I’m setting the scene: You’re browsing through your favorite online clothing website, looking for a trendy new pair of jeans. A pop-up appears, saying, “People who bought this also bought…XYZ”.
This continues to happen with every product you’re looking at.
Sound familiar?
You’re just trying to check out the latest styles, but the website is already bombarding you with more and more product suggestions. It’s like you’ve barely entered the virtual store, and the digital salesperson is already pitching you stuff that you didn’t ask for.
Or, consider this — you’re scrolling through your Instagram feed, and every third post is a sponsored ad for those darn jeans. You don’t even follow these brands on Instagram. But here they are, in their glory trying to sell you something. How does that make you feel?
A secret, those ads are targeting you, thanks to Google.
This happened to me last winter…my arthritic knee was acting up so bad, I imagined my knee as a city, complete with tiny construction workers wearing hard hats and wielding jackhammers causing chaos and havoc.
I went to Amazon.ca and did a search for a knee brace. Found 2 good ones, clicked on the products. For the rest of the day and days to follow, ads for those two knee braces have been following me around Internet-land.
Does the phrase “Just looking, thanks!” spring to mind?
As a solopreneur, when you’re managing your social media, you want to avoid becoming that annoying “pop-up” or the unsolicited sponsored post in someone’s feed.
Now, go back and review your last ten social media posts. How many of them are directly selling something?
Unless you’re in launch mode, the majority should be posts of pure value, not promotional.
Personally, I like the 80–20 rule.
If you post once a day, every day, try sharing 5-6 posts that entertain, teach, or inspire them before you introduce a promotional post.
Your audience will appreciate this more relaxed, no-pressure approach.
It’s like being on a first date and now that I think of it, Joe and I got together using the 80–20 rule.
And I’ll take the chance of over-sharing 😂
- it started out with lunch
- then another lunch
- then dinner with drinks
- then dinner at my place (nope not there yet)
- then spent the weekend together.
- and we’ve been together since then… 29 years (as of August 2023).

after a meeting with a client (yes at the beach)
A huge benefit to sharing posts about “you” the person behind the business is that your audience sees that you’re a human being.
It’s about creating a balance and giving your audience the chance to learn more about you, before asking them to reach for their wallet.
To learn how to do this, get a free copy of “7 Days of Captions.” and see how you can use pre-written, customizable captions written to follow the 80-20 rule.
Until next time, stay inspired.
Gisèle
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