CTA I despise you.- Note- CTA refers to Call to Action, not the subway in Chicago.

Is a Call to Action generous? Does it serve the customer?

Curious people don't need to be told to subscribe or to sign-up. Instead, the pursuit of something new is the only call to action needed.

For example, I have a subscription to the New Yorker. This week there was a story about the jazz artist Sun Ra. The article talked about the reissue of his album Lanquidity and discussed a song on the album called Where Pathways Meet.

At the end of the article, there wasn't a call to action to listen to Sun Ra or buy the album.

I know where to find Sun Ra. So I went to Spotify, typed in Lanquidity, and up came the album.

As I write this post, I am listening to Where Pathways Meet.

In every class or workshop I have taken, someone will tell you that you need a Call to Action or a CTA.

Who does a Call to Action serve? To be truthful, when I am watching a YouTube video, and I get 3-5 calls to action, it gets on my nerves.

I would rather just watch the material, and then if it is good, I will subscribe. My own work has calls to action, so I am trying not to be a hypocrite. Still, I do not put multiple Calls to Action or Arrows saying sign up. I refuse to do that. Maybe I am being stubborn, or maybe I am hoping curious people will find my work. I also hope they will come back, and if they do, it won't be because I used a CTA; it will be because my work is worthy of a return visit.

Think about it: when you eat a meal or see a great movie, what do you discuss? The performances of the actor, and the taste of the food or the Call to Action?

I know that CTA's work. If they didn't, people wouldn't use them. I grant that fact and admit that this piece doesn't come from any proof that CTA's are bad, just from my own experience. My own grumpy disposition behind tried and true marketing strategy isn't a manifesto or declaration. It just is. As a consumer, I don't like them, or maybe as a consumer, I have been burned by them so many times that I distrust them and trust my own curiosity. At least I know I am working for my own benefit.

People who market items discuss CTA's. Customers talk about the product. So who do you want more of when it comes to your work? People, who want to market your work? Or customers who will buy your work, then turn around and tell others?