Reach is not demand
Plenty of accounts have large followings and no business. Attention converts when the thing you are selling is a natural next step from the thing you are posting about — and does not convert when there is a gap between them, no matter how big the numbers get.
If your content is about one subject and your product solves another, the audience you build is the wrong audience.
Ask rarely and specifically
The ratio matters less than the specificity. A vague 'check out my product' converts almost nobody regardless of how often you say it. A post that shows the exact problem your product solves, ending with how to get it, converts because the reader already agreed with the premise.
Make the path short
- ✓One link, in the obvious place, going somewhere that matches what the post promised
- ✓A landing page that repeats the specific claim they clicked on
- ✓Nothing between the click and understanding what this is
Give it longer than feels reasonable
The gap between posting consistently and seeing business results is typically measured in months, not weeks. That lag is the main reason people quit — they conclude it does not work at roughly the point where it starts to.