Podcast Summary: Shiny New Clients!

Host: Jenna Harding (Warriner)
Episode: Most people are wrong about how to "Sell" on Instagram (do this instead)
Date: September 8, 2025

Main Theme/Purpose

In this episode, Jenna Harding challenges the common misconception that every Instagram post needs to be a direct sales pitch. Drawing from personal experience and her work with thousands of business owners, she explains why "sneaky selling" (trying to covertly pitch in every post) is ineffective—and lays out a better content strategy for service-based business owners. Jenna advocates for understanding the buyer's journey and creating growth, nurture, and sales content that meets clients where they are, rather than pushing for sales at every opportunity. The episode includes a practical exercise and a discussion segment from her Magic Marketing Machine group coaching program.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Selling in Every Post is a Mistake ([01:20] - [05:22])

• Businesses often believe that since social media is meant to drive sales, every post must sell—creating pressure on social media managers to turn all content into pitches.
• Jenna’s Analogy: If every article in a magazine or every TV appearance was a sales pitch, no one would engage. Audiences crave value, stories, and connection—not perpetual pitches.
  • “If you bought a magazine and every article in it ended up selling you something and there was no value in there... You would resent that… Even if the magazine was free, you wouldn’t pick it up again because you don’t want to feel like you’re being sold to all the time.” ([03:08] - Jenna)
• Making every post about selling turns potential clients off, reduces engagement, and undermines brand trust.

The Three-Part Content Strategy ([06:00] - [08:40])

• Jenna introduces her simple framework: Growth Content, Nurture Content, Sales Content—paralleling other frameworks like “know, like, trust” and marketing funnels.
• Each component serves a unique purpose:
  • Growth invites new people into your world.
  • Nurture builds relationships and trust.
  • Sales offers a clear invitation to work together.
• Jenna notes, “Of course… when I work with my clients, we make very advanced content strategies that have a lot of different ingredients in them. We want people to trust you, we want to position you as an expert. We want to provide some social proof. We want to entertain your audience.” ([07:41])

Sneaky Selling & Where It Goes Wrong ([09:10] - [12:08])

• Many business owners blend nurture or growth content with sales pitches, believing every post must justify their effort with immediate sales.
• Key Insight: When each content “ingredient” works together (like gears in a clock), your strategy is effective. But “if you try and make a growth post, but you put a sales pitch on it, you don’t get as many views typically." ([10:38])
• Sales content shouldn’t always aim to “convince” someone—they might already be ready to buy, but need other forms of support or reassurance.

The “Client Awareness” Exercise ([12:45] - [19:35])

• Jenna shares a live segment from her Magic Marketing Machine group: an exercise around client awareness levels.
  • Draw three columns: Problem Aware | Solution Aware | Desired Result Aware
  • For each, determine if your ideal client is aware and what that means for your messaging.
  • “Is your ideal person someone who needs to be sold on what you offer? Or are they possibly already solution-aware?... If every post should be designed specifically for that ideal client… do they actually need to be convinced or is there something else they need to hear?” ([13:34])
• Insight: If clients are already aware of their problem and the solution, sales content should help them see why now is the time or why you’re the right choice—not persuade them the problem exists.
• “If the job isn’t to convince them they need this service, because they already know they need the service, then what should the sales content do?... Now is the time. Tell them why they should choose now and what they get out of choosing now.” ([16:42])

How to “Sell” the Right Way ([19:36] - [22:16])

• Help clients recognize they’re ready for change.
• Use sales content to keep your offer front of mind. Some people need multiple exposures before taking action.
• Share case studies and highlight desired outcomes so prospects can see what's possible for them.
  • “Show them the desired results… That’s what I really wanted to hear. The results. Right? Result, transformation, outcome. How’s my life different than it was before? Before they were here, but now they’re here.” ([21:02])
• Don’t pressure yourself to force every nurture post into a sales post. Instead, push your comfort by trying the exercise and revisiting your ideal client’s mindset often.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On social media as a magazine:
  “If you bought a magazine and every article in it ended up selling you something... you would resent that you had paid $7 for that magazine, right? Even if the magazine was free, you wouldn’t pick it up again because you don’t want to feel like you’re being sold to all the time.” ([03:08] - Jenna)

• On advanced strategies:
  “We want people to trust you, we want to position you as an expert. We want to provide some social proof. We want to entertain your audience. We want to find your unique brand of growth content and your unique style of entertainment.” ([07:42] - Jenna)

• On why “now” matters:
  “Tell them why they should choose now and what they get out of choosing now. Sometimes it’s a logical deadline… Sometimes it’s a bonus, or a promo – but it could just be about helping people recognize that they're ready for it.” ([16:45] - Jenna)

• On sales content’s purpose:
  “If the job isn’t to convince them they need this service, because they already know they need the service, then what should the sales content do?” ([16:42] - Jenna)

• On demonstrating transformation:
  “Show them the desired results… That's what I really wanted to hear. The results. Right? Result, transformation, outcome. How's my life different?” ([21:02] - Jenna)

Key Timestamps

• 01:20 – 05:22: Why not every post should sell; the “magazine” metaphor
• 06:00 – 08:40: Jenna’s high-level content strategy (Growth, Nurture, Sell)
• 09:10 – 12:08: Where content goes wrong—“sneaky selling”
• 12:45 – 19:35: The “Client Awareness” exercise from Magic Marketing Machine
• 19:36 – 22:16: How to structure sales content for ready buyers; transformation & case studies

Conclusion & Takeaways

• Don’t try to sell in every post—mix growth, nurture, and sales content tailored to your client’s level of awareness.
• Use exercises like the “client awareness columns” to identify what your audience truly needs from your content.
• Focus sales content on why now is the right moment and why you are the best choice, rather than just convincing someone of the obvious.
• Share success stories and transformations to help clients visualize results.
• When in doubt, revisit these questions—successful marketing is about long-term relationships, not one-off pitches.