Exploring CTA's

Effective Call's To Action, or CTA's, guide your visitors to take action. This makes them a super important element both on websites and blogs, and on social media.

Whenever you put together a post you should have a why. What is your reason for posting it? What action do you want people to take when they read it?

That's your CTA.

Different Types of Calls To Action To Use in Your Blog Posts

Lead Generation- If you're blogging for business your main goal is to turn your visitors into leads. You're after paying customers/clients. An example of this kind of CTA is the one I use at the end of this post for my coaching services.

Form Submission- I have an example of this type of CTA in the footer of my website. It's an invite to follow my blog posts. In this case the CTA is to "Subscribe Now". Visitors insert their name and email address in the form and get my future blog posts delivered to them. This particular type of CTA is a great way to keep potential leads in the loop.

"More" Buttons- I have a lot of these on my homepage. These CTA's are great for when you offer a short teaser and want people to click through to "Find Out More". A lot of blogs use this type of call to action on their homepage. Variations include; read more, learn more, find out more, etc... This is a great way to make sure the individual post gets credited with it's own traffic and not just the homepage.

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Social Sharing- This is one of the easiest CTA's. Social media is a powerful tool for spreading the word about your content, products, and services. Adding social share buttons to your blog offers visitors a low commitment way to engage with your brand.

Lead Nurturing- This is the process of developing relationships with visitors and turning them from potential leads to paying customers by offering them something to entice them. Examples of this type of call to action could be a free download or free trial.

The Closer- This is your hard sales pitch. This type of CTA calls for immediate action e.g. "Buy Now"

When it comes to CTA's it's best not to over do it. A cluttered blog will not get results. Instead it's best to focus on just a few, clear, call's to action per page.

Keep it simple and to the point. Be as specific as possible.

Also think about the placement of your CTA's. Depending on the type of CTA you might want to position it in a different location of your website. Homepage, footer, end of blog post, mid blog post, side bar...

You might also want to experiment with different formats for your CTA's e.g. text, button, graphic, etc...

What types of CTA's do you find get the best results on your own blog?

You might also like: Blogging Terms New Bloggers Should Know

Looking for help with your blog? Struggling to come up with ideas, or need help with your branding, SEO, or website design? I can help!

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What I Loved About After You by Jojo Moyes

You can see my review for Me Before You here.

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

5 Star Award - Jo Linsdell Books and Blogging

Some of My Favourite Quotes:

“I loved a man who had opened up a world to me but hadn’t loved me enough to stay in it.”

“The only way to avoid being left behind was to start moving.”

“You learn to live with it, with them. Because they do stay with you, even if they’re not living, breathing people any more.It’s not the same crushing grief you felt at first, the kind that swamps you, and makes you want to cry in the wrong places, and get irrationally angry with all the idiots who are still alive when the person you love is dead.It’s just something you learn to accommodate.
Like adapting around a hole. I don’t know. It’s like you become … a doughnut instead of a bun”

“I think people get bored of grief,” said Natasha. “It’s like you’re allowed some unspoken allotted time—six months maybe—and then they get faintly irritated that you’re not ‘better,’ like you’re being self-indulgent hanging on to your unhappiness.”

“I swallowed. “Mum, you’re not going to get divorced, are you?” Her eyes shot open. “Divorced? I’m a good Catholic girl, Louisa. We don’t divorce. We just make our men suffer for all eternity.” She waited just for a moment, and then she started to laugh.”

“Our eyes locked. And in that moment everything shifted. I saw what I had really done. I saw that I could be somebody’s center, his reason for staying. I saw that I could be enough.”

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Series I'm Obsessed With: Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Binge Worthy Book Series

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I thought I'd do a series of blog posts about the book series I'm obsessed with. These are the books that had me hooked from the first to the last in the series. My fan-girl books. The book series I recommend to anyone and everyone that will listen to me. The book series I adore.

Why I Love The Percy Jackson Series

To kick things off I thought I'd start with the Percy Jackson series. Everyone that knows me knows how much I love this series. I practically binge read all five books and elevated my fan-girl status with each one.

Warning some small spoilers ahead for those of you that haven't read the series yet.

Reasons why I love the Percy Jackson series:

1) Greek mythology

I find Greek mythology fascinating. Gods, Demi-Gods, Heroic quests... Not to mention all those fantastic mythological creatures. I mean come on, Blackjack is awesome. Who wouldn't want to go for a ride on Pegasus?

The novels frequently allude to Greek mythology throughout. Percy's journey as he undergoes his quest in fact has similarities with other Greek heroes. For example Hercules.

2) Cheering for the under dog

I always like books where I feel like I want to the under dog to win. Percy Jackson is one of those. Percy starts out as a troubled kid. He struggles at school, has problems at home with his step-father, never knew his real father, and he's never really had any friends for longer than a few months.

It's great seeing him grow through his adventures. The fact that he begins in such a mess, and that he makes mistakes along the way, just makes you root for him all the more.

3) Great characters

This series has so many great characters, and I'm not just talking about the main characters either. Even characters that appear for just a short period of time leave their mark.

Book Series I'm Obsessed With: Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

There are a lot of antagonists in this series but they are all very different from each other. Kronos is all bad and that makes him such a powerful adversary to beat. I personally preferred Luke though. Luke makes a particularly good villain as he has those "grey" qualities that make him seem more real.

There are plenty of heroes in these books too. It's not just Percy Jackson. I loved how varied the other heroes were. Nico, for example, is very different from the more standard heroes but plays an important role towards the end of the story.

4) Consistently good

Sometimes you discover a series of books and fall in love with the first one. You read the second and that's good too, but then you read the third, or fourth and feel a little let down. It's hard to find a series that makes you want to give 5 stars to every single book. Percy Jackson is one of those series. I loved every book in this series and when I got to the end I felt sad that it was over. I still wanted more.

5) Good for all ages

I'm 38 and loved reading these books. My eldest son is 11 and he enjoyed them too. My 7 year old, although he hasn't read the series himself yet, enjoyed listening to us read parts of it and joined in discussing it with us.

6) Empowering Differences

I love how ADHD and dyslexia (often seen as disabilities), are actually the result of being descended from gods. It attacks the stigma around these conditions by showing that people with these characteristics can be heroes, and that these differences need not always be negative. That definitely gets two thumbs up from me.

7) Camp Half-Blood

Camp Half-Blood sounds amazing. Sure some of the activities are just plain dangerous, but at the they all sound exciting. Obstacle courses, sword fighting, mythological creatures to chat with... and what about that private beach and the strawberry fields? Not to mention the food! What could be better than just thinking of what you want to drink and magically getting it? Those dining pavilion goblets sound awesome!

Athena's cabin sounds great with it's library and cupboards filled with materials to build things. If you could mix it with the sea views of Poseiden's cabin it would be heaven.

My Favourite Characters:

Grover Underwood - Usually upbeat and cheerful, Grover proves numerous times what a great friend he is.

As a satyr he has cool abilities like; woodland magic (which he can use to heal, control plants, and sometimes animals), the power to create empathy links, and the panic cry to name a few.

I loved his relationship with Juniper the wood nymph. They seemed to really care about each other.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare - Rachel is human but can see through the mist. I have to confess I was team Rachel pretty much from her first appearance at the Hoover Dam, and I was so pleased to see her take on a bigger role later on.

Rachel is brave, probably even more so than most of the other heroes in the books. She's not a Demi-God and doesn't have any special abilities in the beginning (other than seeing through the mist) but that doesn't stop her from fighting the baddies and helping her new friends even though she doesn't fully understand what is happening. She also makes a huge sacrifice in the end for the greater good.

Sally Jackson - I love that Sally would make Percy blue food, and that she told him his dad was "lost at sea" instead of saying he was dead. She didn't lie to him (she just couldn't be completely truthful about what happened).

I love that she's such a positive parent role model though out the series. Often this isn't the case in YA books. She even married abusive Gabe just to keep Percy safe.

She's brave and tough on so many levels throughout the whole series, and incredibly understanding. As Percy puts it "she's the best mum in the world".

She also showed just how bad-ass she is by fighting in the battle of Manhattan against the giants.

Some of My Favourite Quotes:

“My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room.” Percy, Chapter 3, pg. 36, The Lightning Thief

This is the first time we're introduced to Percy's mother and it perfectly shows how important she is to him, and sets the stage for their relationship. I love what a positive figure his mum is through out the series.

“A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?” Ares, Chapter 15, pg. 235, The Lightning Thief

Percy is desperate to prove his worth throughout the series. Certain characters, like Ares here, know this and use it to manipulate him. Percy's feelings of self doubt get him into trouble along the way, but they are also a source of motivation for him. It's one of the things that makes his character so relatable and inspiring.

“No gift comes without a price.” Annabeth, Chapter 17, pg. 283, The Lightning Thief

This quote shows that Annabeth inherited her mother's wisdom, and that everyone pays for the gifts they receive in some way.

"The Cyclops was an even more horrible sight than he had been in my dreams. Partly because his rancid smell was now up close and personal. Partly because he was dressed in his wedding outfit—a crude kilt and shoulder-wrap, stitched together from baby-blue tuxedos, as if he'd skinned an entire wedding party." Percy Jackson, The Sea of Monsters

This is just one of the moments in this series that shows something terrifying and yet also funny due to it's ridiculousness. I love how humour is used throughout the series. It creates a great balance with all the heavy themes, and serious events that take place.

“Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at Helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?""Didn't they start the Trojan War and get thousands of people killed?""Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart.” Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Lessons in love...

“People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can't be fixed.” Percy Jackson and The Battle of the Labyrinth

Simple truth. I love this quote.

“Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world. You cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do that for you.” Percy Jackson and The Battle of the Labyrinth

This is from a moving scene with the Pan. There are lots of lessons about global warming, pollution etc but this quote sums up nicely how we can all help to make the world a better place, and do our bit for nature.

“She looked at me, like she was drinking in the fact that I was still here. And I realized I was doing the same thing. The world was collapsing, and the only thing that really mattered to me was that she was alive.” Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

There are so many life lessons in this series. It's a real journey of discovery. One of the things I liked most was how the characters realise how important they are for each other. Whether it's watching each others backs in battle or just in life in general.

My Reviews of the Percy Jackson books:

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Percy Jackson and The Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

Have you read the Percy Jackson series? Who were your favourite characters?

Not read them yet? Grab your copies here:

Amazon - Book Depository

Test your knowledge in the Percy Jackson Trivia Quiz

You might also like: Series I'm Obsessed With: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

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Book Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Why I Loved Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . . Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is. Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living. A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

Some of My Favourite Quotes:

“You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

“Some mistakes... Just have greater consequences than others. But you don't have to let the result of one mistake be the thing that defines you. You, Clark, have the choice not to let that happen.”

“I will never, ever regret the things I've done. Because most days, all you have are places in your memory that you can go to.”

“You are scored on my heart,Clark. You were from the first day you walked in,with your ridiculous clothes and your complete inability to ever hide a single thing you felt.”

“The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life--or at least, shoved up so hard against someone else's life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window--is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.”