Call to action examples for writers
Most calls to action fail because they ask for more commitment than the visitor is ready to give. These vary the ask, not just the verb.
Ten of them follow, written for writers rather than filled in from a template. Your customer is an editor or a marketing lead deciding in a minute whether you can write, and what they are weighing up before they get in touch is commissioning someone who misses the brief, or the deadline, or both.
Plain button
**See the clips**
Use this as the default. Say the action, not "submit".
Button with the objection handled
**See the clips** Send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day. No obligation, and no one will chase you.
Use this where people hover but do not click.
For the urgent visitor
**Call [phone number]** — I answer between [hours]
Use this for the person who has already decided.
For the one still deciding
Not ready to book? Send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day — ask anything you like, and if I am not the right fit I will say so.
Use this as a second, softer CTA further down the page.
With the price anxiety answered
**See the clips** I link clips rather than list clients. You will know the number before you commit to anything.
Use this where cost is the thing stopping the click.
With proof next to it
A working writer. I say what I am good at and what I am not. **See the clips**
Use this at the bottom of a long page, where the reader needs one last reason.
Scarcity, honestly
I take [number] pieces at a time so the standard holds. **See the clips**
Use this only if it is true. If you invent it, it reads as a trick.
Form intro line
Tell me what you need and I will come back to you [within X hours]. Send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day.
Use this as the sentence directly above a contact form.
After the services list
Not sure which of those you need? That is normal. Send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day. **See the clips**
Use this where the CTA follows a list and should not repeat it.
The quiet one
When you are ready, send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day. There is no rush, and there is no pressure from me.
Use this where a hard sell would be wrong — sensitive or considered purchases.
Writing for writers: what actually matters
What should a writer’s website say that a generic one does not?
Three things, in this order. That you are published. That you understand the thing people are actually worried about, which for writers is commissioning someone who misses the brief, or the deadline, or both. And what happens next: send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day. Everything else on the page is decoration by comparison.
What does an editor or a marketing lead deciding in a minute whether you can write check first?
The credential, then the proof. For writers it sounds like this. I link clips rather than list clients. I say what I am good at and what I am not. I quote rates ranges rather than "it depends". Put at least one of those above the fold rather than on a separate page nobody opens.
What is the most common mistake on a writer’s website?
Writing about the business instead of the customer. "We have been established since 1998" answers a question nobody asked. "Send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day" answers the one they are actually holding. If you only fix one thing, fix that.
How long should the copy be?
Shorter than you think, except where trust is being built. An About page of 120 well-chosen words beats 500 vague ones. The exception is anything explaining commissioning someone who misses the brief, or the deadline, or both — there, specifics earn their length.
Everything else for writers
Call to action for other trades
- Plumber
- Electrician
- HVAC Technician
- Roofer
- Carpenter
- Painter
- Landscaper
- Handyman
- Therapist
- Chiropractor
- Massage Therapist
- Personal Trainer