Why Your Audience Isn't Buying (Even Though They Love Your Content)

You're getting engagement.

Likes. Saves. The occasional "this is so helpful!" comment. Maybe even DMs saying "I love your content."

But when you open cart? When you launch the thing? When you finally ask for the sale?

Crickets. Or not quite crickets — but nowhere close to what you expected.

So you assume the offer is wrong. Or the price is off. Or your audience "just isn't ready to buy."

Here's the thing: The offer probably isn't the problem. The timing is.

You're putting the right message in front of the right people at the wrong stage of their journey.

And until you fix that, you'll keep hearing "I love your stuff!" from people who never buy.

The $5,000 Charcuterie Board Problem

Let me show you what's actually happening in most people's marketing.

You hand someone a free sample at the grocery store. They take a bite of cheese. And immediately you go:

"Cool, wanna buy my $5,000 charcuterie board?"

That's what's happening in your funnel right now. And you're wondering why people don't want to buy.

That's not how a buyer's journey works. Period.

They need time. They need context. They need to understand why the cheese matters — and how the board makes sense for them.

But you're skipping all of that and going straight for the sale.

→ Learn how to fix your buyer journey in 30 minutes

The Pushy Store Greeting

Here's another way to think about it.

Running ads to cold traffic asking them to buy your $2,000 offer is like someone walking into your store, you shaking their hand, and immediately saying:

"Hey, what do you want to buy? I have this thing. Do you want to buy it?"

No one likes that.

I don't know how many times I've walked into a store and someone's like, "How can I help you? Do you need a basket?" And it's like — just give me a second to breathe.

But apparently in the online space, it's an okay thing to do.

It's not.

The Headache Problem

Here's another piece of this:

Your audience is feeling the symptoms of their problem. They don't even know what the problem actually is. And here you are trying to tell them the solution.

It's like this:

Someone has a pounding headache. They think it's from lack of sleep. So they buy melatonin. New pillow. Sleep tea.

But you — the expert — know it's actually from screen time and dehydration. You offer blue light glasses and a water tracker.

They're confused. That's not what they asked for.

So they walk away. Not because they don't need help. But because you skipped the part where you explain what's really going on.

You jumped from their symptom to your solution without helping them understand the actual problem.

The Three Types of People In Your Funnel

Let's simplify this. There are really only three types of people coming into your world:

1. Symptom-Aware

"Why isn't my freebie converting?"

They're noticing something's off. They're feeling the symptoms but can't name the problem. They know something isn't working, but they don't know why.

2. Problem-Aware

"Oh, maybe it's the structure of my funnel."

They're starting to understand what's actually wrong. They can name the problem. But they don't know the solution yet.

3. Solution-Aware

"Okay, I need to rebuild my funnel with messaging that builds trust."

They're ready for your offer. They know the problem AND the solution. Now they're deciding if YOU are the right person to help.

Here's What's Going Wrong

You're talking to group #3 while most of your people are still in group #1.

Most of the time, I see people offering consideration and investment stage calls-to-action and content to folks who are at the awareness stage.

They're asking someone to buy their $2,000 thing — to a person who may not even be problem-aware yet, let alone solution-aware, let alone bought-in to YOUR solution.

And then they wonder why there's buyer remorse. Or why no one's buying at all.

The offer isn't in the wrong place because it's a bad offer. It's in the wrong place because the person seeing it isn't ready for it yet.

→ Get the free workshop: Map your buyer journey properly

The Four Stages People Actually Move Through

Beyond symptom/problem/solution awareness, there's another layer to this. Here's how I think about the stages people move through before they buy:

Stage	Where They're At	What They Need From You
Awareness	Cold traffic. Never heard of you. May not even be problem-aware yet.	Education. Entertainment. Value. NOT content about you or your mission yet — they don't care.
Familiarity	They know you exist. Becoming problem-aware. Starting to pay attention.	Introduce your brand. Your processes. Behind the scenes. Case studies. Deepen the connection.
Consideration	Problem-aware AND solution-aware. Considering if YOU are the right solution.	Position why you're the right fit. More case studies. NOW they're ready to hear about your offer.
Investment	Ready to pull out their credit card. They've said yes all the way here.	Final reminders. Clear path to purchase. Bonuses expiring. Natural scarcity.

This isn't static. People move back and forth through these stages.

But your role? Move people from left to right — from awareness to investment.

And here's the key: You need ALL of this messaging.

It's not like "I'm going to start with awareness and maybe integrate the rest later." All of it is needed to move people through these stages and keep them moving forward.

The Visibility Ecosystem (And Why You Need One)

What you need is a visibility ecosystem — a system that connects all your pieces and moves people through a journey. Not just content that exists.

Remember this equation:

That system is your visibility ecosystem. And it runs whether you're launching or not. Posting or not. Replying to comments or napping.

When your ecosystem is working, you're not just "showing up." You're strategically moving people from "never heard of you" to "ready to buy."

What This Looks Like In Practice

Let me break down what each stage actually requires:

Stage 1: Awareness

Your freebie lives here. Quick wins. Value. Education.

The goal isn't to sell — it's to solve a SYMPTOM they're feeling right now. Not the full problem. Not the whole framework. Just enough to make them think, "Wait, this person gets it."

What works: Checklists, cheatsheets, templates, short guides. Things they can consume in under 15 minutes.

What doesn't work: Asking them to buy. Talking about your offer. Sharing your mission statement. They don't care yet.

Stage 2: Familiarity

Your welcome sequence lives here. Your nurture content. Your behind-the-scenes.

The goal is to build trust. Share your brain. Show them what's possible.

What works: Your story (why you do what you do). Quick wins and value. Results and social proof. Teasers of what's coming.

What doesn't work: Pitching immediately. Hard selling. Treating every email like a sales opportunity.

Stage 3: Consideration

Your pre-launch content lives here. Case studies. Workshops. Challenges.

The goal is to help them move from "I think I have a problem" to "I'm ready to solve it — with you."

What works: Why your offer exists. Who it's for (and who it's not for). What it solves. What happens if they wait.

What doesn't work: Marketing speak. Vague promises. Skipping straight to "buy now."

Stage 4: Investment

Your launch lives here. Cart open. Sales emails. Final calls to action.

The goal is conversion. They've been saying yes all along the way — now you're giving them the clear path to purchase.

What works: Clear path to buy. Urgency that makes sense. Final reminders. Addressing last objections.

What doesn't work: Convincing from scratch. If you're still explaining why they need this, they're not at this stage yet.

The 75% Rule

Here's something most people don't realize:

75% of what makes a launch work happens BEFORE you ever open cart.

Phase	When	% of Success
Pre-Pre-Launch (Awareness + Familiarity)	4-12 weeks before	~35%
Pre-Launch (Consideration)	1-2 weeks before	~40%
Launch (Investment)	5-10 days	~20%
Post-Launch	1 week after	~5%

Most people only execute the "cart open" phase — the final 25% of a launch.

Then they wonder why nobody's buying.

Opening cart without building momentum is like showing up to a party no one knew was happening.

You have to earn the right to sell by building trust BEFORE you ask.

→ Want to map this out for YOUR launch? Get the workshop

The Nurture Ratio

Here's a number to remember:

80% nurture. 20% selling.

Nurture means: provide value, build trust, stay present.

Selling means: make a direct ask, create urgency, close the deal.

Most people flip this ratio — they're selling 80% of the time and wondering why no one's buying.

A great ecosystem builds trust by rotating between providing pure value and presenting relevant offers. This rhythm makes the sales feel like a helpful next step rather than a pushy pitch.

The Offer Soup Audit

Before you launch (or re-launch), you need to see what you're working with.

Most people have "offer soup" — a bunch of disconnected pieces floating around with no clear path between them.

Ask yourself:

• Does my lead magnet clearly connect to my core offer?
• Does my content address each stage of the buyer journey?
• Is there a clear path: freebie → nurture → offer?
• Do I know where people are dropping off?
• Do my emails reinforce the buyer journey?
• Can I measure which stage is underperforming?

What This Means For Your Launch

Here's the shift:

Instead of planning a launch around what you want to sell, plan it around where your audience actually is.

If most of your audience is symptom-aware:
You need more time in the pre-pre-launch phase. More awareness content. More list building. More trust building before you ever mention your offer.

If most of your audience is problem-aware:
You need strong pre-launch content. A workshop or challenge. Something that helps them connect "I have this problem" to "this person has a solution."

If most of your audience is solution-aware:
You're ready to launch. Cart open. Clear CTA. Make it easy to buy.

The mistake is launching to an awareness-stage audience with investment-stage messaging.

That's the charcuterie board problem. And it's why your launches aren't converting.

How To Fix It

Here's what I'd do:

The Bottom Line

Your audience isn't ignoring your offer because it's bad.

They're ignoring it because they're not ready for it yet.

Fix the journey, and the sales follow.