I'm really frustrated by the firm that I get my coffee beans from. More of that in a minute.

Last week I talked about how I really don't enjoy self-promotion and gave a couple of strategies for promoting without being self-promotional.

I got a lot of lovely replies to that email and a lot of empathy.

So in this message, I'm going to talk more about things you can do to promote your business without being pushy or self-promoting.

And my coffee supplier is a great example of what not to do.

Every couple of weeks I get a parcel from them through the post with a couple of bags of freshly roasted coffee beans in it.

The coffee's great and I drink way too much of it.

They rotate through different varieties and always enclose a little card with a bit about where the beans are from and what the taste is going to be like.

A bit pretentious perhaps, but fun.

But what they never do is attempt to sell me anything more.

I don't know whether they think it's impolite or wrong somehow. Or if like me they don't like being self-promotional.

But the reality is that I would be quite keen to get more from them.

A special Christmas variety would be nice – I'd buy that.

As I would pretty much any special blends they offered.

Maybe even some nice biscuits to go with the coffee. Or nice coffee cups. Or any of a ton of different coffee-related products that someone who's demonstrated they like coffee would appreciate.

But instead, nada.

They actually make it difficult for me to buy more from them even though I'd be very willing to do so.

I've just been to their website and it turns out they do compostable nespresso pods I could get as a gift for my brother. Or gift subscriptions for beans so I could get him to convert to the real stuff.

But have they told me about this or the other new products they've introduced recently?

Nope.

And truth be told, most of us fall into the same trap too.

How often have I sent out an email newsletter without a link to one of my products you can buy?

Lots.

How often have I produced great content for my website or social media without a call to action to take our relationship further?

Lots.

How often have I helped someone with ideas and insights but not followed up by asking if they wanted to discuss it further – maybe on a paid basis?

Lots.

We're all taught we need to add value in our marketing. That's a given.

But the purpose of adding value is to generate pull for our services. And we need to make it easy for people to connect with us or buy from us when we trigger that pull.

So whenever you create something or do something that adds value, ask yourself “how can I make the next step to working with me easy?”

Who knows. Maybe my coffee supplier will read this and drop a little leaflet about a special new blend I might like in my next delivery :)