Best Call-to-Action Words for an Email Sign Up Button to Increase Conversions

Actually, you can add this popup to your website right now and start collecting more signups today. To do that, hit the See live preview button above, then follow the prompts to publish it on your website.

Now, back to the best call to action examples!

Before getting started writing your best call to action words

Before you think of getting started, you should first figure out the end goal of your sign up form.

When a new reader subscribes to your list, you’ll send them a variety of emails, each email having the goal of getting your subscriber one step closer to conversion. Your signup form CTA button is so important because it is the very first step on the way to the final conversion.

So, are you trying to get more people to sign up for your online service? Do you need them to perform a set of actions? Maybe you own an e-commerce store and are looking to increase sales from repeat customers. Whatever it is, getting people to join your email list is a crucial step of the funnel.

Gather a list of power words

The best call to action words are some of the shortest copy you’ll ever write. And if you want to boost conversion rates, you should use the ones that convey specific emotions in your reader. These are also known as power words.

Some examples of power words are:

• Create
• Explore
• Join
• Save
• Start
• Upgrade
• Find
• Free
• Try
• Stop

Notice that all of these words are verbs. They push the reader to commit a specific action. This is how you get your reader to go from reading to acting.

Apart from action-oriented words, there are other types of copy that are good at persuading.

Back in 2012, Copyblogger named the following 5 words as some of the most powerful in the English language:

• You
• Free
• Because
• Instantly
• New

You’ll see the words from both lists pop up among the best call to action word examples below.

What’s in it for your reader?

Power words are great, but they don’t tell the whole story — they should show a benefit for the reader.

For example, let’s say I create a form with a “Subscribe” CTA button. This CTA is self-serving because it focuses on what I’m gaining — a subscriber.

Instead, try to make your CTA phrases benefit-driven. Write them from your reader’s point of view.

Even in the case where the reader does care about you — and often, they don’t — you have better chances of convincing them to sign up if they see a clear benefit from doing so.

The best call to action words — in action

Enough said — let’s take a look at real CTA buttons with phrases that capture emails like crazy.

1. Get instant access

Chris Ducker, a business mentor and the founder of Youpreneur.com, positions his email list as a privilege by using the words “Get instant access”.

Let’s break down the use of these 3 words to see why this is so effective:

• Get
  This is an action-oriented word that makes the reader feel good. You’re not just signing up to a list — you’re getting something for yourself.
• Instant
  With the plethora of free information available out there on the web, readers don’t want to go through a multi-step process to reach your freebies. Instant gratification works wonders.
• Access
  This word suggests a form of gatekeeping. It feels like you have been granted access to something special.

So when you click on this button, you instantly get gratified by gaining access to something valuable — or, at least, something that has perceived value thanks to the way this CTA is positioned.

Like the example? Use this call to action on your email opt-in form

Whether you’re offering a lead magnet or providing value in your email newsletter, these power words are meant to help you attract more subscribers. Create an email opt-in form using this call to action, and watch your email list grow. It may look something like this:

Now, if you want to add this form to your website, just hit the See live preview button and follow the instructions. You’ll be able to adjust the copy and the appearance within a few clicks.

2. Become a conversion master

What better way to convince your reader to click on a button than to give them a promise of mastery?

The first word from ConversionXL’s brilliant CTA button is “Become”, which is a powerful verb. It tells the reader that they have a chance to ascend to something beyond what they already are.

And what can they become, exactly?

A conversion master.

ConversionXL could have made their CTA button simple by writing “Get the Guide”. But instead, they used copy that creates expectations for the future subscribers.

When you click on this button, you feel like you’re already halfway to your goal of becoming a conversion master — even if all you’re doing is getting a guide and joining an email list.

If there’s one thing you can learn from this example, it’s that CTA words can convey an entire transformation — not just an action.

3. Yes, sign me up!

Elna Cain is a freelance writer who also teaches others how to kickstart their own writing career.

Why does this work?

The ‘YES’ reinforces the ‘sign me up’ section — it’s a double persuasion method that has clearly worked wonders for Elna, seeing as she has lined up over 15k readers on her list.

Plus, it helps ramp up the enthusiasm from the reader’s perspective. I couldn’t help but feel pretty hyped up the first time I signed up for this list!

4. Yes! I want in >>

Surprise, surprise! Another blog owned by Elna Cain has made it on the list. This time, it’s for her digital marketing blog, Twins Mommy.

There’s quite a bit to break down here.

First off, we’re seeing the once again enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ But on top of that, the ‘I want in’ phrase suggests exclusivity. It feels like Elna is doing you a favor, and not the other way around when you click on that button.

The last little detail is the use of the ‘>>’ symbols at the end. It adds a bit of a dynamic feel to an otherwise static form and gives a sense of direction.

Elna has grown several blogs and email lists over the past few years, so you should definitely use her CTA buttons as inspiration.

5. I’m in!

Looking for something even shorter?

This CTA button is for a free email course about growing your blog, brought to you from Breaking the One Percent.

You should learn a thing or two about their CTA copy — just check out how much they’ve grown in the past year alone.

Through the power of mostly affiliate marketing, they’ve grown their blog income to $180k a month! This can only be achieved if you have a large and engaged email list, since this helps to keep your readers interested and market directly to their inbox.

With this CTA button, they’re bringing a positive attitude that feels like a challenge. Are you in? Of course, you’re in — you’re accepting the challenge. You don’t want to be left out, do you?

This is the kind of psychology this combination of words uses to convert more subscribers.

6. Send it to me!

Also by the team behind Breaking the One Percent, this is their main call to action available at the moment in most of their blog posts.

Notice that it’s for the same freebie as the previous example:

‘Send it to me!’ makes one thing clear to readers — you’re not doing any of the work. Instead, this phrase makes it seem like they are doing the work for you.

You can sit back and relax as you wait for their team to ‘send’ you the freebie.

7. Grab your freebies now!

Ivory Mix offers free stock photos and updates via an email list. Upon signup, you are offered your first set of freebies:

This copy works well because it entails ownership of the freebie she’s giving out.

The freebie belongs to you. You can grab ‘your’ freebies just by clicking the button.

Not just that, but the use of the word ‘grab’ feels much more action-oriented than ‘get’, for instance. And with the addition of the word ‘now’, it adds a bit of urgency!

8. YES, tell me more about the guide

iDalko creates applications for the Atlassian suite of software. In this example, they’re giving away a guide to Jira, a popular project management tool.

But that’s not all. Notice that they have not 1, but 2 CTA buttons.

This is a persuasive trick that convinces the reader that they need this guide. If you don’t want it, you must click ‘No thanks, I’m already a Jira expert’ before you can say no.

As a reader, you may start questioning yourself — are you a complete expert, though? Maybe you could use some help.

Maybe you could use this guide.

9. Join the movement

TOMS has been using similar CTAs for a while now.

This call to action focuses not just on the benefit of getting 10% off on your order, but on the community and charity aspect of joining their email list.

When you sign up for TOMS, you don’t just join an email list — you’re joining an entire movement. This makes you feel good about yourself, even if you’re not doing much at all, and improves your chances of conversion.

This works particularly well for a business like TOMS who has a strong philanthropic approach throughout their entire marketing!

10. Get it now

This one from Marie Forleo is pretty simple:

The addition of the word ‘now’ creates a sense of urgency for the reader.

It emphasizes the fact that you don’t need to do anything extra or wait any longer to get this freebie. You can get it in your hands now.

11. Make it happen

The second CTA by Marie Forleo, ‘Make it Happen’ stands out as quite unique.

These words transcend the simple act of signing up for an email list. They position this simple action as taking the necessary steps to make ‘it’ happen.

What is ‘it’? It doesn’t really matter. What matters is how the reader feels. And if they can feel like they’ll make something happen by converting as a subscriber, then they’ll do it.

To add a minimalistic CTA just like this one to your website, simply choose a floating opt-in bar when creating a form in GetSiteConrtol and place it at the top or the bottom of a webpage.

12. Reserve my seat

In this final example, Amy Porterfield uses a popular technique:

What she does here is to position the ownership of the webinar seat to the reader, similar to what Kevin Kreider does with the ‘Get My Copy’ phrase.

This is done by adding ‘my’ to the CTA.

This phrasing makes the reader feel entitled to hopping on this free masterclass webinar. But they won’t magically have a seat available — they must reserve it first.

The word ‘reserve’ gives a sense of urgency — other people want a spot in this webinar, too. If you want in, you must reserve your seat before it’s too late.

Best call to action words — get to crafting yours!

There you have it — these are some of the best call-to-action words out there to use as inspiration when crafting your next email opt-in form.

Of course, you shouldn’t directly copy other CTAs — instead, take these examples as lessons of what works well in a given situation and for a given niche, and adapt this lesson to your own audience.

Ideally, you might want to A/B test a few combinations of call to action words to see which one brings you the most conversions. Getsitecontrol allows for creating up to 5 versions of the same signup form, so you could quickly identify the winner.