Ep 38. Why ‘DM me’ doesn’t work (and what to say instead)

I see so many people spend ages on a post and it lands really well – people are engaging and sharing, but nothing actually happens to get them closer to working with them, no one gets in touch.

And that’s usually because the next step you want them to take isn’t really clear to them. When I talk about CTAs, what I mean is call to actions, and that’s that line at the end of your post where you ask people to do something.

Now you might think it’s obvious that you want them to comment or share or something, or you might feel like asking at the end feels pushy or salesy, but people are lazy. They need to be told what the next step is, so we’ve gotta spell it out.

If you want them to comment with their thoughts, put that at the end, or if you want them to share it, put that at the end. Don’t just assume they’re gonna do what you want them to do.

I audit so much content where I’m like, OK the post is good, but what do you want me to do next? There’s no call to action. I find myself saying that line a lot, which is what’s inspired this episode. 

And I get it right, you’ve just given someone value and you don’t wanna ruin it by being all salesy at the end, so people either don’t include one at all or you throw in a vague “DM me” and hope someone bites. But if you don’t tell people what to do next, they won’t do anything.

That’s not because they don’t want to, it’s usually because they don’t know what you want them to do or they’re just thinking, why should I bother? What’s in it for me?

A lot of people will end their posts by saying, “DM me, if you want to find out more”.

So today we’re gonna talk about why putting “DM me” at the end of your post doesn’t work and what kind of CTAs actually get people taking action.

I’ll give you some examples as normal so you could see how you could use them in your own content.

If you’re new here, hello. Welcome to Quiet Confidence with myself, Anita Popat. This is a podcast for introverts who want to market their thing without changing who you are.

[00:01:32] Let’s start with why saying “DM me” falls flat because once you understand this, everything else will make more sense.

When you end a post with just “DM me” or “send me a message”, what are you asking your audience to do? DM you about what? And what happens when they do DM you?

It’s too vague and there’s no clear reason to act and no clarity on what they’re gonna get when they do take that action.

Think about it from their perspective. They’ve just read your post, they’re interested, but now they’re thinking, OK DM them and say what exactly? Just hi?

That feels a bit awkward, right? So they probably won’t bother. They’ll just scroll past and maybe save the post and think they’ll come back to it later. (But we know that they probably won’t).

Now compare that to something like, “if you want to know the exact framework I use, DM me the word framework and I’ll send it over”. That’s really clear, right?

They know exactly what to say and what they’re getting when they send you that DM. There’s no awkwardness about starting a conversation out of nowhere, or even better, you could say something like, “if you’re struggling with this exact thing, I’ve got a free guide that walks you through it step by step, head over to the link in bio to get it”.

So again, now they know exactly what to do and where to find what they’re looking for.

I think the problem with saying “DM me” on its own is that it puts all the work on your audience to figure out what to say and whether it’s worth reaching out, and most people won’t do that work. They’re just gonna keep scrolling.

It’s not that your content isn’t good, it’s probably your CTA. It’s not giving people a clear enough reason to act.

[00:02:55] So what makes a good call to action?

There’s actually two things that need to be really clear. You need to tell them what they’re gonna get and what they need to do to get it.

It sounds obvious, but most CTAs miss at least one of those.

For example, if you just say “link in bio”, people might think, what’s in the link? Why should I click it and what am I getting? Or if you say, “comment below” – to say what? what happens when I comment?

A good call to action will answer both of these questions before someone even has to think about it.

Instead of me saying go to the link in bio, I could say something like, “get my free content planning template from my bio. It’ll give you 30 days of post ideas you can use right away”.

So now my audience knows what’s in the link and why they should click on it, or if you want someone to comment to get something, instead of saying comment below, you could try something like, “drop an emoji /this word below and I’ll send you the template”. 

[00:03:41] The formula’s pretty simple, right? You tell them what they’re gonna get, and then you tell them exactly what to do to get it.

But this is where people get stuck. They think it sounds too salesy or like you’re being pushy by telling people what to do, but you’re not.

You’re actually being really helpful. You are removing that friction and making it easy for someone who’s interested to take the next step.

If someone just read your post and found it valuable and they want more, they’re not gonna work hard to figure out how to get it so you need to make it really obvious.

Think of it like this. If you were at a networking event and someone asked you a question, you wouldn’t say, oh, DM me later and walk away, right?

You’d say, yeah, I’ve actually got a guide on that. Here’s my card, email me and I’ll send it over. That’s being really helpful, and the same thing applies online.

The key is to make sure that what you’re offering genuinely helps them with the thing you just talked about.

For example, if I had a post about content strategy and my CTA was book a call, that’s quite a big jump, but if my CTA was join my email list for weekly content tips, that’s a natural next step from the content that they’ve just consumed online.

Just like different content has different goals, different call to actions can be used for different goals too.

Not every post needs to have the same one, but what you’re asking for should match what the content was about and where someone probably is in their journey with you.

[00:04:48] Let me walk you through different types of CTAs that you can use, depending on the goal that you’ve got.

So when you wanna build your email list, you can say something like, if you want more like this, I send a weekly email with strategies you won’t see anywhere else link in bio to join.

That’s really clear. They know what they’re signing up for and why it’s different from just following you on your socials.

If you wanna start a conversation, you could say something like, if this resonates, DM me the word desire, and let’s talk about where you’re actually getting tripped up and how to get to where you wanna go. You’ve given them a specific word to say and you’ve told them what the conversation will be about. It feels much less awkward than DM me for a chat, right?

If you want people to engage with your content, you could say, which one of these resonates the most? Comment the number below. It’s simple and specific, and also helps you do a bit of market research by helping you understand what your audience really cares about.

When you wanna grow your visibility, you could say something like, if you know someone who needs to hear this, tag them below or share it to your stories.

When you want to offer something free that leads to your paid work you can say, I’ve got a free 15 minute training that breaks this down, step by step head over to the link in bio to get it. That’s clear value and clear action again.

If you want someone to book a call, you could say something like, if you’re dealing with this right now, and want help figuring it out, I’ve got three spots open this week for a free strategy session, DM me strategy, to grab one.

So in this CTA, you’ve created a bit of urgency. You’re saying you’ve only got three spots and you’ve been really clear about what the call is. It’s a strategy session, not a sales pitch, and you’ve told them exactly what to say to get one.

See how each of these matches a different goal. You’re not gonna use the same call to action for everything you’re being really strategic about what you’re asking for based on what makes sense for that particular piece of content.

[00:06:23] So how can you make this feel natural because I know a lot of you worry that adding A CTA is gonna make your content feel salesy, and the difference between being pushy and helpful usually comes down to two things – tone and relevance.

Tone-wise, you don’t need to manufacture urgency or scarcity. If it’s not real, you don’t need to be like, oh, comment now or miss out forever. Just talk like a normal human like you would if someone was standing in front of you.

You can keep it as simple as – if this resonated, here’s what to do next.

Then relevance wise, make sure what you’re offering actually helps with the thing you just talked about. If your post was about overcoming imposter syndrome and your CTA is book a sales call, that can feel a bit too soon.

But if your CTA is something like, oh, I made a journal prompt guide for working through this, comment this word or head to the link in bio that feels like a natural extension of the comment they’ve just consumed.

And when your CTA genuinely serves the person reading it, it won’t feel pushy. It’ll feel really helpful. And honestly, people want to know what to do next if they’re interested. You are being helpful and really clear as to how to get more.

So how can you start weaving this into your content?

Firstly, it’s really obvious you can stop ending your post with saying DM me or link in bio with no context.

From now on every CTA needs to answer, what will they get and what do they need to do to get it?

Secondly, think about your goal, like what are you trying to do? Are you trying to grow your email list? Are you trying to start a conversation? Do you want people to book calls, match your CTA to what your actual goal is not just a generic, oh, I want people to engage with me.

Thirdly, make it specific by giving them a word to DM you or a number to comment, or a clear thing to click onto so that you’re removing any guesswork and they can make a quick reaction.

And fourthly, test different CTAs to see what’s working.

Not every audience will respond to the same thing, so pay attention to what kind of call to action gets your people to act and do more of that.

Remember, this isn’t about being salesy or pushy. It’s about making it really easy for people who want to take the next step to actually do it, because if your content’s landing, but no one’s taking action, it’s usually not the content that’s the problem.

It’s probably that you haven’t got the right call to action at the end of it.

Now, if you’ve just listened and thought, OK, I get this, but I still don’t know how to build a content strategy that actually leads somewhere, then I’d love to invite you into my 1:1 program Silent Storm.

It’s not just about writing better content, it’s all about creating a proper marketing rhythm, right, from knowing what makes you unique, knowing who you’re talking to, what you want them to do, and how to guide them from the stranger to a client without it feeling really forced. Check it out here.

Next time you post, try one of the CTA formats I mentioned today and see what happens. Until next time, keep building your quiet confidence so you can make that loud impact in the world. Speak soon