Should I use first person or second person in my CTA?

Test both, but first person ('Start my free trial') frequently wins. Writing in the reader's own voice makes the choice feel like theirs. The classic Unbounce test that popularized this showed a meaningful lift from switching 'your' to 'my', but your audience is the final judge.

Why is 'Submit' a bad CTA?

Because it describes the mechanical action, not the reward, and it carries a faint feeling of obligation. Replace it with the value the click delivers, 'Get my results,' 'Send my quote,' 'Start my plan.' Same form, far better click through.

How long should a CTA be?

For a button, two to five words. Long enough to add value beyond the verb ('Get my free audit'), short enough to scan in an instant. If your CTA reads like a sentence, cut it down to the verb plus the reward.

How many CTAs should a page have?

One primary action, repeated. You can show the same CTA multiple times down a long page, but competing different asks split attention and lower clicks on all of them. Decide the single next step you want and make every button point there.

Grade your call to action.Then write a better one.

The button is where intention becomes action, or doesn't. Paste your call to action and get it graded on the levers that move clicks: verb strength, length, value, friction, and framing. Then feed in your offer and generate a batch of stronger alternatives built on proven templates.

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Your call-to-action

Button or link copy

Paste the exact words on your button. Two to five words, leading with a verb, tends to win.

The grade

18/ 100

CTA score

Weak — rewrite it

Signal by signal

One word
Single-word buttons ("Submit", "Go") leave value on the table. Add a benefit.
Weak opener: "submit"
"Submit", "Click", "Learn more" describe a mechanic, not a reward. Lead with a verb + benefit.
No clear payoff
Name the reward: what's on the other side of the click?
Friction word
"Sign up", "Buy", "Submit" feel like effort. Reframe to the reward ("Get my plan").
Try first-person
Test a "my/me" version — it can lift clicks measurably.

Generate stronger CTAs

Your offer (a noun)

The outcome (the reward)

First-person + ownership
Get my growth plan
Outcome-led
Start a more booked calls
Curiosity / low-commitment
Show me more booked calls
Pre-committed yes
Yes — send my growth plan
Value + scarcity
Claim your free growth plan
Benefit + urgency
Get more booked calls now
Risk-removal
Try growth plan free
Action + immediacy
Build my growth plan today

Your move

A great button is the last inch. I build the whole road to it.

Your CTA "Submit" scored 18/100 (F).

The CTA only converts if everything above it earned the click. I write the page, the offer, and the button, so the ask lands at the exact moment the reader's ready. Bring me a page that's getting traffic but not clicks and I'll show you, free, where it's losing them.

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Plain English

'Submit' is where conversions go to die.

A call to action is the moment you ask. Get it right and the click feels like an easy yes; get it wrong and all the persuasion above it leaks away at the final step. Yet most CTAs are an afterthought, a default 'Submit,' a vague 'Learn More,' a generic 'Click Here' that describes a mechanic instead of a reward.

The strongest CTAs share a recognizable shape: they open with a command verb (Get, Start, Claim), they name the value rather than the action ('Get my free plan,' not 'Submit'), they keep friction low (no 'Sign up,' 'Buy,' or 'Register' if you can help it), and they often use first person framing ('Start my trial'), which has beaten second person in real tests. Length matters too, two to five words is the button sweet spot.

This tool grades your CTA against all of that and shows you which lever is costing you the click. Then the generator takes your offer and desired outcome and produces a set of alternatives across different angles, ownership, outcome led, curiosity, risk removal, so you have strong options to test instead of a blinking cursor.

The formula

Strong CTA = action verb + clear value − friction (+ first person)

'Submit' scores low: no value, weak opener, feels like effort. 'Get my free plan' scores high: command verb, names the reward, low friction, first person. Same button, same page, the second one routinely out clicks the first by double digits in A/B tests.

Weak CTAs vs. strong ones

The same offer, framed two ways. The pattern is consistent: lead with a verb, name the value, strip the friction. Test these against your own traffic:

Weak	Stronger
Submit	Get my free plan
Learn more	Show me how it works
Sign up	Start my free trial
Buy now	Get mine today
Contact us	Book my free call
Download	Send me the guide

Source: Unbounce / HubSpot call to action research · 2025

Your CTA scored low. Here's the lever.

Starts with 'Submit' or 'Click'.

These describe the mechanic, not the reward. Lead with a verb that points at what they get: 'Get,' 'Start,' 'Claim,' 'Build.'

No value or benefit.

'Continue' and 'Next' give no reason to act. Name the payoff: what's on the other side of this click?

High friction wording.

'Sign up,' 'Buy now,' 'Register' all signal effort or commitment. Reframe to the reward, 'Get my plan' beats 'Sign up' even for the same form.

Too long.

A CTA isn't a sentence. Trim to 2 to 5 words so it reads as a single, scannable ask.

Second person only.

Test a first person version. 'Start my free trial' often beats 'Start your free trial', the reader is making the choice, in their own voice.

How to write a CTA that gets clicked

01Lead with a command verb

Get, Start, Claim, Build, Try. The verb is the single biggest lever, it turns a label into an invitation to act.

02Name the value, not the action

'Get my free audit' tells them the reward. 'Submit' tells them the chore. Always sell the destination, not the door.

03Remove friction words

Avoid 'buy,' 'sign up,' 'register' where you can. Reframe the same step as the benefit it unlocks.

04Test first person framing

Switching 'your' to 'my' speaks in the reader's inner voice and has lifted clicks meaningfully in published tests.

05Match the commitment to the stage

Cold traffic wants a low ask ('See how it works'); hot traffic can take 'Book my call.' Don't over ask too early.

06One CTA per goal

Competing buttons split attention and lower clicks on both. Decide the one action you want and make it unmissable.

The vocabulary

Call to action (CTA): The instruction that tells the reader exactly what to do next, usually a button or link.
Friction: Anything that makes the click feel like effort or risk. 'Sign up' has more friction than 'Get started.'
First person CTA: Button copy in the reader's voice ('Start my trial'). Often outperforms second person in tests.
Microcopy: The small supporting text around a button ('No card required') that reduces hesitation at the click.
Click through rate: The share of viewers who click the CTA. The number button copy exists to move.

CTA questions, straight answers

A strong CTA opens with an action verb, names the value the reader gets, keeps friction low, and stays short (2 to 5 words). 'Get my free guide' beats 'Submit' because it leads with a verb, promises a reward, and feels easy. This tool scores your CTA on exactly those levers.

Keep going

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Email Subject Line TesterGrade a subject line on the levers that actually win the open.

Power Word CounterFind the persuasion words in your copy — and whether you have too few or too many.

All calculators ↗

A calculator tells you what. A call tells you what to do about it.

Send me the account behind these numbers. I'll tell you straight where the money's leaking and what I'd fix first — free, and you keep it whether you hire me or not.

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