It may seem obvious to you what you want your audience to do after reading a piece of your copy. You want them to buy your product or sign up for your services. There’s a button at the top of your webpage to get in contact or make a purchase. Duh!

The thing is, readers are lazy. They need to be told what to do. You have to hold their hands a bit. 

This doesn’t mean you’re patronizing your audience. You need to guide them in the right direction, however. In order to do this, you need a call to action (CTA) to get readers to act. But you also need content that is written in a way that is a constant CTA throughout the piece. Because if you can’t hook your readers right away and keep them reading, it doesn’t matter what your final CTA is- they won’t have read it.

Why Are You Saying My Readers Are Lazy?

We all consume content on a regular basis. How often do you scroll through a piece of content only to get to the bottom and find that the author just ends the piece? What are you supposed to do next? You don’t know, so you click away and move onto something else.

Personally, when I read copy, I know it’s written well if there’s a strong CTA. I can also tell it’s good copy if that CTA is carried throughout the entire piece. If I get to the end and have no idea what the author wants me to do, I get frustrated and don’t return, no matter how good the writing is.

Remember, there’s a difference between content and copy. Content informs, copy converts. Content is written for consumption of ideas and information. Copy gets you to do something. Copy is persuasive in nature and inspires people to act.

So if I get to the end of a piece of writing that is clearly meant ot be copy and it doesn’t specifically tell me what to do, I’m going to click away. Because I don’t know what the writer wants me to do next. Because I, just like you, am a lazy audience.

But if I read a piece of copy all the way through until the end and know exactly what the author wants me to do, I’m much more likely to do it. Because readers are lazy and need to be told what to do. The copywriter needs to get readers to act!

What Can I Do To Get My Readers To Act?

Although a strong CTA at the end of a piece of good copy is important, so is the intent of the piece. When writing content for marketing purposes, even if you want to inform your audience and give them resources, the goal is to get them to do something.

If you’re a therapist, that’s probably signing up for your newsletter or booking a consultation call. If you sell therapeutic products, you want people to buy what you’re selling. 

So you need to make sure that everything you write makes your audience want to act. This way they’ll be ready to hit that button at the end that signs them up for your services or links to your products’ page.

Your writing should inspire. It should get people to want to read to the end so they can read your CTA. By the time they’ve reached the end, they should already be hooked.

Hire a copywriter who knows how to hook an audience. Specifically, hire a mental health copywriter who knows how to write about the topics that matter to you and your brand. 

Writers Can’t Be Lazy

Your readers may be lazy but your copywriter can’t be! They have to be able to anticipate what the reader wants. This way they can write copy for you that gets the reader to stick around. By the end, the reader can’t do anything but sign up for your services or opt in to your email list if your copywriter has done their job right.

It’s important that you hire a copywriter who can captivate your audience. Copywriters work super hard to write compelling and engaging copy. They do the research, they write for SEO, and they take your voice and write to your audience. Your copywriter does the work so the reader doesn’t have to.

Allie Linn Writes For a Lazy Audience

If you’ve made it this far, I’ve done my job. I’ve gotten you through the bulk of the reading so you can get to my CTA, which should be pretty clear by now. 

Oh wait, it isn’t? Is that because I assumed that you would know what I want you to do?

Again, readers are lazy. We all are. You may find my writing witty and engaging, but you’re reading this section wondering “what does she want me to do now?”

Well, it’s pretty simple. I want to get my readers to act. More importantly, I want to get your readers to act! Contact me to set up a time to talk about how I can help you get those lazy readers to act! Happy writing!