Writing Simply Isn’t Simple: Craft a Clear CTA

This is the second in a three-part Tips series, and is an example of foundational coaching I offer to individuals and teams who want to write clearer, more effective business communication. They cover the basics (planning, simplifying, and revising), but apply whether you’re drafting your first email to a client or your hundredth strategy memo.

Tip #2: Keep your flight plan simple (and make sure it points somewhere)

While doing laundry a few years ago, I found a crumpled coffee shop napkin in my trouser pocket bearing this bit of “sage advice” in my handwriting:

“Just make stuff simple.”

Hah.

It was a direct quote from a client I worked with during my Big Firm days. They’d grown frustrated with weekly calls that, in their view, spent too much time “in the weeds.” We, the consultants, thought we needed those details to paint a clearer “big picture” for their team. I’d used the napkin as a reminder before a particularly dense conversation—a note to keep an eye on my “altitude.”

I have no recollection of whether it worked. But the project succeeded, so we must have figured it out.

Turning complexity into simplicity takes work

Hard, smart work. “Simple” is rarely easy to achieve.

In Tip #1, I talked about building a flight plan before you write: knowing your audience, goal, objective, and call to action (CTA). That plan only works if it’s clear and simple enough to actually guide your writing. If your flight plan is vague, fuzzy, or trying to do three things at once, you’ll end up back in Harrier mode—hovering, pivoting, burning fuel.

So let’s talk about what simplicity is, what it isn’t, and how to build a CTA that actually gets your reader moving.

What simplicity isn’t

• Condescending. No one likes to be talked down to. If your writing makes your audience feel small, they’ll turn elsewhere.
• Simplistic. Short, punchy sentences are easier to digest. But oversimplification can feel dull or irritating. Example: “These sentences are short. They are clear. They are boring.”
• Fuzzy or intangible. Compare these two sentences. Which would you rather act on—A or B?
  • A. “Consider signing up for our newsletter, which can save you money and help you buy a home if you use the tips shared in it.”
  • B. “Sign up for our weekly newsletter. You’ll get money-saving tips that help you find and close on your next home faster.”

Sentence A is weak. “Consider” isn’t an action—it’s a hedge. “If you use the tips shared in it” is passive and clunky.

Sentence B is stronger. The CTA is clear, the benefit is concrete, and the outcome is easy to picture. Breaking it into two sentences keeps each idea clear without losing momentum.

Here’s the lesson: clarifying the intention behind your sentence shortens the time between reading it and taking action. And when you’re asking someone to act, every extra second of confusion is a chance for them to bail.

Make a strong CTA part of your flight plan

Your flight plan should include both an overall goal (e.g., to inform, persuade, or entertain) and a specific objective. Here are some examples to illustrate the difference.

Goals (Broad, directional)

• Announce changes to next year’s bonus plan and explain why.
• Convince a new car buyer that extended maintenance coverage is better value for money than the standard coverage.

Objectives (Narrow and quantifiable)

• Preemptively answer the top three questions about the revised bonus plan by incorporating the answers into leadership’s announcement message. Include a link to a thorough FAQ.
• Illustrate how much an average customer would save over a year with the extended maintenance plan, compared to the standard plan.

And as you’ve guessed, the CTA is our missing ingredient so far.

Clear and simple CTAs

A good CTA is clear, simple, and singular. Here are a few examples, and the implicit explanation that paints them as the one, clear, best next action to take:

• “Read the bonus plan FAQs.” If our answers to the top three most common questions haven’t addressed yours, you’ll find many more there.
• “Put your boss’s number in your phone—just in case.” That way, if he doesn’t respond to your email in a time-sensitive situation, you’ll be able to reach him quickly.”
  

If you need to include a second, closely related action for clarity—like “If you still have questions, talk to your manager or HR”—that’s fine. But make sure it supports your primary CTA instead of competing with it. Never ask your reader to choose between two equally weighted actions. Pick one, make it the star, and let everything else point toward it or support it.

In longer documents (like sales pages), you can repeat your primary CTA at strategic points (after each major section, or at the end) to remind your reader what you want them to do. Just make sure it’s the *same* CTA each time, not a new one.

How to tell if your CTA is working

Once your first draft is complete, review it with a critical eye:

• If you’re not sure what your CTA is, your reader definitely won’t be. Go back to your flight plan and clarify your objective. What’s the one thing you want them to do?
• If you have to explain your CTA after stating it, it’s not simple enough. Rewrite it as a single, clear action. No hedging, no “consider” or “think about.” Tell them what to do.
• If your reader has to hunt for what to do next, you’ve buried your CTA. Move it higher, repeat it at the end, or make it visually distinct (a button, a bold line, white space around it).

If your writing passes those three tests, your flight plan is working. Now you’re ready to revise.