--- name: copywriting-cta description: Designs end-of-article CTAs โ€” copy, layout, placement, A/B test plan, accessibility โ€” for blog posts, newsletters, and essays. Use whenever the user asks to write, review, or improve a CTA at the bottom of an article; mentions "end-of-post CTA", "call-to-action", "signup box", "newsletter CTA", "subscribe block", or "what should I put at the bottom"; or asks how to turn readers into subscribers, leads, customers, or paying supporters. Covers personal blogs, paid newsletters (Substack, beehiiv, Ghost), and brand content-marketing blogs. Do NOT use for opening hooks, ledes, or post titles โ€” use samber/cc-skills@copywriting-hooks instead. Not for landing-page, ad, or email copy. user-invocable: true license: MIT compatibility: Designed for Claude or similar AI agents. metadata: author: samber version: "1.1.2" openclaw: emoji: "๐ŸŽฏ" homepage: https://github.com/samber/cc-skills allowed-tools: Read Edit Write Glob Grep Agent AskUserQuestion --- **Questions:** Ask the user through the environment's question tool โ€” never as plain-text prose. One question at a time, 2โ€“4 tappable options, wait for the answer. If the environment has no question tool, ask in prose with the same options, one at a time. # End-of-Article CTA Designer Designing an end-of-article CTA is a function of three inputs: the **objective** (what action), the **audience** (who reads it, in what relationship to the author), and the **context** (independent writing, newsletter, brand publication). Get those three right and the copy + form follow almost mechanically. Skip them and you get the universal failure mode: a generic "Subscribe for more" or "Learn More" that converts at the noise floor. This skill runs a tight interview to capture those three inputs, then prescribes a CTA: copy (what it says), form (how it looks and sits on the page), mechanism (whether to use urgency, scarcity, curiosity, reciprocity, social proof, or none), an A/B test plan, and an accessibility check. --- ## Workflow Run the four steps below in order. Do not skip the interview. The user may have given partial context already; pull what's available from the conversation, then ask only for the missing pieces. ### Step 1 โ€” Interview Ask one question at a time. Do not stack questions in prose. Each question must have 2-4 tappable options. Fall back to free text only if the answer genuinely cannot be enumerated. Ask these in order, skipping any already answered: **Q1. Article context.** Options: `Personal / independent blog or essay` ยท `Newsletter / paid publication (Substack, beehiiv, Ghost, etc.)` ยท `Brand / company / content-marketing blog` ยท `Other (free text)` **Q2. Primary objective.** (Pick the one outcome you most want from a reader who finishes the article. If they say "all of them," push back: multiple objectives is the #1 cause of CTA failure.) Options: - `Newsletter / email subscription` - `Social follow / personal branding` - `Lead generation (download / gated asset)` - `Product or service signup / free trial` - `Demo or sales call booking` - `Direct purchase` - `Community join (Discord / Slack / forum)` - `Engagement (reply / comment / share / restack)` - `Reader support (paid subscription / tip / sponsorship)` - `Try-it / direct action (use the code, run the tool, fork the template, open the calculator)` - `Other (free text)` If the user lists more than one, ask which is primary. You can offer 1-2 secondaries later, but the primary must be singular. **Q3. Audience and relationship.** Options: `First-time visitor (organic search / social)` ยท `Returning reader, not subscribed` ยท `Existing subscriber / customer` ยท `Mixed / unknown` **Q4. Funnel stage.** (Where is the reader mentally?) Options: `TOFU: discovery, learning, no buying intent yet` ยท `MOFU: evaluating options, comparing` ยท `BOFU: ready to act, just needs a nudge` ยท `Not applicable (no buying funnel โ€” e.g., personal blog, journalism, hobby content)` **Q5. Mechanism preference.** (Only ask if a mechanism could legitimately help. See `references/mechanisms.md`. For sophisticated, skeptical, or repeat-reader audiences, default to "None / value-only" without asking.) Options: `None: value statement only` ยท `Curiosity gap ("Want to know more?")` ยท `Reciprocity (free asset first)` ยท `Discount / offer` ยท `Urgency (real deadline)` ยท `Scarcity / FOMO (limited spots)` ยท `Social proof (count / testimonial)` Capture any free-text constraints the user volunteers (length limit, brand voice, no popups, multi-language, etc.). Note them. ### Step 2 โ€” Diagnose Map the inputs to a CTA archetype. The decision logic: ``` context = INDEPENDENT / PERSONAL โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = newsletter / email โ†’ Archetype A: Author-signature subscribe โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = try-it / direct action โ†’ Archetype B: Inline action + source link โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = reader support / tip โ†’ Archetype C: Reader-supported funding link โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = community โ†’ Archetype D: Proof-counted community invite โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = social follow โ†’ Archetype A (variant: lead with social links) โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = engagement โ†’ Archetype E: Specific reply prompt โ””โ”€โ”€ objective = product / demo โ†’ โš ๏ธ FLAG. Only valid on personal/professional blog where the author IS the product (consultants, coaches, solo founders, indie devs). Frame as "if you hit this, here's how I help" โ€” never "Book a Demo" verbatim. context = NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = growth / subs โ†’ Archetype F: Share/restack + native widget โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = engagement โ†’ Archetype E: Specific reply prompt โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = paid conversion โ†’ Archetype G: Value-gap tease โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = monetization / sponsor โ†’ Archetype H: Inline sponsor block (not bottom) โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = community โ†’ Archetype D โ””โ”€โ”€ objective = direct purchase โ†’ Archetype K (rare on newsletters; use BOFU only) context = BRAND / CONTENT MARKETING โ”œโ”€โ”€ stage = TOFU โ†’ Archetype I: Transitional asset (lead magnet) โ”œโ”€โ”€ stage = MOFU โ†’ Archetype J: Direct + Transitional pair โ”œโ”€โ”€ stage = BOFU โ†’ Archetype K: Direct CTA + risk reversal โ”œโ”€โ”€ objective = community โ†’ Archetype D โ””โ”€โ”€ objective = engagement โ†’ Archetype E (rarely the right call here) ``` Read `references/taxonomy.md` for the full archetype catalog with copy templates, form specs, when each works, and verbatim examples from named publications. ### Step 3 โ€” Compose the recommendation Output the recommendation in this exact structure. Do not deviate. Do not add filler. ```markdown ## Recommended CTA **Archetype:** [letter + name from decision tree] **Why this fits:** [1-2 sentences naming the input combination] ### Content (copy) **Headline / value line:** > [exact text] **Body / proof line (1-2 lines):** > [exact text] **Button copy:** > [exact text] **Risk reversal / subtext (if applicable):** > [exact text, or "Omit: would feel forced for this audience"] ### Form (structure) - **Placement:** [end-only / end + sticky / end + mid-article repeat] - **Visual weight:** [low / medium / high, with justification] - **Layout:** [single button / button + text link / native widget cluster / one-line signature] - **Proof to co-locate:** [subscriber count / star count / testimonial / named recommenders / logo wall / none] ### Mechanism [Named mechanism + 1 sentence on why it is appropriate, OR "None: value statement carries it. Mechanisms would erode trust for this audience."] ### A/B test plan - **First test:** [single variable, e.g., button copy A vs. B] - **Why this one first:** [1 sentence] - **Sample size needed:** [rough estimate based on baseline traffic, or "skip A/B for now โ€” traffic too low" with the alternative recommendation] - **Next 2 tests to queue:** [in priority order] ### Accessibility check - **Color contrast:** [target ratio + concrete pairing if colors known] - **Touch target:** [size requirement] - **Semantic markup:** [