Books For the Brokenhearted on Valentines Day

Books For the Brokenhearted on Valentines Day Ah, here we are again, at the most romantic day of the year (debatable, maybe).  Unfortunately Valentines Day isnt everyones day every single year. Sometimes its because youre single and indifferent. Sometimes youre coupled and indifferent. Sometimes youre not only single but still piecing together the shards of your broken heart. If its  not your year (theres always the next one!), Ive got books for you to read depending on where your heart is on the brokenhearted scale that may  not only make the day more bearable but may get you further along in your efforts to get over whatever ails you. If you want to restore your faith in love Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan:  When in need of a pick-me -up, you really can’t go wrong with a young adult romance, and this one may be just cute enough to renew your interest in love. Though Leila hasnt been forthcoming about her sexuality, the arrival of the beautiful and charming Saskia has her doing all sorts of things shed never do.  But as Saskia and Leila’s relationship gets more and more confusing, Leila realizes some misconceptions she’s held about Saskia and other classmates, including an old friend with secrets of her own. While this one won’t make you forget about your broken heart (there are a few plot points that will likely remind you of it), there’s a nice dash of optimism to reassure you that just because all relationships don’t work out the way you want, that doesn’t mean that will be true for all of them. If you want to restore your faith in yourself A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas: Broken hearts are the worst because they can make you believe things about yourself that aren’t true, as is typical of life’s downturns. If you’re in need of a reminder of your own worth, Charlotte Holmes is for you. Seasoned romance writer Sherry Thomas has an intriguing take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s work, where Sherlock Holmes is merely an alias for Charlotte. There’s only a smidge of romance (Charlotte calls love a “perishable good”) as our heroine focuses more on clearing her family of murder, all while coping with her new status as social outcast following a reputation-ruining scandal. Thomas captures the tone of the original material, but Charlotte is hardly just Sherlock in a dress: she’s limited by the sexism of the period, which not even her brilliant mind can bypass. She’s far from infallible, and runs into many morale-sapping obstacles, but as the (very cool) Mrs. Watson says, Do not undervalue what you are ultima tely worth because you are at a momentary disadvantage. If you want a reminder that love isn’t always that great anyway Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough:    Crack open a bottle of wine (there’s lots of wine drinking in this one) and fall into the story of single mom Louise, David, and Adele. Louise is a single mom and secretary who makes a romantic connection with David, who turns out to be marriedand her new boss. What initially sounds very Grey’s Anatomy gets only more complicated as Louise and Adele fall into a friendship, bonding over their night terrors while an oblivious David picks up where he left off with Louise.  As Louise gets closer to both of them, she begins to unravel the mystery of David and Adele’s odd marriage. Why is David prescribing Adele medication? Why does she always have to be available to take his calls? Why does Adele seem afraid to mention that shes made a new friend?  Behind Her Eyes is unusual and riveting, with a wild ending. By the time you finish, you may be more partial to a lonely Valentine’s Day, especially if this could be the alternative. If you really want to try putting your heart back together…. Why Wont You Apologize?: Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts by Harriet Lerner:  If you’re stuck on the someone who broke your heart and can’t quite figure out where to begin with mending it, Harriet Lerner is a good place to start. Using anecdotes from her life and her therapy clients, Lerner offers advice on how to apologize, how to accept apologies, and how to deal with the fact that you may never get an apology from someoneeven one you deserve. Lerner stresses how to let go of anger and sadness, but she doesn’t require forgiveness in her definition of healing so feel free to withhold it all you like while still taking strides in your own life. By the time you’re done with this you’ll at least have a blueprint to moving on and you may have a few revelations about the someone who broke your heart in the first place. If you want to wallow. So Sad Today by Melissa Broder: Broders essays arent  all about love, but they have their moments. This collection is an uncomfortably, impressively and enviably honest, recalling Broders drug use, mental health struggles and a myriad of other pains (as well as awkward-to-read things like her vomit fetish) that will make you think about all the uncomfortable and painful parts of your life. In some ways its very cathartic, in others its gutwrenching and will undoubtedly turn your mind to your cracked heart (and probably lots of other things). That being said, even Broders most deflating entries in this book are imbued with self awareness, acceptance, and quiet optimism and will encourage the same for you. Good for those of you who think the best way out is always through. If youre looking for a distraction Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu: Maika Halfwolf survived a devastating war between humans and Arcanics, and now begins a hunt for answers. But as she begins to unravel the truth, a powerful monster within her awakens and must be fed. Literally. As Maika is hunted by foes both familiar and unknown, trusting in the monster she hates may be her best chance for survival. Unromantic, violent, with deep worldbuilding (steampunk plus monsters plus ancient beings with incredible powers), plenty of profanity, and many unanswered questions, this graphic novel is the one to dive into if youd rather keep your mind off your shattered heart. Heres to hoping your Valentines Day passes with good books and as little heartache as possible.

How to Correctly Place Too and Enough in English Sentences

Too and enough  can modify both nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Too  indicates that there is too much of a quality, or too much or too many of some object. Enough means that there is no need for more of a quality or object. Here are some examples: Shes too sad these days. I wonder whats wrong.I dont have enough sugar. Lets go to the supermarket.Youre driving too slowly!There are too many students in this class. It should be smaller.This test is difficult enough already!We have too much pollution in the world. Focus on Enough Reading the examples, you may notice that enough is sometimes placed before the word it modifies. For example: What do we need for dinner? I think we have enough vegetables, dont we?She feels that Tom has more than enough time to help. In other examples, enough is placed after the word it modifies. For example: You should ask John for help. Hes rich enough to help us all!I dont think they are smart enough to take that class. Take a look at the words modified in the examples above. You will note that enough is placed in front of the nouns vegetables and time. Enough is placed after the adjectives rich and smart. Rules for Enough Adjective Enough Place enough directly after the adjective modified when using enough as an adverb to mean to the required degree or extent. Hes not patient enough to understand children.My friend wasnt intelligent enough to take the job. Adverb Enough Place enough directly after the adverb modified when using enough as an adverb to mean to the required degree or extent. Peter drove slowly enough for us to look at all the houses.The students studied carefully enough to do well on the exam. Enough Noun Place enough directly before a noun to state that there is as much or as many as required. Do you have enough money for your vacation?Im afraid we dont have enough oranges to make the dessert. Focus on Too Reading the examples, you can notice that too is used with nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. However, when using too with nouns, too is followed by much or many. The choice of too much or  too many  depends on whether the noun modified is countable or uncountable, also referred to as count and non-count nouns. Anna is too concerned about her grades.The boys are too crazy today!We have too many books in this room.There is too much information to learn these days. Rules for Too Too Adjective Place too before adjectives to state that something has an excess amount of quality. Hes too angry about that incident.Mary is too anxious about her cousin. Too Adverb Place too before adverbs to state that someone is doing something to an excess or more than necessary. That man is driving too slowly. I wonder if hes been drinking.You are speaking too rudely to that man. Its important to be kind! Too Much Uncountable Noun Place too much before uncountable nouns to state that there is an excess amount of an object. We have too much time on our hands this weekend.Youve put too much sugar in the cake. Too Many Countable Noun Place too many  before plurals of countable nouns to state that there is an excess number of an object. Franca has too many problems to deal with this week.The boys have bought too many clothes. Lets take some of them back to the store. Too / Enough Quiz Rewrite the sentence adding too or enough to the sentence to modify an adjective, adverb or noun. My friend isnt patient with his friends.I dont have time to get everything done.I think the test was difficult.There is much salt in this soup!You are walking slowly. We need to hurry up.  Im afraid I have many responsibilities.Peter isnt working fast. Well never finish on time!I wish I were intelligent to pass this test.  Is there wine for dinner?He types quickly, so he makes a lot of mistakes. Answers My friend isnt patient enough  with his friends.I dont have enough  time to get everything done.I think the test was too  difficult.There is too  much salt in this soup!You are walking too  slowly. We need to hurry up.  Im afraid I have too  many responsibilities.Peter isnt working fast  enough. Well never finish on time!I wish I were intelligent enough  to pass this test.  Is there enough  wine for dinner?He types too  quickly, so he makes a lot of mistakes.

I Chose To Evaluate Macodrum Library’S History Of Sexuality

I chose to evaluate MacOdrum Library’s History of Sexuality research guide for my digital humanities project is. MacOdrum’s primary purpose appears to be to help serve the students of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with their research. I have decided to focus my evaluation on â€Å"Finding and Using Primary Sources† tab and the â€Å"Websites† tab, because I find them the most interesting and also the most useful sections for everyday people who might visit. The overall design of the website is fairly simple to use. There are several sections that, when clicked on, show an area with its own segregations within the broader topic. For example, under the Websites tab there is a section titled â€Å"Gay / Lesbian / Bisexual / Transgender /†¦show more content†¦While it could seem limiting, those with access to databases provided by their schools could use this section to check if their university provides access to any of them. Howeve r, for those already out of school this could be a huge disadvantage. Although this could provide a disadvantage in the website’s ability to be utilized in more public areas of discussion, I feel it is pretty clear that the website’s goal was not to break into those areas anyway. The website’s sources are all databases, websites, or books. A plus side of this is a relatively unbiased presentation of facts, while on the flip side it also means that information needs to be searched through again on another platform. Databases in particular are tricky, and Wayne State even provides several classes in which students are taught how to utilize these resources, because they can be difficult to maneuver. Websites are more accessible to everyday people, but because a great deal of the websites have broken links, this could frustrate the average user which would cause them to leave make the website obsolete. Books are another one that, while they are great sources of info rmation, are difficult to find and use. MacOdrum does bring up interlibrary loan for books not in the library, but that’s only helpful to those with access to the library. It is not surprising that the website is formatted in such a way though, because

Ties that Bind Societal Transformation in the Face of Relocation Free Essays

The Ojibwa, a culturally heterogeneous people which called themselves Anishnabe, were historically, not a single tribe in the political sense but rather organized into a number of bands (or sub-tribes) who shared the same language and culture, yet their customs however also varied from one band to another. These bands were divided into permanent clans, which originally were subdivided into five groups from which more than twenty clans developed. Of these, a clan would claim hereditary chieftainship of the tribe while another claims precedence in the council of war. We will write a custom essay sample on Ties that Bind: Societal Transformation in the Face of Relocation or any similar topic only for you Order Now The family played an important role in their society, as clans were simply clusters of related families claiming a common ancestor. The division of labor was well established – men hunted and gathered food, and built weapons and other tools while women carried water, cooked food meals, wove cloth, fashioned pottery and tended the home, though either or both sexes could farm the land, prepare animal skins etc. Though the family or the extended unit of the clan for that matter, had a strong influence on the broader social structures of Ojibwa community life, societal functions which tend to promote the good of the community generally determined the roles individuals were expected to play. Caring for and educating children were a clan affair, the children learning by example the tribe’s cultural values, e.g. strength of character, wisdom and endurance, and through oral traditions and the telling of stories, and participation in religious ceremonies. The Ojibwa of Grassy Narrows were devastated by changes to their community upon contact with modern industrial society. The Ojibwa encounter with modernization ultimately destroyed their traditional way of life, painfully emphasized by the poisoning of their river-lake system, which had tied them to the land through their primary activities of hunting, trapping, fishing, and subsistence agriculture. Granted access to unemployment benefits, alcohol and other previously unavailable influences rendered the Ojibwa vulnerable to the manipulation and exploitation of others. Traditional Ojibwa culture was heavily influenced by the natural terrain of their habitat – they had adapted their semi-nomadic way of life to a heavily forested land with an extensive network of lakes and rivers. Primarily a hunting-and-fishing society, they would travel through the lakes and river systems in light canoes. Other economic activities include gathering wild fruits and seeds, as well as some farming, and the making of sugar from maple syrup. As with most Native Americans, their housing consisted of wigwams made with pole frames, and typically covered with birch bark. Their clothing was made largely from animal hides such as tanned deerskin and woven nettle fibers. In terms of religious belief, Ojibwa mythology appears to be elaborate. Aside from general belief in the Great Spirit, their chief religious rites centered on the Grand Medicine Society (Medewiwin), composed of practitioners skilled in healing. Traditionally, the Ojibwa view essential matters relating to health, their subsistence, social organization and tribe leadership, from a religious perspective. The central rite of the Medewiwin – the killing and reviving of initiates through the use of sacred seashells and medicine bags, recreated the necessity of death for the continuation and strengthening of life, as in the Creation Myth. It also carried on the hunting concern and imagery of traditional Ojibwa, going beyond mere imagery into hunting medicine to help them and their neighbors find game. Medewinin ceremonies also incorporated ritual components of traditional Ojibwa cult – tobacco offerings, dog sacrifices, ceremonial sweat baths, feasting and dancing in communion with objects of their religion, the performance of ceremonies for the help and blessing of the spirits. Familial relationships, as well as those in the community, were fostered on a mystical reverence for nature reinforced by myth and ritual. The breakdown of these relationships and the disruption and ensuing disharmony among the community resulted in serious problems for the Ojibwa, which due to its foreign nature they did not seem competent of handling. It is important to note that the Ojibwa are participants in complex, multi-cultural societies with the preponderance of minority-majority relationships and interaction in the social milieu to which they function. Consequently, the issues they face, particularly environmental degradation and the failure of adequate and proper government support, also concern non-Native Americans. The community of Grassy Narrows, an Ojibwa First Nation located 80 km south of Kenora in northwestern Ontario, was forcibly relocated to its present location in 1962, five miles south of the original settlement. When they first ceded their land through Treaty # 3, local Ojibwa maintained most of their material and spiritual culture. Grassy Narrows folk held on to clan loyalties and political autonomy until the late 19th century, adapting their old skills to new conditions. The 20th century however, proved disastrous with an influenza epidemic wiped out around 75% of the population shaking the native economy, social system, and the local aboriginal religion. Traditional healers proved powerless to explain or combat the disease. How to cite Ties that Bind: Societal Transformation in the Face of Relocation, Papers

Visit To The Planetarium Essays - Constellations, Ursa Major

Visit To The Planetarium Astronomy Second Paper 11-27-00 I attended the Wagner College Planetarium(located in Spiro Hall)on November 15, 2000 at 11:00 for research and to observe the stars, planets and our entire solar system more closely. There was a clear dome on the ceiling for us to see the sky. The director of the show was Dennis Anderson. He put the latitude to forty degrees, and dimmed the lights. Up in the sky the stars are beautiful and bright. They seem, by the naked eye to be moving but the earth is what is actually moving. Everyone knows that the sky doesn't move. The earth rotates around the sun. The earth being in a different spot in its' orbit all the time gives us different stars to see at different times out of the year. A star is a huge ball of glowing gas in the sky. The Sun is a star. It is the only star close enough to the earth to look like a ball. The other billions of stars are so far away that they are no more than a pinpoint of light. A constellation is a bunch of stars in the sky that form a picture. Each Constellation has a definite time of the year when it reaches its highest point. At latitudes to far north or to far south of the equator, many constellations do not reach there culminates high enough to be seen. The constellations appear to move westward as the earth rotates around the Sun. For this reason, certain constellations can only be seen during one season of the year. There is Pegasus which is extremely large. If you connect the stars of Pegasus it is supposed to look like a horses body. However it is upside down. The instructor put a line going across the middle of the dome. It separated the sky from north to south. He said this line is called the Meridian. When a star is at the Meridian it is at its highest point. It is nine degrees elliptical on each side. The second brightest star is Mercury it has a very thick atmosphere. However the brightest star nearest to the horizon is Venus. We also saw Jupiter it was also a very bright star but not as bright as Venus. Jupiter has four moons' which was very interesting to see. We live in a spiral Galaxy. It has one to four billion stars. Some people believe we live in the barred galaxy. It is also called the Milky Way galaxy. If stars or galaxies explode we would not know until light years later. This is due to the great distance between us and other stars or galaxies. Light years are a measure of distance. Some bi-global clusters of stars are a numbered at 150,000 to one million stars bunched together. This is called Messier 13. Messier 13 is 30,000 light years away. It was discovered by a man named Charles Messier. Charles Messier also discovered the Stellar Nebular. He got a lot of credit for his time, which was around the 1700's. Many years ago stars were known as navigation systems. Sailors used the stars to guide them on where they wanted to go. They would look at the stars and try to judge where they were by where the stars were located in the sky. Thus turning the stars into a navigation system. If we were in the country side and not the city we would be able to see the stars much better. They would seem brighter to the naked eye. The instructor at the planetarium explained to us that in New York City the street lights and car lights seem to drown the energy of the stars. He also said that if something isn't done about it in a couple of decades we will not be able to see any stars from our city. A set of stars everyone is familiar with is the Big Dipper, but it is only part of a constellation called the Big Bear. There is also the Little Dipper. At the handle of the Little Dipper is a star called Polaris, which is also known as the North Star it stands out in the sky when you look

Edenic Myth in The Great Gatsb essays

Edenic Myth in The Great Gatsb essays Picture this: You are the director of a high budget feature film. You are in the process of filming a brilliant scene in which a man and a woman have just escaped from a near-death situation and have found themselves atop a mountain in the pouring rain, but alas, safe and out of harm's way. In the midst of all the insanity, they realize that their attraction for each other is love at its finest, and as they prepare for a beautiful, passionate, Hollywood-style kiss, the treacherous storm clouds above them dissipate into a clear, star-filled sky strategically designed to intensify this glorious moment. They embrace, and they kiss. It is a long, fabulous kiss. Or, so they thought. When the kiss is complete, they stare into each other's eyes, and from the sidelines we hear, "Cut!" "What was wrong with that?" demands the leading man. "That was perfect!" "Oh, no it wasn't." you reply. "There was nothing perfect about it. The rain stopped too early, the wind was blowing too hard, and the two of you just kissed like you've never met!" "So, what do you want to do?" snaps the leading lady. "You want to do it again?" "Yes, I do." You answer. "And again, and again, and again. Until we get it right. I want this scene to be perfect!" Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could do things repeatedly until we were delighted with the results? Wouldn't it be grand to stop at a certain point, evaluate what we have done thus far, decide what was not perfect, and subsequently perfect it? In reality, most of us are aware that this is simply not an option. Knowing that we cannot change what has already happened is perhaps a large reason why many of us feel regret as we get older. When reflecting on our lives, we tend to use phrases like, "If I could do it all over again, I would never..." or "If I knew then what I know now..." It is our own way of expressing the real truth: what's done is done. One of the main characters in F. Scott...

How To Write A Call To Action With 54 Words + 6 Examples

How To Write A Call To Action With 54 Words + 6 Examples All of your content marketing success hinges on the  bounce and the  conversion. The two exist on a seesaw, the dreaded â€Å"bounce† on one side and â€Å"conversion† on the other. And what is the fulcrum at the center of the two that will determine which way it will tip?  Your call to action- aka  your  marketing CTA. Your content marketing lives and dies based on the success of your CTA. It determines if people take your content and bounce out on their merry way, never to return, or if they leap for the bait and go further into your  sales funnel. Knowing how to write a call to action that  hooks your readers interest is key to your contents survival. Know how to write a #CallToAction? Here are 54 words and 6 examples thatll unlock your #creativity. What Is A Call To Action? A call to action might be as simple as asking someone to: Sign up for your email newsletter. Download  free resources in exchange for an email address. Buy an ebook,  coaching service, or your product. A call to action might be at  the beginning  of a blog post, at the end of a blog post, or sprinkled throughout a landing page. As a marketer, you use a call to action  in any medium- videos, advertisements, blog posts, landing pages, and even social messages. Whatever form it takes, and wherever it appears in your content, a call to action is you providing your reader with some form of actionable task  and usually appears as a button, link within text, or an image of some kind. Whatever form it takes, a call to action  provides your reader with an actionable task. Content marketing is creating content, but with a purpose. All content has the purpose of establishing your expertise and being helpful to your reader so that they come back to you for more.  And of course, content has the purpose of bringing in new readers through  search engines. So  you must include purposeful elements in your content that specifically ask your reader to do something tangible instead of merely feeling warm fuzzies about your brand. You must regularly ask your reader to do something. A call to action not only gets your reader to do something that commits her further to what you are ultimately selling,  it's also something you  can measure. And, if you can  measure  it, you  can test, tweak, and change  it  so you learn more about your audience. Without a call to action, you're wasting your best efforts. Without a call to action, you’re wasting your best efforts and goodwill on readers who probably would take action and who probably would buy but you've  never pushed them to. Without writing a call to action, the most you’ll know about your reader is hits, page views, and bounces. You’ll spread lots of goodwill. But you’ll never make a sale. Recommended Reading: Here’s How You Can Double Your Blog Conversion Rate Right Now How To Write A Call To Action Using Exclusivity And The Undeniable FOMO When it comes to a powerful motivator for your call to action, FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is hard to beat. This is about exclusivity, which generally works in two ways: Only some get in.  By only letting a few get in, you suggest that those who do are lucky, should be thankful, are special, are deserving- anything of this nature. This is about status, namely who’s in and who’s out. In order for this to work, you have to make something amazing enough that people want  to be in on it. Anyone gets in, but with restrictions. Think of data rights management or DRM controls on ebooks and music. The product is available to anyone, but you need specific devices, tools, or access methods to use it. In this way, it's exclusive because you control how people use it and how they  can share or spread it. That fear of missing out taps into several human emotions (some of which we’d rather not admit to). It’s more than just fear because that fear is based in something else: Panic: â€Å"If I miss out, I’ll never know if this could have changed my life!† Greed: â€Å"I have to have everything.† Comparison: â€Å"I don’t want to be the only person without this!† Curiosity: â€Å"Could this possibly be as amazing as they describe?† Pride: â€Å"I got in and you didn’t. Ha ha.† Most of us are almost compulsively driven by these emotions. When you write a call to action, you must tap into these kinds of emotion- the ones that are so connected to exclusivity- because they're what drive people to act when it comes to selling. And when you’re selling something people don’t need  (i.e. food, water, shelter, new washer) and are instead trying to create a want (i.e. you just bought a new shirt, but why not get a few more?), you have to find another motivator for them to part with their money (or their email address). And, oddly, the fear and subsequent emotions that are tied into exclusivity are good ones to use. How To Use Exclusivity And FOMO In Your #CallToAction To Boost ConversionsHow To Put Exclusivity To Work In Your Call To Action Exclusivity rides on one main idea:  If you don’t do something now, you’ll never be able to do it again. You can hint at exclusivity through the words in your call to action. Think of any word or phrase that suggests now: Last chance Limited supply Only a few left Ends tomorrow Limited time only One-time offer Expires soon Urgent Deadline You get the idea. With FOMO, there isn’t time to think. The language all points to action immediately. So Call now  is much better than Call anytime. Recommended Reading: 3 Unusual Ways To Create Exclusive Content That Attracts A Crowd How To Write A Call To Action Using Hope As A Motivation Fear isn’t the only way to get people to act, though it's one of the most powerful. Hope can do the trick, too. First you need to create a sense of desperation. Illustrate just how big a problem  your readers have, and the hope to change it will suddenly make sense. While driving around town and checking errands off of my to-do list this past weekend, I took note of the billboards and signs outside of the stores and restaurants. I said to my friend, who was with me, that there was absolutely nothing that I needed, yet here I was, buying stuff. â€Å"I wouldn’t be dissatisfied with my life and possessions if they didn’t tell me it ought to be so,† I said, a bit annoyed. â€Å"You can’t sell to people who aren’t dissatisfied,† my friend replied. With dissatisfaction comes hope. Or it should, if you’re writing  your call to action correctly. How To Leverage  Hope With  Your Call To Action To tap into hope, you first must suggest hopelessness. By that, I mean you must show the reader that there is a problem, it’s a serious one, and they have it. And then you provide the solution and the hope. â€Å"You’ve tried everything to lose weight, but nothing worked,† is easily countered with, â€Å"Try this safe and proven method that returns results every time, risk free!† In this call to action example, you assure the reader by using the words â€Å"safe† and â€Å"risk free†, and give them hope by suggesting it's â€Å"proven† and â€Å"returns results†. Big problem. Big hope. Once you’ve established this pattern, end with your simplified call to action. â€Å"Start  now and lose 10 pounds in your first month.† Recommended Reading: How To Write The Best Copy Ever With Advice From Junk Mail So ... What Are Those Call To Action Words That Get People To Act? Is it possible that certain words get more conversions than others? It's a good question that has some research behind it- to an extent. So I took a look at five well-researched articles  to pull together a  big  list of call to action words that will help you get more email signups, trials, and sales. This data comes from five  researched articles, and even includes some words that have helped get as much as a  27% conversion rate from our own calls to action: Backlinko's research on building email lists Sprout Social's research on call to action phrases WishPond's research on words to use in call to action buttons Unbounce's research on call to action buttons Unbounce's research on conversion rate optimization 's research from our own landing pages and blog posts Now, many of these sources suggest  testing your own calls to action on your blog and website to see what words perform best with your audience. That is great advice you can put into practice  by using a tool like  Visual Website Optimizer. Start simple: Write two powerful calls to action you will A/B test against one another. Set up the test with Visual Website Optimizer. Give it a week and analyze the data. The results may surprise you, as they've done with us at . 54 Powerful Words To Test In Your #CTAs6 Call To Action Examples To Help You Write  Better CTAs Than Ever Call to action examples are everywhere, so where would you  start? I figured we'd take a look at a few  of the top companies in the world according to Fortune's 500 list (there has to be a reason they're so successful, right?), then dive in to some specific examples that are a bit more content marketing related. Let's do this. 1. Learn More With Apple Like the simplicity of their products, Apple  keeps their calls to action short, clean, and to the point. Learn more and Trade up to a new iPhone are unmistakable in letting Apple's  audience know exactly what they'll see after they click through the call to action. Apple  also doesn't clutter the design: There are clearly only two options to help their users focus on making a decision to click quickly and easily. Lesson Learned: Be clear and concise,  and position your call to action as the  obvious next step. 2. Save With CVS While the design is super busy compared to Apple's example (do I click on Save with Our App, App Store, Google Play, or on the phone itself?!), CVS focuses on the value proposition  in their call to action. Save with Our App  focuses CVS'  audience on the perceived benefit of using the tool, which connects into hope to resolve the dissatisfaction of spending so much money. The headline here- Unlock  extra savings  with app-only deals!- also suggests exclusivity, that you can only experience those benefits if you get the app. They also include the word exclusive in the description, which is a powerful motivator for the fear of missing out. Lesson Learned: Keep your design clean so your users know where to click. Brainstorm the value proposition to answer your readers' inherent question, "What's in it for me?" and tie that into your call to action. 3. Rely On The Visual Like Amazon Who said  you had to write a call to action? The behemoth Amazon focuses on compelling imagery to entice action. In this example, there is really no  traditional call to action that usually begins with a verb. However, Amazon does rock some powerful words with the visual: Now and Limited time offer. Talk about inducing urgency and appealing to the fear of missing out. The visual tells the rest of the story, helping  Amazon shoppers envision themselves in front of an amazing TV with a bowl of popcorn and a couple glasses  of champaign. Would you like to chillax like that, too? Heck yes, you would. And that's why the visual creates a powerful  call to action. It's noteworthy to mention this: Amazon doesn't even show the product they're selling (other than the remote) and focuses the visual mostly  on the experience  you'll feel when you click through the call to action to purchase it.  People don't buy products, they buy experiences. And that's why Amazon crushed  it with this call to action example. Lesson Learned: Literally show the pleasurable  outcome your audience will experience if they just click through your call to action. People don't buy products, they buy experiences. Include the experience in your #CTA.4. Code School Shows Calls To Action Don't Have To Be Super Formal Wondering how to apply calls to action into your blog posts? Write a post that helps your readers do something without you, then  when you can  help them  do it even better, let them know. Code School helps people learn how to code. So when they wrote a post called Why Python? that covered reasons to learn and use the language, they ended the post with a call to action to learn more through the courses Code School offers. The call to action appears as the last paragraph in the blog post, and invites readers to Check out a couple new courses. It's simple, informal, yet informational to teach their audience about the possibilities Code School offers to help their readers  improve. Lesson Learned:  Write a blog post that connects into your product or service. Then end the post  with an informal call to action to work  with you to resolve the problems you just outlined in your post and link to content that introduces  your offering. 5. Wistia Embeds Calls To Action In Videos Do you embed videos in your blog posts? With Wistia, you can add  a Turnstile into your  video  to collect email leads during video play, and you can also include a written call to action and link to related content at the end of your video. Turns out, you can also write a call to action right into your YouTube videos, too, if you're not a Wistia user. Anyway,  this call to action example shows up at the end of a video that explains one element about making post-product process simpler- something Wistia's audience cares a lot about. Wistia  then links to more information on the topic to help their viewers learn more about post-production- which is a part of the video process Wistia as a tool  can help make more efficient. The video appears in lieu of a traditional blog post header graphic. That  means Wistia's audience sees a video right away (which also likely boosts on page time and engagement quite a bit), Wistia shows their quirky brand personality, and they display a  strong call to action immediately. This is a great example of leading an audience deeper into the funnel  from inbound marketing  to demand generation content that positions Wistia as the solution to the problem. Brilliant. Lesson Learned: Strategically think about the next step to bring new users from inbound marketing into demand generation content that positions your product or service as the answer to a problem your audience is facing. Write  calls to action for all of your videos. 6. Create Content-Specific  Calls To Action Like Backlinko Have you seen blog posts that offer something free in exchange for your email address? Somewhere along the lines, marketers started calling those things content upgrades. And they are a super smart way to include a call to action in every blog post to turn the traffic you get into email subscribers. In this call to action example from Backlinko, Brian Dean includes a written CTA in the introduction of his blog post. That is brilliant  because a majority of your audience will read the first 100 words of your post, then maybe skim the rest. Anyway, this call to action is very smart because it relates specifically to the content at hand and not just a generic give-me-your-email-address kinda CTA. Brian relates directly to the challenge his readers want to resolve by writing Get More Email Subscribers, then he uses a powerful word with download. He also promises that what his readers will get behind the call to action will help them quickly execute the 17 strategies from this post, which is very important for the Backlinko blog in particular  because Brian  creates such long-form content. This way, he captures the interest of the too-long-didn't-read (TLDR) audience while also turning them into email subscribers. To top it off, Brian targets another call to action for the 20% of his audience that makes it through the entire blog post to the very end. This time, he lets the visual speak for itself with the power word download, and  includes the emotional word free to describe his  content upgrade. Lesson Learned: Include a  relevant content upgrade at the beginning and end of your blog posts to convert  traffic into email subscribers.  Use your call to action to appeal to the reasons your audience is already interested in the content, packaging a condensed and actionable guide behind the clickthrough. 6 #CallToAction Examples That Will Unlock Your #Creativity! #bloggingPut It All Together: How To Write A  Call To Action With A Compelling  Structure No matter what motivation you use (fear or hope), there are some common ways  that you should use when structuring your call to action. 1. Start with verbs. Verbs are the action words that make it clear to readers what you want them to do. Instead of saying, â€Å"Ready to get started?† simplify it to â€Å"Get started now† or â€Å"Start saving now†. Some verbs are stronger than others. This has to do with the cacophony of the word  (hard K, G, D  sounds) coupled with  the strength of the action suggested in context. The word â€Å"buy† feels stronger and more urgent than â€Å"purchase†. â€Å"Get your copy† is more cacophonous and powerful than â€Å"Download your ebook†. Starting with verbs means starting phrases and sentences, sure, but also the placement of links and call to action buttons. They come first (or nearly first) and should be prominent. Buttons to buy or sign-up should be above the fold, no scrolling required. They should be before the long chunk of explanatory text. Verbs are words of action, and that’s exactly what you want from your readers.2. Take it easy on filler words. Adverbs and adjectives can get in the way of the action you want your readers to take. You should have already done the work of convincing people to take the action before presenting your call to action  to them through blog post or landing page copy. Try your best to avoid words ending in -ly. â€Å"Click here† is better than â€Å"Click here quickly.† There are exceptions, though.  For example, you might hint at exclusivity by saying â€Å"Get your custom ebook now† instead of just â€Å"Get your ebook†. 3. Keep things simple and brief. Use words that are simple, common, and not too long. This isn’t because you think your reader isn’t smart enough to handle anything else, but because you’re trying to prod base emotions. You don’t want anything to get in the way of those simple emotions, particularly requiring readers to consider complex thought processes or scenarios which could distract them or lead them down a path of thought away  from taking action. Avoid buzzwords, jargon, and any word that feels â€Å"empty† and can be ignored by the reader. If you use enough ignorable words in your call to action, your entire call to action runs the risk of being ignored. Steps for a successful #CTA: verb  Ã‚  clarity  Ã‚  simplicity request.If you must use descriptive words, use simple and common words that are emotionally effective. This is no time to go crazy with a thesaurus and impress the world with your vocabulary. The language must not  get in the way of the emotional prodding you’re trying to achieve. Save your thinking words for your blog posts, and focus your call to action on words that are powerful persuaders. Remember simple, basic, and primal words- and not too many words overall- when you make the big request. 4. Make the request simple, too. It’s not just the language of the request that you need to make simple, but the request itself must be easy. One or two clicks to completion. As little pain as possible. If you need more information than a name and email, try to break it up so you capture that email first, get the user into the purchase or into their account, and then collect the rest later. The reason is that you don’t want to give your reader time to change their mind. I don’t know how many times I’ve been at a big box store and, because of too few checkout lanes available, seen people abandon full carts in line and walk out the door. It’s the same with your call to action. The more complicated you make it for readers to complete it, the more likely they’ll find a way to change their mind or forget the driving reason you just convinced them they needed to take action. â€Å"Buy now!† doesn’t feel like â€Å"now† if you make them fill out lots of information, answer a small survey, and click on a reply email to verify. That feels like buying later, and it brings into question the urgency you insisted was necessary to get a reader to take action.