Just three little words -- call to action -- yet so much is riding on them. CTAs are crucial components of your inbound marketing strategy. As an ad for your offer or an avenue to your landing page, a CTA represents that rubber-hits-the-road moment when a potential lead takes the next step toward conversion. If the CTA doesn't do the job, all the nurturing you have done up to that point is pretty much pointless. So what makes for a good, effective CTA? I brainstormed with Jeanne Hopkins, senior vice president and CMO at Continuum Managed Services, who has an impressive history at tech companies like HubSpot SmartBear Software and MarketingSherpa. Here are some CTA best practices we came up with based on our pooled experience. Five tips for a better CTADemand action: Of course your CTA needs to be action-oriented. You need to start with a verb that tells the user what to do -- and more importantly, why. It must be positive and define the equitable exchange you are entering into with this user. Try it free, download a file, learn more about it, explore your options, buy it before it's gone -- messages like these imply something in it for the user. Many marketing tools utilize the verb “Submit” in their default CTAs -- which is neither positive or equitable, to say the least. Convey urgency. Calendar countdowns, limited seating, only X tickets left -- these kinds of messages in your CTA not only prod procrastinators, they imply that your offer or action is popular or sought after. Nobody wants to lose out on a good thing. Make it pop. Use images and icons when possible to grab attention, and then: