What you think folks want and the reasons you offer to attract paying customers are often incorrect and unfortunately fail in its objective because of those assumptions you have made.
Missing this mark is preventable as is getting it right very probable with a little up front homework. You can, with a few easy steps and ways of thinking get your messaging right so it does connect with and gain customers.
Try these steps and ways of thinking so you can,when reaching out, get paying Customers
1. People do things for their reason's not yours
If you have not done the in depth homework to see how a target audience thinks, what it cares about and how to link what you want to what they want so joining in makes sense, you probably will be disappointed in your results.
2. Its hard to “hear” folks with a background in messaging and connecting for getting results trying to tell you that.
That's because your Belief in your direction is so strong in you that you think that everyone will agree and want to join in. You get blinded by that belief and it prevents you from being objective about how best to get followers and participants.
Even hearing the communication "experts" saying things like "folks just do not care about that" referring to your pet project, being so caught up in the value of your idea, you resist their expert advice.
Its just too hard on you and your deep seeded beliefs, values to accept what they say.
3. You can not just wish things into reality
If the audience has or sees no real buy in nor reason that, to them, resonates and says "that's me-that's exactly what I need to do and I am doing it" your message and recruiting efforts will fail.
There's just to many "you need to do this" messages bombarding us so its critical that you do what is suggested in this step in the way you reach out to folks.
4. Looking at our core traits and what we are really good at, we should see what we are good at and not good at and accept it. Then farm out what we are not good at to someone who is.
If we are not marketing types and we want our idea to connect, get the marketing type to figure out how to do that.
5. Its not ego, its pragmatism that should govern how you and your strengths and weaknesses are played out in trying to make something happen.
Why go it alone when you don't have to?
Why risk failure trying to do what you know you are not good at, especially something as important as gaining willing participants?
This is especially true when you want to influence people, their thoughts, manage your messaging so you do gain traction for your idea or project amongst the many different types of audiences out there.
Knowing precisely how to do this with differing approaches that resonate with differing target audiences is how you get to "yes, that's exactly what I need and I want to do it" from the members of the target audiences you have identified as folks who could benefit from participating.
If you are not good at that, be brutally honest and let someone who is great at that help you by doing that part for you.
Failure is a learning experience but you can, especially if you want to create active participation in something, avoid failure if you can adopt the thinking of what's been suggested here in this post.
And remember very simple but useful way of thinking as you try to go and gain joiners and participants:
- 1."People do things for their reason's not yours
- 2. Imagine the prospect or target audience has a sign on their forehead that says so what!" ( copywrite-Neil Licht, Axioms for success in selling, motivating and getting to yes)
Living those two axioms when charting connecting, influencing and getting participants goes a long way to realizing success for gaining acceptance of your idea,event It goes a long way for you in getting folks to participate and willingly join in with your "vision" and, for their reasons, not yours, make it theirs as well.
For more insights from colleagues and others just like you who "sit in your seat" Please join into the discussion and group on this site called "acquiring Paying Customers" 
and lets share thoughts on how to do this in the face of our on line, web and social media "everything's a commodity" sourcing mentality.
Regards, Neil Licht. CEO Hereweare, Chief Advisor Acquiring Paying Customers group
Web Page http://www.wix.com/ndlicht/hereweare