Stop pitching today and earn tomorrow’s yes with five useful jabs

You’ve been posting, but every caption somehow bends toward “book now.” It’s not spammy, exactly, but it feels like a handshake that turns into a sales grip. One Tuesday, you decide to try a different rhythm. You list one problem your people keep repeating in DMs: they’re stuck, and they’re tired. Your phone buzzes on the desk as you draft five small posts—two tips, a short story, a meme that punches up not down, and a 20‑second fix filmed in afternoon light.

By Thursday, someone comments, “This saved me ten minutes.” Another writes, “I sent this to my sister.” It’s not fireworks, but it’s warmer. You resist the urge to slide a discount into the comments. On Friday night, over slightly cold coffee, you plan the ask: one clear line, one button, one page. The product actually solves the thing you’ve been helping with all week, which makes the offer feel like the next step, not an interruption. You hit schedule and go for a walk.

On Monday, results trickle in. Fewer likes on the ask than the jabs, but more clicks than any post you’ve made. A student messages, “Finally bought, thanks for last week.” You smile, then check your notes. Maybe five jabs is right for now, maybe you’ll need seven later. I might be wrong, but the pattern seems obvious: value builds readiness. Social exchange theory calls this reciprocity, and habit researchers note that repeated positive micro‑interactions lower resistance. Pair that with a single, specific call to action and you’ve got a behavioral path of least friction.

Start by naming one real pain point your people feel, then sketch five tiny posts that either solve, cheer, or teach around it. Keep them native to the platform—short video where video rules, clean carousels where swipes matter—and schedule them across the week. After those gifts, place a single ask that directly matches the problem you’ve been helping with, on a fast mobile page with one button. Watch the human signals—comments, saves, replies—and the hard ones—clicks and buys—and adjust the ratio up or down based on what you see. Stick with the rhythm long enough to learn how your audience says yes. Give it a try tonight.