointments” — hair salon. Shows availability before asking for a commitment.
- “Get directions” — store page, read on a phone. Dull and right: someone on a phone near your shop wants the map.
- “Request a call back within one business day” — financial adviser. Sets the expectation, so a quiet first morning doesn't feel like being ignored.
- “Schedule a free home estimate” — kitchen remodeler. Names the price of the first step, nothing, and where it happens.
- “Ask a question” — any service page, secondary link. A lower bar than “Book now” for readers who aren't ready.
Donation, volunteer and petition CTAs
Tie the ask to a result the reader can picture, and say who receives the money or the signature.
- “Give $25 to fill a food box” — food bank. An amount and an outcome in the same line, so the outcome has to match what $25 actually buys.
- “Fund one night of shelter” — homeless shelter. A unit of impact small enough to say yes to.
- “Give monthly” — any charity, as an option beside a one-time gift. Plain and expected. The page around it says what a monthly gift pays for.
- “Volunteer for one Saturday shift” — animal shelter. Shrinks “volunteer” from an identity to one morning.
- “Sign the petition to the state transit board” — advocacy group. Naming the recipient tells the reader the signature goes somewhere.
- “Add your name to the letter to the council” — neighborhood group. “Add your name” feels like joining other people, and the recipient is named.
- “Sponsor a reading kit for one child” — literacy charity.
- “Double your gift with your employer's match” — university fund. Reminds donors of money they may be leaving on the table.
- “Give in memory of someone” — hospice. Offers a reason to give that many donors already have.
- “Become a member for $5 a month” — community radio station. The price is stated and small, and “member” sounds like belonging rather than paying.
Event and webinar CTAs
Name the event and the date. When seats are limited, say so. When they aren't, don't pretend.
- “Save my seat” — webinar. First person, and “seat” makes an online event feel like a place.
- “Register for Thursday's workshop” — library event. The day in the button saves a trip to the details.
- “Get the recording” — webinar page, for people who can't attend. A second CTA for readers you might otherwise lose.
- “Add it to my calendar” — confirmation page. The step after registering that makes the date harder to forget.
- “Get early-bird tickets until May 1” — conference. A real deadline with a real price difference behind it.
- “RSVP by Friday” — private event.
- “Bring a colleague for half price” — paid workshop. Gives the reader a reason to forward the page.
End-of-post and article CTAs
The last lines of blog posts, guides and articles. A good one grows out of what the reader just finished, and the blog post examples show where each type of post usually ends.
- “Read part 2: pricing your first freelance job” — series post. The title of the next part does the persuading.
- “Try the exercise on your own draft tonight” — writing blog. A CTA can be an action with no click at all.
- “See all 40 trails within an hour of Denver” — hiking guide. A number and a place promise a bigger version of what the reader just liked.
- “Get the next guide in your inbox” — how-to blog. Asks for the subscription right after the post has delivered.
- “Next: how to price a wedding cake” — baking blog.
- “Download the worksheet for this lesson” — teaching blog. An add-on that only makes sense after this particular post.
- “Send me your question for next week's Q&A” — advice column. Gives the reader a reason to reply, and the column its next batch of material.
- “New here? Start with the beginner's guide” — mid-series post. Catches readers who arrived from search in the middle of something.
- “Book a call if you'd rather we did it for you” — agency how-to post. Offers the paid route to readers who now see how much work the job is.
Social and community CTAs
Posts, threads and community spaces. A specific question gives readers an easier place to start than “Thoughts?” does.
- “Tell me the worst advice you got as a new editor” — social post. A specific prompt that's easy to answer from memory.
- “Reply with your city and I'll send the local list” — newsletter. A reason to reply and a promise for doing it.
- “Tag the friend who always plans the trip” — travel post. Says exactly who to tag, so nobody has to think about it.
- “Save this for your next pitch” — tips post. For reference material, saving is the honest ask.
- “Vote: index cards or an outline?” — writing community. Two choices are easier to answer than an open question.
- “Share it with your team before Monday's meeting” — work post. Gives the share a moment and a use.
Spoken CTAs for video and talks
Videos, podcasts and talks. People can't click while they listen, so say where the next step is, and say it after the payoff. The guides on YouTube scripts and ending a speech show where the line goes.
- “The template is in the description, and the next video fills it in” — YouTube video. Says where the link is and gives the end screen a reason to be clicked.
- “The checklist is in the show notes, under episode 48” — podcast. Tells listeners exactly where to look once their hands are free.
- “Before you leave this room, write down one thing you'll change on Monday” — conference talk. An action the audience can take before they forget the talk.
- “Call your council member before Tuesday's vote” — rally speech. One action, one person, one deadline.
Win-back and re-engagement CTAs
Emails to people who stopped halfway or drifted off. Remind them what they left, and make coming back the easiest option.
- “Finish your order, your cart is saved” — abandoned-cart email. Removes the fear of starting over.
- “See what's new since March” — email to a lapsed app user. A date shows the email was written for them.
- “Keep getting the newsletter” — re-engagement email. An honest ask that also cleans the list: readers who don't click can be removed.
- “Tell us why you left (2 questions)” — cancellation email. A survey with its length stated is easier to say yes to than “Give feedback.”
Where each CTA goes
The same words behave differently depending on where they sit. A button on a pricing page is read by someone comparing; the last line of a podcast is heard by someone driving. Match the CTA to the place.
| Placement | What the CTA needs | Examples above |
|---|---|---|
| PlacementHomepage | What the CTA needsOne main button with the first result in it, plus a text link for readers who aren't ready | Examples above1, 18 |
| PlacementPricing page | What the CTA needsThe same verb on every plan, the trial length stated, one plan marked as the usual choice | Examples above11, 20 |
| PlacementProduct page | What the CTA needsThe words shoppers expect, with price, delivery and returns beside the button | Examples above21, 22 |
| PlacementBlog post | What the CTA needsOne CTA that grows out of the post, at the end | Examples above79, 83 |
| PlacementEmail | What the CTA needsOne main button, repeated once as a text link, saying what the next page does | Examples above33, 97 |
| PlacementSocial post | What the CTA needsA specific question or ask in the last line | Examples above87, 89 |
| PlacementPop-up | What the CTA needsOne offer and a plain way to close it | Examples above43, 46 |
| PlacementVideo | What the CTA needsSpoken after the payoff, matched to the end screen | Examples above93 |
| PlacementPodcast | What the CTA needsWhere to find the link, said slowly, once early and once at the end | Examples above94 |
| PlacementTalk | What the CTA needsAn action for the room or for tomorrow morning | Examples above95, 96 |
| PlacementPrint | What the CTA needsThe action in words, plus a short web address or a QR code | Examples above53, 61 |
Video platforms set some of the rules. As of November 2026, YouTube's help pages say an end screen on a standard 16:9 video can show up to four elements in the last 5 to 20 seconds, and the video must be at least 25 seconds long. Write the spoken CTA so it lands as the end screen appears, and make both name the same next video.
Placement on the page follows the reader's readiness, not a rule about the top of the screen. For a product people already know, the main button can sit in the first screen. For something new or expensive, put it after the explanation and repeat it at the end, so nobody has to scroll back up to act.
How to write a CTA
- Decide the one action
Write down, in five words, what the reader should do after this page. If you have two actions, pick one and make the other a smaller text link. Two buttons of the same size ask the reader to make a decision you should have made for them.
- Start with a verb that names it
Get, book, start, send, join, give, reserve. Avoid verbs that describe your system rather than the reader's goal: “Submit,” “Process,” “Continue to next step.”
- Add what the reader gets
“Get the checklist,” not “Get started.” The object turns a vague invitation into a specific trade, and it lets the reader judge whether the trade is worth it.
- Answer the last doubt beside it
One short, true line under the button: the time it takes, what it costs, how often you'll email, how to cancel. “Takes 2 minutes.” “One email a week.” “Cancel in two clicks.” Only promise what the next screen honors.
- Make the next page keep the promise
A button that says “Get the checklist” should lead to the checklist, or to a short form for it, not to a sales page. The gap between the button and the page is where trust leaks out.
- Read it alone, then test it
Cover everything else on the page and read the CTA by itself. Does it say what happens? If you have the traffic, test two versions that differ in one thing, such as the verb or the object. If you don't, ask three people what they expect to happen when they click.
CTAs are short enough that every word shows, so they follow the same compression rules as headlines. The headline examples pair well with this list: the headline makes the promise, and the CTA collects on it. Both should sound like the rest of the brand, which is a matter of tone of voice.
Buttons, links and accessibility
A CTA has to work for people who can't see the page around it, and for people tapping it with a thumb.
- Link text that stands alone. WCAG success criterion 2.4.4, Link Purpose (In Context), at Level A, asks that a link's purpose be clear from its text, or from its text together with the surrounding context. The W3C notes that assistive technology can give users a list of the links on a page, and in that list ten links that say “Read more” sound the same. “Read more about the 2026 rates” doesn't.
- What search engines read. Google's link guidance asks for anchor text that is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both pages, and it lists “Click here” and “Read more” among its examples of text that is too generic.
- Targets big enough to hit. WCAG 2.2, a W3C Recommendation since October 5, 2023, added success criterion 2.5.8, Target Size (Minimum), at Level AA: pointer targets at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, with some exceptions. The stricter criterion 2.5.5, at Level AAA, asks for 44 by 44. Short CTA text is no excuse for a tiny button.
- Buttons that say the same thing everywhere. If the homepage says “Start your trial” and the pricing page says “Begin now,” readers wonder whether they are different offers. Use one wording for one action across the site.
Fixing drifted wording by hand is slow. If the site's pages and emails live in one Strokes project, Agent mode can find every CTA for one action and change it to the agreed wording, showing each step it takes.
Common CTA mistakes
Says what happens
- Get the packing checklist
- Book a 20-minute demo
- Give $25 to fill a food box
- Read part 2: pricing your first job
- No thanks
Makes the reader guess
- Submit
- Learn more
- Donate now!!!
- Click here
- No thanks, I like paying full price
- System words. “Submit” and “Enter” describe what the form does, not what the reader gets. Replace them with the outcome.
- Two equal asks. “Book a demo” and “Start a trial” side by side, same size, same color. Pick the one most readers should take and shrink the other.
- A promise the next page breaks. “Get the template” that leads to a pricing page can teach readers to distrust your buttons.
- Guilt on the way out. The decline option in the bad column above is a pattern known as confirmshaming. The Deceptive Design site, which catalogs manipulative interface patterns, describes it as “triggering uncomfortable emotions, such as guilt or shame” to steer a decision. It may win a click and lose the reader. “No thanks” is enough.
- Deadlines that aren't real. A countdown that resets on every visit is the kind of false urgency described in persuasive techniques. Use a deadline only when something actually changes when it passes.
- Asking too early. A pop-up before the reader has finished a sentence asks for a commitment the page hasn't earned.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a call to action be?
Most buttons use two to five words, short enough to read at a glance and to fit on a phone screen. Text links and spoken CTAs can run to a full sentence. Put a condition such as a deadline or a price in the button only when it is the reader's main question; otherwise give it a line underneath.
Is “Learn more” a bad call to action?
Not always. As a secondary link beside a clear main button, it gives cautious readers a smaller step. As the main CTA it is weak, because it doesn't say what the reader will learn. “See how the pricing works” or “Read the full menu” does, and it also helps screen-reader users and search engines.
Should a CTA say “my” or “your”?
Either can work. First person (“Start my plan”) reads as the reader's own thought, and second person (“Start your plan”) reads as an invitation. Results vary by audience and page, so test both if you have the traffic. If you don't, pick one and use it consistently across the site.
