Ep 54 - 3 Tiny Audience Warm-Up Tricks that Convert Better than a 10k Follower Count

Episode Show Notes

Hi, I’m Sarah Almond Bushell, and if you’ve ever wondered why people are watching your stories, liking your posts, but still not buying, then you’re in the right place. Today, we’re diving into the real reason your audience isn’t converting. Spoiler alert: it’s not your offer or content. It’s because you’ve skipped the most overlooked step in marketing strategy.

In this episode, I’m sharing how to build trust in teeny tiny ways that quietly but powerfully warm up your audience to work with you. These micro conversions are simple, quick, and perfect for busy business owners juggling life, work, and reheated coffee.

Episode Summary

You’re showing up online, sharing tips, posting stories, and still… nothing. It’s not you. The issue is your audience hasn’t been warmed up enough yet. Selling straight from a hello is like proposing marriage on a first date. Micro conversions are the gentle breadcrumbs that build trust and connection over time, helping your audience feel seen, understood, and ready to say yes.

Key Takeaways

1. Micro conversions are magic: Small actions like polls and questions create big results.

2. Actionable content is key: Add tiny calls to action to every post.

3. Use Instagram stories daily: Polls, sliders, and question boxes make engagement easy.

4. Start conversations: End posts with fun, low-stakes questions.

5. Trust the process: You don’t need a big audience, just the right actions.

Resources & Links

• Free Guide: How to Get Your First or Next 10 Clients – Includes scripts, strategies, and a tracker to keep you motivated.

• Share your biggest takeaway from today’s episode. I’d love to hear it!

Your Action Step for Today

Review your last three posts. Did you invite interaction? If not, tweak one and add a micro conversion like a poll or question, then share it again. These small, intentional moves will help build trust and attract your next client.

Thank you for tuning in to Beyond the Clinic. Let’s start warming up your audience the smart way. Bye for now!

I'd love to hear from you, click the link to 'text' the show directly

How to get your first or next ten clients: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/next-10-clients

Mindset Programme Waitlist: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/mindset-waitlist

The Master Plan:

Helping you build the business of your dreams. Get your 22 point step-by step workbook here: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/master-plan

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dietitiansinbusiness/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dietitiansinbusiness

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beyondtheclinicbusiness

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondTheClinicPodcast

Episode transcription:

Sarah Almond Bushell: [00:00:00] If you have ever wondered why people are watching your stories, liking your posts, but still not buying, then you are going to love this episode because today we're diving into the real reason that your audience isn't converting. And no, it's not because your offer is wrong or your content is bad. It's because you've skipped the most overlooked step in the whole marketing strategy.

You are going to learn how to build trust in teeny tiny ways that quietly but powerfully warm up people to work with you. And don't worry, this isn't about long-winded funnels or expensive tech or learning the latest reel dance. These are micro conversions moves that you can start using today straight after this episode.

Even if you've got hardly any time, you're low on energy and this whole business thing happens between school runs and reheating your coffees. [00:01:00] So, let me guess. You are showing up online. You are posting helpful tips. You are sharing your face on stories, and that even might be when you're in your dressing gown with a top knot and a toddler on your hip, and you're trying your absolute best to promote your offer.

You may have even done that awkward 'I've got a few spots left this month if you want to work with me' style post, you know the one that feels a bit salesy and also a little bit desperate, and yet. Nothing, not even a nibble. Maybe the odd, like from your mum or that random personal trainer who never buys anything but loves a story tap.

And you might be thinking, well, what am I doing wrong? Why is no one engaging with my stuff? Is it me? Or do I need to dance on reels? Do I need to learn transitions? Do I need to buy a ring light and sell my soul to the algorithm? And you know what, it is exhausting. And let's [00:02:00] be honest, when you've only got a tiny window each week to work on your business and the washing machines beeping in the background and watching your content fall flat.

It feels really disheartening. You are not lazy, you are not unqualified, you are not bad at marketing. You've just missed one very simple but very powerful step that nearly everyone skips in the beginning, and it's this. You need to warm up your audience before you pitch your offer. Because here's the thing, selling straight from a Hello is like proposing marriage on a first date.

And sure, yep, that works on Netflix Romcoms or Channel Fours married at first sight, but in real life, you'll scare people off faster than a Karen at a customer services desk. Now, here's where it gets really frustrating. You are pouring your heart and your [00:03:00] soul into your business. You might even be squeezing it in between nursery pickups and reheating that cuppa for the third time.

You are putting yourself out there, and that takes a lot of courage. But when your efforts are met with tumbleweeds, it does start to chip away at you, doesn't it? You do begin to wonder, maybe I'm just not cut out for all of this. Maybe I should just stick to the NHS. Maybe nobody wants what it is that I'm offering, and that is the most heartbreaking bit because you have got this incredible wealth of knowledge, years of training, and a genuine desire to help people.

You're not here to make a quick buck. You are here to make a real difference. But the online space. It's really noisy. It's filled with influencers, flogging skinny teas and business bros talking six figure launches from a beach in Bali. And here you are trying to do things ethically, calmly, and without dancing on Instagram to [00:04:00] a Dua Lipa remix.

And because your audience isn't interacting, it feels like they're not listening. But that is not actually true. They are watching, they're lurking. They're just not ready yet, and the reason for that is because they haven't been warmed up enough. It's like opening the oven door and wondering why your cake won't rise when you haven't actually switched the oven on in the first place.

Marketing isn't just about showing up, it's about strategically helping your audience move from. Who even is this to, oh wow, I need this in my life. And it's our job to coach our audience to help move them from wallowing in their pain to knowing that you hold the solution that they need. And without this warmup, you're always going to feel like you're chasing clients like you are constantly running yourself ragged, whilst stuck on a hamster wheel, powered by Canva and hope.[00:05:00]

And let's be honest, that isn't the business that you probably dreamt of building, is it? Not the one that gives you freedom, not the one that lets you clock off early for a cheeky Netflix binge and a massive bag of minstrels. We've all done that. We didn't start this to burn ourselves out over and over again.

Let me tell you about Louise. She was a client of mine. She's a pediatric dietitian, just like me, working part-time in the NHS. She's juggling kids, clients, trying to build a side business that doesn't swallow her whole. And when she first came to me, she was doing all of the things.

She was posting on Instagram three times a week. She was blogging once a fortnight. She had these beautifully polished Canva graphics. She'd even dipped her toe into reels, although she'll tell you now that she'd rather walk barefoot through a pile of Lego than point to floating words on the screen again. She [00:06:00] was doing what she heard was right. She was showing up, but nothing was happening for her.

No comments, no replies to her emails, and certainly no bookings. Louise was this close to throwing in the towel, so I did a content audit for her and when I looked at her content, I noticed some things straight away. She was skipping that warmup stage, that lovely nurture phase that happens in the middle.

Her content was jumping from, here's a helpful tip to book in with me now without any invitation for her audience to actually start communicating with her. So what we did was we stripped it right back. We designed a content strategy. We built in what I call microversion moments. So these are teeny tiny calls to action that got her audience involved in a super low pressure way.

Here's an example of what I mean by that. We ran [00:07:00] a simple Instagram poll. Which of these healthy toddler snacks would your kid actually eat? A or B? So that one post, we got 38 people voting, 12 commented, five clicked through to her lead magnet, and two actually became clients from one single poll. So there was no dancing.

There were no algorithms to worry about. There was no selling her soul to Zuckerberg. Just a small strategic shift that invited her audience to warm up, to feel safe, to feel seen, and to feel heard. And Louise now, well, she isn't chasing clients anymore. She's just attracting them directly to her, and that's because her audience is warm, it's engaged, it's connected, and that is the power of micro conversions.

And the best part of it is you actually don't need a big audience in order to make this work. You just need the [00:08:00] right kind of tiny actions from the audience that you've got to create really big results. So let's talk about how you can actually do this, how you can start building trust, how you can warm up your audience and set the stage for those beautiful, yes, I'm in messages that slide into your inbox without feeling like you're talking to a brick wall or putting on a performance just for the algorithm.

Because here's what I know for sure. Your people are out there and they do want to buy from you. They just need to feel safe. They need to feel understood, and they need to feel seen before they make that action.

And that's where micro conversions come in. So these are like gentle breadcrumbs that lead people from stranger danger to take my money I am in. These are small. No pressure action steps that build trust over time. And the good [00:09:00] news is you're probably already doing some of this. We're just going to turn the dial up a notch and be a bit more strategic about it.

So let me walk you through three micro conversion strategies that you can start using this week, this afternoon after you've listened to this episode. Number one, we want to make every piece of content actionable, even if the action is teeny tiny. So often we post something really valuable and then we leave it there we are leaving it floating in the feed.

There's no follow up, there's no invitation. We're just hoping it hits the right person at the right time. But here's the shift. Instead of treating your content like information, start treating it like a conversation. So that means asking for interaction. Now I'm not talking about people to comment or to fill out a 10 questionnaire form.

That is way too much. If you think about it, our audiences are passively [00:10:00] scrolling. They are tired. They may even be scrolling by the lying in bed. They may even be looking at their phones whilst half listening to pepper pig playing in the background. We want low effort. Easy win engagement.  

So try this instead of just offering tips, which of these breakfasts would actually work in your house A or B tag, a friend who's currently crying into their weetabix over fussy food fights. Or save this post for Monday morning when you are staring into the fridge wondering what to feed the kids. So these are all teeny, tiny little calls to action, but they train your audience to either respond, engage, or lean in.

And that makes a huge difference when it's time to promote your offers. So think of it like building a muscle. The more they interact, the stronger the connection becomes. So number two is to use Instagram stories like a friendly [00:11:00] pop quiz. So stories are gold for micro conversions because they're casual, they're real time.

You don't need to overthink them. And honestly, the more polished they are, the less human they feel. No one's expecting a Ted Talk and give Canva a swerve here too. Instagram gives you these little built-in tools that people love to tap. So polls, emoji sliders, question boxes, quizzes, you want to use them, and you want to use 'em daily if you can.

Now, don't let that feel overwhelming. A poll takes less than 30 seconds to set up. You could literally do one while you're waiting for the kettle to boil. So here's a few ideas. Are you a lunchbox prep on a Sunday kind of person or a last minute pack of Cheddars type? How confident are you with your toddlers portion sizes?

And then you might have a slider from not at all to I've got this. What is your biggest mealtime stress right [00:12:00] now? And then you'll just add a question box. And here's the secret sauce. Those people who engage, they're warm. They're interested. They've raised their hand and they're telling you that they are paying attention.

Those are the people that you want to follow up with when you want to sell something. Those are the people you invite to download your freebie to book a discovery call to buy your mini offer. And I'll go through exactly how to do this inside a free guide that I've got for you, and I'll tell you a bit more about that in a moment.

But before we do that, let me tell you about number three. So this is don't just post and ghost. It's all about starting conversations. And this one is really, really big because it's so easy to feel like we're doing marketing because we're posting. But marketing is not a one-way street. We are not the BBC news.

We are not just broadcasting [00:13:00] information into the world. We are small business owners. We are building relationships and relationships need two-way communication. So instead of ending your post or your email or whatever it is, with a full stop, end it with a question, even better. Make it a fun, really low stakes question.

Something that they can answer really, really quickly. Like, what's your go-to dinner when you're knackered and you can't be bothered to cook? Or tell me in the dms, what's your least favorite part of meal planning? Or when it comes to snacks, are you more of a homemade bliss balls type of girl, or a gosh, whatever's in the cupboard?

The reason why this works is people love to talk about themselves, especially when it feels informal and also judgment free. And once someone replies, that is your green light. You can start a chat, you can build rapport, and eventually when the time is right, [00:14:00] you invite them into your paid offer. So there's no cold pitch, there's no awkward energy.

Just flow. And I'll say this again because I know it's easy to get into your own head, but you do not need a big audience to make this work. You just need the right actions from the right people. And micro conversions are about how you spot who these right people are. It's how you build the trust before the pitch so you're not selling to an ice cold audience wondering why no one is saying yes.

And don't worry if you are thinking, well, this all sounds great, Sarah, but I'm not sure what to offer or who to send it to, or even what to say when I send it. I've got something that will help with that. I have created a free guide called How to Get Your First or Next 10 Clients, and it breaks this whole process down step by step what to sell based on what you already have.

I don't want you starting from scratch here. Who to sell it to. [00:15:00] So, hint, it's not strangers on the internet and how to present the offer in a way that doesn't feel salesy. And yes, it includes real examples, it includes scripts and it includes a tracker. Keep you motivated, as those clients start rolling in.

So I'll tell you a bit more in a moment, but if the cogs are turning and you're thinking, yes, please just know it's waiting for you in the show notes. Okay, let us bring this all together. We've made this really simple. You've learned what micro conversions are. You've learned how they work in the real world, and you've seen just how powerful a single poll or a question or a DM can be providing you follow up.

But just listening isn't enough. You have got to take action after this episode. So here is your homework, your action step for today. Number one, go and look at your last three pieces of [00:16:00] content. It could be Instagram posts, it could be stories, it could be blogs, it could even be emails. And ask yourself, did I invite anyone to do something?

Did I offer a vote? Did I ask a question? Did I start a conversation? If the answer is no, that's no worries. You're not in trouble. But just pick one of those posts and tweak it. Add a microversion, a tiny low lift action that gets your audience involved, and go and share it again, because this is where things start to shift.

And if you want more help doing this with the actual words to say and the strategy that works, even if you've only got 200 followers, that free guide I mentioned is perfect for you. So as I said, it's called How to Get Your First or Next 10 Clients, and inside you'll find how to spot the warm leads already in your world, you'll know what to offer them using stuff you've already created and you'll know exactly how to present that offer without it coming [00:17:00] across as salesy.

You'll also get my 10 client challenge tracker, so you can literally tick off those wins as they happen and the link is in the show notes. So do go and grab your copy and let's start warming up your audience the smart way. So now you know it's not about shouting louder or working from dawn till dusk. It's about making small, intentional moves that create connection and trust because your next client isn't waiting for you to be perfect and polished.

They're just waiting to feel seen. And these micro conversions are how you show them that they matter. So whether you are just starting out or whether you are gearing up ahead of your next big launch, it's, this kind of gentle marketing that really, truly builds momentum. But keep it really simple. Keep it human.

Keep inviting people into your world in small doable ways. And when you're ready to go deeper, don't forget to grab your free [00:18:00] copy of how to get your first or next 10 clients. It is your shortcut to getting unstuck and finally seeing results from all of the effort that you're putting in. Bye for now.