We all know that prickly person where the best way to get them to do what you want is to convince them it was their idea in the first place. You need to come at them a little differently, bringing them around to your idea without having specifically telling them what to do. Your customers are a little like this and you’ll get better results if you convince them that buying your stuff was their idea and not something you told them to do.

To take it one step farther than what we discussed in the last post, you’re almost never going to directly command your audience to make a purchase. No matter how prevalent messages like, “Buy my book!” or “Visit my store!” have become, that’s what you’re doing with a statement like that. Commanding your audience to give you their money and does anyone really like being told what do to?

This is the face I make when someone tells me to do something, be it to buy their product or to retweet their message:

But, clearly, I am a consumer of content. I buy things all the time. There’s a way to win over my wallet. But how?

By not telling me what to do. By luring me in with something I’m interested in and then making sure there’s links to what you have for sale right alongside. By winning me over and turning me into a fan so that I’ll seek your stuff out myself.