• by Kath Pay , Op-Ed Contributor, September 2, 2015

There are three main steps in the conversion process within email:

1: Convert to open
2: Convert to click
3: Convert to final objective (generally on landing page)

In this post, we’re focusing on #2 and #3.

When creating call-to-actions, be mindful of the fact that email is a push channel and the Web site is a pull channel—a key difference oft-forgotten when creating call-to-actions for emails.

With a pull channel such as a Web site, customers are there because they want to complete a task they have set themselves, and have a mission to fulfill—whether it’s researching or buying.

Whereas with a push channel such as email, we, the marketer, are pushing our offers to them and suggesting “Would you like,” “Why not consider?” Simply put, this means that the buyer is more likely to be closer to the top of the purchase funnel with email, rather than, as with search or the Web site, closer to the bottom. It all has to do with intent.

So why is this important to keep in mind when crafting a call-to-action for email?

Simply because call-to-actions are the trigger for an action, so we need to ensure that we’re asking prospects to take the most appropriate action based upon where they are within the purchase funnel. If the trigger isn’t appropriate, they’re less likely to convert.

For example, if we ask them to “buy now” within an email, we would probably see fewer conversions than if we had asked them to “check out what’s new.” Not only is “check out what’s new” an easier task for them, but it is more appropriate for where they are  in the customer journey. They don’t necessarily have a burning desire for the product we have presented to them… yet.

Once we’ve succeeded in converting them to click, they’ve now been taken to our Web site, ecommerce site or landing page, where our aim is to convert them to the final objective: download/buy/register.  Our call-to-actions then need to reflect that prospects are on a pull channel now. Their interest has been spiked, and they are further down the purchase funnel.

Keep all this in mind, and you’re more likely to guide prospects through the buying journey toward a conversion.