For My Landing Page Call to Action: Appointment or Email?
From this thread on r/Entrepreneur, a consultant for small businesses asks if it’s better to use a link to schedule an appointment or an email form, to allow visitors to contact him:
Currently my call to action and button brings up a Calendly form that lets visitors set up an appointment to talk to me. My question is, is this too pushy? Should I instead be bringing up an email contact form?
He says:
The goal of my page is to get people interested enough to contact me so that I can give my pitch and get them as a customer.
More Than Just Two Options
There aren’t just two options, really. These days, you see sites with:
- A link to schedule a call
- An email form with just the necessary fields
- A longer questionnaire (this site has a nice questionnaire)
- A chat button and popup
- A plain link to send an email
- A visible email address
If you want to increase the likelihood of the right person contacting you, consider what goes in the mind of the visitor in the few moments right before they see that link, button, or form.
In The Mind Of The Visitor
- ⚬→ Push to do something about his problem: “It’s been long enough that I’ve had this problem”
- ←⚬ Internal push back: “But if I contact him, he’ll think my problem is too complex”
- →⚬ Attraction to try: “He’ll probably have at least a suggestion for me”
- ←⚬ Internal push back: “He’ll likely be pestering me to hire him when I’m not even sure I want to spend that much money right now”
- ⚬← Reverting to not doing anything for the moment: “I’ll just try to figure it out by myself”
In previous articles on this blog, we’ve seen how this internal dialogue is something that’s called The Forces of Progress. They not only apply when people make a decision to buy, the Forces of Progress are also at work when people make any decision to change from the status quo to some other reality.
Two of the forces bring the visitor toward a “yes, this, now”, and two forces bring the visitor back toward a “not this, not now”.
Helping The Visitor’s Deliberation To Contact You
Your job, as the designer of your landing page, is to imagine what that tension will be like, and address those tensions, in the periphery of the link on your page. In the visible area around your call to action, help the visitor’s deliberation to contact you.
- Do you think they’ll be likely to be scared of getting a generic answer from you? Maybe link to some articles that show you have specific knowledge on a wide range of scenarios.
- Do you think they’ll be worried about you being pushy about hiring you? Be clear that you’re there to help with their situation and that you won’t be pushy.
- Want to build up their urgency to get their problem solved? Give plenty of proof that you understand their specific pain and that there’s a greener pasture on the other side of having solved the problem. Show them what a solved problem will do to their business.
Right there, in the paragraphs preceding your call-to-action link, button or form, make sure that you have those messages communicated.
Then, imagine which of the contact methods listed above will be most in the service of your visitor stepping up and choosing the next step.
Maybe a simple email link will be enough. Maybe they need guidance on what information to give to you to help them through a process (then use a questionnaire). Maybe they’ll really appreciate the ability to be on the phone with you.
By imagining the back-and-forth in the mind of the visitor as they get to that part of the page where thay can contact you, you’ll gain the confidence to know which contact method will be most enticing, helpful, and welcome.
Stay Sharp!
—
Pascal Laliberté
@pascallaliberte