Content should inspire action, not just attention

-- Learn how to optimize your call to action to drive web traffic, acquire leads, and boost sales

NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Creating content to educate or entertain your audience requires ample time and resources, therefore the next step your readers take after viewing your content should help meet your company's overall business objectives. A call-to-action, or "CTA," guides your audience to the next phase of the buyer's journey, whether that is providing an email address, sharing a branded message on social media, or making a purchase. To persuade readers to take your desired action, use the following three guidelines to help optimize your CTA:

1. Test your CTA by asking industry professionals to view your content and provide feedback
2. Use A/B testing to determine the best combination of colors, phrases, and shapes that persuade the audience most effectively
3. Reinforce your CTA by using javascript tools that remind readers to take your intended action

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110831/NY59180LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130117/NY44355LOGO-a

For further information and discussion around the value of a CTA, read the latest article by Sarah Ware, co-founder and chief executive of Markerly, on PR Newswire's Small Business Toolkit: http://bit.ly/1ouKryL

PR Newswire's Small Business PR Toolkit is a comprehensive resource that provides small businesses and entrepreneurs the tools to develop an affordable public relations and marketing plan that helps generate interest from potential customers, engage with key audiences and grow their businesses. The toolkit features relevant content such as informative white papers, interactive webinars and how-to articles and premium access to educational resources, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of special offers designed specifically for small businesses. To request information on how PR Newswire can help your small business, click here. You can receive updates on new Small Business PR Toolkit content by following @prnsmallbiz on Twitter.

About PR Newswire
PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms that enable marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers to leverage content to engage with all their key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry 60 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to-end solutions to produce, optimize and target content -- from rich media to online video to multimedia -- and then distribute content and measure results across traditional, digital, mobile and social channels. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, and is a UBM plc company.