Someone, somewhere, is currently A/B testing whether their button should be green or slightly greener.
Meanwhile the words on that button say "Learn more," which is the actual reason nobody's clicking it.
Button colour, size, and corner radius are the most-discussed and least-important variables in email. The CTA copy is the final sales pitch — the last thing a reader evaluates before deciding to click or close. Get the words right and the design barely matters. Get them wrong and no amount of design rescues it.
Here's the formula, where to put it, and how many asks belong in one email.
The short version
One rule governs CTA copy: tell the reader what they get, not what they do.
- ✘ Action-oriented: "Click here" / "Submit" / "Learn more" / "Shop now"
- ✔ Outcome-oriented: "Get my free template" / "See the 3 new colors" / "Read Sarah's results" / "Start my free trial"
The difference looks subtle and isn't. "Shop now" asks the reader to perform a task. "See the fall collection" tells them what they'll experience. One raises perceived effort; the other raises perceived value.
Rewrite your CTAs with this table
Take your last email and find your CTA in the left column.
| Your goal | Weak CTA | Strong CTA |
|---|---|---|
| Drive a purchase | "Buy now" | "Get yours before Friday" |
| Get a download | "Download" | "Get the free checklist" |
| Drive to a blog post | "Read more" | "Read the 3 mistakes (2-min read)" |
| Book a call | "Schedule" | "Book your free 15-min strategy call" |
| Get a reply | "Reply to this email" | "Hit reply and tell me your biggest struggle" |
| Drive to a video | "Watch" | "Watch the 4-minute demo" |
| Get a signup | "Sign up" | "Join 2,000+ marketers getting weekly tips" |
| Drive to a case study | "Learn more" | "See how she went from 12% to 34% opens" |
Notice what the strong column keeps doing: adding a specific — a time cost, a number, a name, a concrete outcome. "Read the 3 mistakes (2-min read)" works because it answers the two questions the reader was silently asking, which are what is this and how long will it take me.
Buttons or text links?
Both, usually. They serve different readers.
Text links work best in plain-text or minimal-design emails, when you want a conversational low-pressure feel, when you're writing from a personal brand, or when the CTA belongs inside the flow of a sentence.
Buttons work best when the CTA must be unmissable, when the email is designed HTML, when you're driving a high-value action like a purchase or enrollment, or when it needs to stand out visually from the body.
In most emails, use both: a text link inside the body for readers ready to click mid-read, and a button below for the visual scanners.
Length follows the same logic. Short CTAs of two to five words suit simple actions, buttons, and repeat asks where the reader has already been sold. Longer CTAs of six to twelve words suit first exposure to an offer, text links inside body copy, and any moment where you need to communicate a specific benefit. "Get the template" versus "Download the 50-email swipe file (free, no signup)" — both correct, in different positions.
"My" or "your"?
You'll see this recommended confidently, so here's the honest version.
In a frequently cited landing-page test, conversion optimiser Michael Aagaard found that changing a button from "Start your free 30 day trial" to "Start my free 30 day trial" lifted clicks substantially. The theory is that first-person language creates ownership — the reader is claiming something rather than being instructed.
Two caveats you should keep. It was a single test on a single landing page, and it hasn't been reliably replicated. And a landing-page button is not an email CTA. Treat it as a cheap hypothesis, not a law.
Test both with your own audience. Absent any data, first-person is a reasonable default: "Get my copy" over "Get your copy," "Show me the results" over "See your results."
Where the CTA goes
Placement decides whether the ask gets seen at the moment motivation is highest and resistance lowest.
Primary position — after the core value. Your main CTA goes immediately after you've delivered the story, insight, or argument that makes clicking the logical next step. In a story email, after the bridge. In a value email, after the main insight. In a promotional email, after you've made the case.
Your primary ask should never come before that point. Asking before you've earned it is like proposing on a first date — the reader hasn't been convinced yet, and the ask reads as presumptuous rather than helpful.
Scanner position — at the end. Repeat the same CTA at the bottom, before or inside the P.S. This catches everyone who jumped from your first line straight to the end without reading the middle, which is a lot of people. Same link, same destination, same or slightly varied copy.
Embedded position — inside the body. For longer emails, drop a text link at a natural transition point where an already-motivated reader might be ready to go. It gives eager readers an early exit rather than forcing them to scroll.
The 3-Link Rule
People read emails in three different ways, and one CTA placement only catches one of them. So catch all three:
- The Skimmer — a hyperlinked sentence early on, in the first quarter of the email
- The Reader — a clear, isolated button or standalone link after the core value lands
- The Scroller — a final link in the P.S. at the very bottom
All three point to the same destination. This isn't three offers; it's one offer, made available at three different reading speeds.
One exception: cold outbound. Cold emails should carry at most one link, often none. Links to strangers can trip corporate security filters before a human ever reads you, which makes the 3-Link Rule actively counterproductive there.
The Super P.S.
The P.S. is among the most-read parts of any email, for a slightly deflating reason: people open, scroll past your carefully constructed body copy, and read the P.S. to work out what the email is actually about.
So don't waste it on a throwaway thought. Use it to close:
- Summarise the core offer in one sentence
- Restate the deadline or scarcity, if it's real
- Give a direct link
"P.S. If you scrolled to the bottom, here's the deal: you can get the full Copywriting System for 50% off right now. The cart closes at midnight tonight. [Grab it here before it closes.]"
That opening clause — "if you scrolled to the bottom" — is doing quiet work. It acknowledges the reader's actual behaviour without judging it, which makes the summary feel like a service rather than a repeat.
How many CTAs?
One primary CTA. Repeated two or three times in different formats — text link, button, P.S. mention — all pointing to the same place.
Zero competing CTAs. Don't ask someone to buy the product and follow you on Instagram and read the blog. Every secondary ask steals clicks from the primary one, and the reader resolves the ambiguity by doing nothing.
The exception is a curated newsletter with multiple stories, each with its own link. That's a genuinely different format — use clear visual separation between sections and accept that clicks will distribute rather than concentrate.
Before you send: the visibility test
Pull the email up on your phone and check two things.
Can you see a CTA without scrolling more than about two screen-lengths? And if you read only the bold text and the P.S., is the ask obvious?
If the answer to either is no, your CTA is technically present and functionally invisible.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a good email CTA?
Copy that tells the reader what they get rather than what they do. "See the 3 new colors" beats "Shop now" because it describes an outcome instead of assigning a task. Add a specific — a number, a time cost, a name — so the reader knows exactly what's on the other side of the click.
How many CTAs should an email have?
One primary CTA, repeated two or three times in different formats and all pointing to the same destination. Zero competing CTAs, because every secondary ask steals clicks from the primary one. Curated newsletters with multiple stories are the exception, since that's a different format entirely.
Should I use buttons or text links?
Both, in most emails. Text links suit plain or minimal designs, personal-brand writing, and CTAs that sit inside a sentence. Buttons suit designed HTML, high-value actions, and moments where the CTA must be visually unmissable. Using both catches readers who are ready mid-read as well as visual scanners.
What to do next
Open your last sent email and read the CTA out loud. Does it say what the reader gets, or what they should do?
If it's the second one, rewrite it using the table above. That single change moves click rates more reliably than any button-colour test you'll ever run.
Free: The subject line swipe file — plus the CTA formulas by goal.
Go deeper: The Email Copywriting Playbook — the full CTA library, the email-to-landing-page bridge, and the 13-point pre-send audit.
Related guides
- Why nobody clicks your emails — the six causes, diagnosed
- Email copywriting: the complete system — the whole chain
- Email subject line formulas — getting the open in the first place
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Written by
Muhammad Basim
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