Take it out. It’s shameless.

This was one of my oldest clients, suggesting I remove the cheesy call-to-action at the end of a recent article. And I couldn’t have been happier to oblige, since overt selling usually makes me squirm.

Usually. But for once I’d second guessed my disdain for telling readers what to do (‘book now!’, ‘don’t delay!’, ‘appointments limited!’) and thought maybe I should get with the times and wrap up the blog post with a pitch. Something that segued from the ideas presented in the post to the hard sell.

After all, aren’t marketers told to state the obvious? Aren’t we reminded to hit consumers over the head with their own shortcomings, then present the solution? Doesn’t every piece of content have to pull its own weight and sell?

I’ve always questioned this approach.

In an age of bullshit awareness, most people know when you’re trying to manipulate them. Or trying too hard at all. If you’ve ever seen someone get wasabi in their eye, you’ll know the kind of face readers pull when the article they were just reading suddenly turns into a self-promotion show.

In truth, if someone’s reading something they like, they’ll seek out who wrote it.

If someone vibes with a post on Facebook, they’ll stalk the shit out of that business.

If you’re an expert showing your expertise, in one way or another, enchanted readers/listeners/viewers will hunt you down. And they will book.

I momentarily misstepped in my ‘defy idiotic marketing’ march, but have my client - a practitioner of great integrity - to thank for nudging me back into line.

You’re welcome to join the parade.