What is Call to Action?
A call-to-action (CTA) is a prompt asking listeners to take a specific action—subscribing, leaving a review, visiting a website, sharing the episode, or supporting the show. Effective CTAs guide listeners toward behaviors that grow your podcast.
Common Podcast CTAs
| Action | When to Use | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribe | Every episode | Core growth metric |
| Leave a review | Periodically | Social proof, charts |
| Share episode | Great episodes | Organic reach |
| Visit website | When relevant | Engagement, email |
| Support/donate | After delivering value | Revenue |
| Follow social | Building community | Direct relationship |
CTA Best Practices
Do:
- Be specific ("Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts")
- Explain the benefit ("Reviews help us reach more people")
- Make it easy ("Link in the show notes")
- Limit CTAs per episode (1-2 primary)
- Vary CTAs across episodes
Don't:
- Stack multiple CTAs together
- Ask before delivering value
- Be vague ("Support the show somehow")
- Ask every episode for the same thing
- Make it feel transactional
CTA Placement
| Position | Best For |
|---|---|
| Pre-roll | Subscribe, context-setting |
| Mid-episode | Episode-specific actions |
| Post-episode | Reviews, support, community |
| Show notes | Links, resources, all CTAs |
CTA Scripting Examples
Subscribe:
"If you're enjoying this show and you haven't subscribed yet, hit that follow button in your podcast app. That way, you'll never miss an episode."
Review:
"If you've gotten value from this podcast, I'd really appreciate a review on Apple Podcasts. It takes two minutes and helps new listeners find us."
Share:
"Know someone who would love this episode? Send them a link—you can find share buttons in your podcast app."
Why It Matters
Listeners want to support shows they love but often don't know how. CTAs provide clear direction—turning passive listeners into active participants in your podcast's growth.
Why CTAs matter:
-
Direction: Listeners don't automatically know what helps most.
-
Conversion: Explicit asks convert significantly better than hoping.
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Measurable actions: CTAs create trackable growth activities.
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Relationship building: Responding to CTAs deepens listener investment.
The ask gap: Many podcasters never explicitly ask for support. The result: listeners who would happily help don't know how.
| Without CTA | With CTA |
|---|---|
| Hope listeners review | 2-5% review after ask |
| Assume they'll subscribe | Higher subscribe rate |
| Trust organic sharing | Share rate increases |
CTA effectiveness factors:
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Specificity | Higher conversion |
| Timing (after value) | Higher compliance |
| Reasoning (why it helps) | Higher motivation |
| Ease (clear instructions) | Lower friction |
| Frequency (not excessive) | Maintained goodwill |
The value-first principle: Always deliver value before asking. CTAs after a great episode feel like a fair exchange. CTAs before earning trust feel extractive.