swipe file

call to action swipe file

Build Your Call To Action Swipe File To Write High-Converting Copy

Do you ever sit down to write your business copy and have no idea where to start? 

Everyone gets writer’s block, but how are we supposed to overcome it? 

Instead of putting off writing for your business again, do what the professional copywriters do…Open up your call to action swipe file.

What’s a swipe file? It’s a collection of excellent copywriting you can use to gain inspiration. But what it is not is the license to duplicate the copy as your own. We don’t like plagiarizers (and it doesn’t look good to your target audience either). 

Why You Need A Swipe File For Your Website Copy

So why do you need a swipe file for your website copy? Apart from giving you ideas when you have no clue what to write, a swipe file gives you a starting point to think differently about your copy. Its intended purpose is to inspire or give an idea on what to do. Before we reveal our call to action swipe file, what is a call to action? 

What Is A Call To Action? 

It is what it sounds like. You are calling your intended audience – usually your target customer – to take a specific action. That action does not have to be a buying one.

Remember, there are a lot of steps that happen in the customer journey to convert a complete stranger into a raving fan. Not all of those require a monetary transaction. 

Need more than inspiration and ready to grab hold of helping copywriting hand? Schedule a discovery call today!

Your Call To Action Swipe File For Your Website Copy

To help you out, we’ve added a variety of B2B and B2C examples from various industries. When building out your own swipe file, don’t be afraid to go outside of your industry or competition. Sometimes, the most obscure sites may actually spark a brilliant copy concept. 

Subscribe Call To Actions

The money isn’t in your social media. It’s in your email list. Here are a couple of our favorite subscribe call to actions. 

What we love about this call to action is the ability to tie in what they do – sell sheets and mattresses – with the copy. It’s unique, yet indicates that their email newsletter isn’t some boring newsletter. Nobody wants to clutter their inbox. 

Don’t underestimate the value of pop-ups! But definitely use them sparingly if you want to protect your user experience. This call to action is a favorite because it uses a little social proof to encourage people to subscribe to their blog. 

Sign Up Or Download

Want to provide some up front value before engaging in a more sales type conversation? Sending them to a sign up or download action is a perfect way to increase your buy-in. 

This call to action has everything. It identifies the audience as overwhelmed entrepreneurs and business owners. It sets the expectation that for 5 days, you’ll get 20+ hours of free time back. And it gets people to sign up for the waitlist. We love waitlists because they are great ways to build your email subscriber base. 

DigitalMarketer offers workshops, courses, and certifications for marketers and entrepreneurs. Because marketing is one of those things that is confusing (as there is no quick formula for success), they offer a blueprint. The headline is straightforward. The subhead is effective. But even more so, we love how they include both a “How It Works” and a “Download” button. 

Read Blog Call To Actions

Blogs are fantastic ways to increase your SEO. But they can also be used to engage with your target audience, to show them you know your stuff, and to build some credibility. But how do you get them to read your blog? 

Amy Porterfield’s content strategy primarily relies on her podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy. As such, she’s divided out her episodes into several categories based on where her target audience is in their businesses. Instead of forcing her audience to sort through the topics themselves, she’s made it easy (pun intended). 

Reach your target audience with effective copy that really converts. Contact us today to learn more. 

The social proof and variety of content available really bolsters the click through rates. The headline alone proves that the content they are producing isn’t just from theory or a quick Google search. It’s proven through the businesses that they work with. 

Try For Free Call To Actions

Free trials help to reduce the fear of making a bad decision. It allows the customer to see the value without experiencing the risk of losing money. Here are a couple of “try for free” examples we love. 

Once upon a time, the only way you could access music (without being told what to listen to) was through CDs or cassette tapes. With streaming services, the big question became: what’s the value in this? To get over the hurdle, Spotify doesn’t simply place music in the entertainment category. They equate it to living life. The word “everything” suddenly makes the opportunity for a free trial that more valuable. 

Not only is ClickFunnels addressing the problem they solve (converting customers), they also add in an entire section of social proof directly underneath without it being an entirely separate segment.

In three words, Hubspot is able to effectively communicate that their CRM has the power small business owners need to run their businesses without feeling overwhelmed. This is a great example of the power behind using fewer words.  

Get Started Call To Actions

Depending on your business, it may be ideal to sell a “starter” package to give the customer a sample of what to expect. This is typically used for those investment type products or services. For example, you could sell a starter kit that includes a variety of samples or a segment of your larger service. 

For new buyers, Harry’s presents this starter offer as a special gift. There are a couple elements that are really attractive:

  • Apparent discount
  • Low risk with free shipping
  • Samples for everything a customer needs to evaluate the product
  • Freedom to choose color
  • Easy process flow to access offer

Learn More Call To Actions

You may need to send your audience to explore different areas throughout your website. This is especially important if you have a complicated product, process, or have a page that dives deeper into a specific feature. 

The imagery and the headline does it for us at first glance. But what’s more than that is that they direct their audience to either explore their different mattresses and to compare their mattresses against competitors. If you know anything about mattresses, there couldn’t be a more confusing product as there is no standardization. 

We’re big fans of Keap anyways since we run our business using it. But what I love about their home page is that they have many, many, many features that are transformed into benefits. Then they have specific pages that dive deeper into those benefits (hence the “learn more”). 

Call Now Or Schedule Call To Actions

In the case that your business is more consultative, these types of call to actions are ideal for your business. 

The simplicity of this is what really sets this one apart. There is no play on words or entertaining copy. However, an identification of who they want, what they can get, and what to do. You do not have to over complicate your copy to be effective. 

Quiz Call To Actions

Instead of sending them to a download resource page, quizzes are fun and engaging ways to get your customer to stay on your site. 

What we love about this call to action is that it’s taking what can often be a confusing topic (there are almost too many options) and simplifies it into a pathway. The goal here is clear and simple.

Where To Find Inspiration 

If you need to find inspiration, there are several ways for you to create a swipe file: 

  1. Use an already existing swipe file. Sites such as SwipeFile.com make it really easy to sort through what you’re looking for. 
  2. Use one location to store your screenshots. If there are great CTAs, we upload them into an organized folder system on Google Drive or put it on a dedicated Slack channel. 
  3. Create a framework or template for different types of copy. Don’t want to store screenshots? Create a document or spreadsheet with headline and/or call to action templates or formulas.

Need Help Creating Call To Actions Or Ready To Hand It Over To The Pros?

FocusCopy takes the pressure off entrepreneurs’ and business owners’ already heavy shoulders. We write converting copy (headlines, call to actions, and all!) that gets your message across to the right audience.

Even better, we write in your voice. Meaning not even your mom or best friend will realize you’ve outsourced your writing.

If you’re ready to stop staring at a blank screen and finally work with professional writers who know effective call to actions (and so much more), then schedule a discovery call today.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words
Creating Swipe Files

The Beginner’s Guide To Creating Swipe Files For Copywriting

Who said writing high-converting copy has to be hard? 

Probably someone without a swipe file! 

If you’re stuck in a creative block trying to write compelling and high-converting copy for your business, it’s time to learn about the shortcut you’ve been missing. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and stand on the shoulders of giants instead. 

Here’s the secret… The most successful copywriters get on-demand inspiration from the best that’s already out there by creating swipe files for their business.

What is a Swipe File? 

A swipe file is a folder full of examples of copy that:

  • You love
  • Made you buy
  • You want to emulate in your business’s copy

The purpose of having a swipe file is to have examples to refer to when your creativity well is dry. For instance, many visual artists use an inspiration or mood board to help guide their creative process. It’s a collage of visual ideas to help guide them along as they work. Referring to a mood board can help creatives:

  • Plan more clearly
  • Save time and energy
  • Keep inspiration high
  • Remind them of the end-goal

Swipe files are the mood boards of copywriting, and they come with similar benefits.

The Most Important Rule of Swipe Files

The first and most important thing to know about using swipe files is that they are a collection of examples to work from – NOT copied. You should never plagiarize what someone else has created. Not only is plagiarism unethical, but your website could potentially be flagged for its unoriginal content.

Swipe files are a resource to learn from and to improve your skills. Many of the best artists, athletes, and business leaders learned from previous ‘greats’ to improve themselves and their chance to surpass them. Simply trying to pass others’ work off as their own wouldn’t have helped them at all. The concept is the same when it comes to swipe files.

Why Businesses Need Swipe Files

If your business isn’t using swipe files, you may be at a disadvantage. Not only will it take you more time to write, but your writing probably won’t reach its full potential for conversion and engagement.

Keeping regularly updated swipe files helps businesses:

  • Stay in the loop about the latest copywriting strategies
  • Bypass testing by using copywriting that is already proven to work
  • Produce copy that is attention-catching rather than stale and dated

The Beginner’s Guide To Creating Swipe Files For Copywriting

If you’re ready to start refilling your creative well and get to writing better copy more quickly, here is what you need to know about establishing and maintaining creative swipe files.

Understand What Types of Copy You Need

If you’re trying to build a car, looking up cake recipes won’t do you any good. In writing, if you’re trying to create copy for your website homepage, looking up examples of email newsletters can only get you so far — no matter how amazing the copy might be. In this case, if you are unsure where to start, it may help to understand that there are two kinds of copy, each trying to accomplish a different goal.

Homepage copy will be short and sweet above the fold (i.e., it speaks to either new or existing clients and will probably direct visitors to your primary services). In contrast, newsletter copy can be longer and is often used to speak to existing clients. It typically encourages your audience to engage with your latest content. Now that you know how to pinpoint your business’s goals and decipher what types of copy you need, it’s easier to get going.

Here are a few types of swipe files you might need:

To get the most out of your swipe files, include examples that: 

  • Are within a similar industry. You’ll learn about what pain points are identified for your particular audience to use in your writing.
  • Have a similar goal. Are you trying to get email newsletter sign-ups? Find some copy that made you eager to enroll in a newsletter recently!

Identify and Read Copy That You Love

Once you determine what type of copy you need and find some examples you love, the next step is to dig in and read! 

While you’re reading, keep an eye out for things like:

  • Catchy or attention-grabbing copy
  • Callouts to a problem and solution
  • How the audience is addressed
  • Placement and value of call-to-action buttons
  • Ways the copy focuses on the client
  • How it describes benefits and features
  • Word count, sentence structure, and reading ease
  • Style, format, and fonts

And these are just a few!

Pinpoint Why You Love That Copy

After you’ve given it a critical read, pinpoint what it is about the copy that you love. Ask yourself, what stood out? 

Create some notes below a screenshot of the copy in your swipe file so that you can refer back to it later or share it with your copywriting team. You can also make notes about what you would change or improve. Many businesses even use swipe files when developing their brand voice. This way, they have tangible examples and inspiration to guide them.

Organize It and Tag It

Creating swipe files works best for your business when you can quickly pull up examples when you need them. The purpose is to save you time, not waste it frustratingly searching through files trying to find that one example you love. 

The key here is to make sure your files are organized. Put all of your swipe files in one storage location. Then, use tags on each file to indicate what that file contains. You can tag each file with the type of copy and the industry. By following this method, you can easily pull up the swipe file examples you need according to your current goal.

Here are some organization platforms that have tagging features:

Experiment With Your Swipe File

Creating swipe files will help you get creative with your copy, and we all know that getting creative means being open to experimenting! 

You might not be used to writing in a specific style or using a particular copywriting technique. But there’s no better time than the present to try it out and see where it takes you and your writing.

After all, your audience is bombarded with so much content each day. You’ll have to do something new and creative to capture their attention. Don’t be afraid to get outside of your comfort zone and discover a new approach to your writing.

If you’re ready to start thinking outside of the box, subscribe to our weekly email newsletter where you’ll find plenty of refreshing, catchy, and creative copy to keep you inspired!

Creating Swipe Files
Swipe files are a resource to learn from and to improve your skills; however, you should know that they are a collection of examples to work from – NOT copied.