Profitable Content Marketing - Do I Need a Call to Action at the End of My Content? (Really?)

Q: Do I need a Call to Action at the end of my article content?

A: I must admit, I was a little surprised by this question. It came from someone who had purchased an entry level resource from me, and the purchase came with a bonus strategy session.

In the book "Made to Stick" authors Chip and Dan Heath talk about the "curse of knowledge" - thinking that just because you know something means every one else knows it too.

So this question was another gentle reminder to always carry somewhere within you a "beginner's mind" so you can make the most difference with your students.

On to the answer

So the answer is absolutely yes, you always want to have a call to action at the end of your article content. Here are some reasons to back up my absolute yes:

1) Even if you are creating content and/or articles just to see your name in print, you are doing your readers a disservice by not showing them a way to get more from you. Why? Because if you are creating content in the most powerful way, then your reader is going to be attracted to the way you approach and solve problems. The natural result of this is that they are going to want more from you. So why leave them hanging?

2) If one of the goals of your content creation is to create traffic, then of course you want a call to action. Asking the reader to go to one of your profit sites (opt-in page, sales page, blog, etc) is still a great way to generate endless waves of traffic from your articles.

3) If one of the goals of your content creation is to build a list, then of course you want a call to action. In world full of options for paid traffic, (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more) I still believe that new list members who are earned instead of bought make the absolute best lists.

4) And I've saved the most surprising reason for last: If you create content that helps someone to take the next success steps, and do not offer a way for them to go further with you, then you are simply working for your competition.

Why?

Because your reader will learn from and move forward with you, but then you leave them hanging. So that then when they read something on the same topic from one of your competitors, who offer them a way to go further, they will choose to invest with your competitors.

And you don't really want to do that, do you?