A Real Example of a Facebook Promo Gone Wrong

Recently, I read an intriguing post in one of my Facebook groups. It went as follows:

“I published a Facebook post and had 9 people saying they are interested! Then I sent a message to each one. And got crickets! Now what? Trying to stay positive.”

As a copywriter, my immediate thought was that the author of this post did not share the value of what she was offering or that her message was unclear in some way. So, I read the responses.

The first response fell in line with my thoughts. It began:

“Think about what was said in the message. When they said they were interested, did they know about the cost…did you show value in the message? And how long have you waited for a response?”

The author said she had “shown value” and that she had included the fee, and then admitted that she had waited 5 days to respond to their initial messages. Three days later, she hadn’t heard back from anyone.

Another response gave a great suggestion:

“I think the problem might be that you messaged them first. I don’t appreciate PM’s without being asked so they might feel the same. It’s good that you have people interested but when you post again, those who say they are interested maybe reply to their comments with something along the lines of ‘that’s fabulous, please feel free to pop me a quick PM and I’ll give you more details.’ This way it’s not like they’re being hassled but instead they are choosing to come to you.”

As I continued to read further, I had to laugh. This was the REAL REASON why the author did not receive any sales:

“There’s no link to a method to pay you.”

That explains it all so clearly!

You can share all the value you want and get responses to your offer, but if you don’t make it easy for someone to buy, they won’t make a purchase.

So, if you have a product, service, or program that you’re promoting without results, go back to your sales messages and check these simple fixes.

Have a clear message and show the value (benefits/outcomes) of what you’re offering.
If you want people to “buy now,” let them know the cost or they may assume what you are offering is free.
Give people an easy way to buy! Share a link to your payment processor or add a BUY NOW button.
Follow up on all responses quickly. In this case, waiting 5 days is too late. They’ve already forgotten the offer and moved on to someone else.
Offer a no-risk guarantee so they can be confident of their purchase.
Include your telephone number, email address, and your location (city and province/state) on your Website so buyers will feel confident they can contact you, if necessary.