---
title: "Calls to action"
description: "What a published post asks the reader to do, where it appears, and where each call to action comes from."
updated: "2026-08-18"
verifiedAgainst:
  - packages/shared/src/cta-policy.ts
  - packages/shared/src/cta-paths.ts
  - packages/shared/src/index.ts
---

Every published post can carry a call to action. What it says and where it sits
is configurable per post, per Direction, and per Project.

## Style and placement

<PropertyList>
  <Property name="style" type="button | hyperlink">
    A button is unmissable. A hyperlink inside a sentence is quieter and often
    converts better in a technical audience.
  </Property>
  <Property name="placement" type="after_intro | mid_article | near_end | end | section_specific">
    Where it appears. `section_specific` places it against a particular section
    rather than at a fixed depth.
  </Property>
</PropertyList>

## Where a call to action comes from

| Source | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `brand` | Your product's standard paths |
| `direction` | The Content Direction's own choice |
| `settings` | The Project's default |
| `manual` | You added it to this post |
| `ai` | Proposed during drafting |

Knowing the source matters when a post carries one you did not expect: the
answer is usually the Direction. See [Content Directions](/content/directions).

## Choosing per Direction

Each Direction picks the kind of call to action its posts carry: book a demo,
start a trial, a lead magnet, the newsletter, or none. A top of funnel lane
asking for a demo converts worse than the same lane offering the newsletter.

## Measuring

Views and clicks are recorded per call to action, so the question "does this
work" has an answer rather than an opinion. See
[CTA and lead performance](/analytics/conversion).