How To Self Promote Yourself
Everytime I meet with a new client one of the first things I hear is that "I am not good at promoting myself." or "I do not know how to promote myself."
Then, after we talk about it I also learn they do not like seeing their own photos, videos or hearing the sound of their own voice. Afterall, you may not want to end up with egg on your face while promoting yourself!
Now, does this sound familiar to you? It sure does to me!
Self Promoting Yourself One Step at a Time
The key to self promoting yourself is to become more comfortable and confident in what you do. If you are not confident in what you can offer others, how you can promote yourself?
One way to self promote yourself is to make yourself THE business. If you are the business you are promoting the business vs. yourself. You put the personality in the business.
People do love working with other people and not the business per say. So if you put your personality in the business it will help you to feel better about promoting it. Hence, it will give your business personality which others will love.
What is Your Personal Brand That You Need To Promote?
Whether your name is your business or not, you will need to promote yourself personally. Think about Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffet. They all own a big brand but you also know their names and who they are.
It's the image people see of you. A personal brand is the unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want the world to see you.
Personal branding is the telling of your own story, and how it reflects your conduct, behavior, spoken and unspoken words, and attitudes.
Therefore, if you promote yourself you get to tell your own story and not have others tell it for you. Hence, it's imperative you get it right!
How to Promote Yourself Today in a Digital World
Today you will need to have a professional photo of yourself to show the world you care. Image is important. If you have a unprofessional photo it will show through in your brand.
Tell your story through social media posts, videos and blogs. Share who you are, what you do and why you do it. People will feel like they know you. And once they know you, they will do business with you!
Last week I met with a client who told me "I feel like I know you from Instagram." She actually contacted me right on Instagram to set up our appointment.
Let Go of Your Ego To Learn How to Self Promote Yourself
I'm a regulary reader/viewer of Katie Lance and she says it best when she says "Don't worry about how you look or sound, most people don't like how they look or sound so get over yourself!"
I agree with her to just do it. The more you do it the better you will become at doing video or having your picture taken. If you wait for the perfect moment to make a video or shoot a photograph it will never come. Days will go by and turn into weeks and weeks will turn into months.
Share Your Stories - Mistakes and Successes
By sharing your own stories of how you made mistakes and what you did to overcome them may help others. They will see you as a resource, a mentor or a person to follow and learn more.
If you are going to give advice be sure you are taking it too! Don't do as I say but not as I act. Leading by example will set your personal branding up for success.
Blogging superstar Ryan Biddulph does this well - he tells a story in almost every piece he writes. He has no problem telling you about his mistakes so you can learn from him. Ryan also is out there promoting himself day and night. He really does know how to self promote yourself right.
Sometimes, this may make you go outside of your comfort zone. It will help you to grow as you are helping others.
Don't Be Boastful All the Time in Promoting Yourself
At times you will have to toot your own horn but don't go overboard here. People will get tired of seeing you boast about yourself day after day. If you do, they will probably stop following or engaging with you. You may end up with egg on your face 🙁
But on the other hand, you can't wait for someone else to toot your own horn when you have earned the right to. Just don't go overboard and say LOOK at ME, LOOK at ME!
Hence, this is where the 80/20 rule comes into play. Be sure not to talk about yourself more than 20% of the time on social media posts. 80% should be about YOUR audience. In other words, Make it all about them!
If You Are Still Shy Hire Out for Promoting Your Business
If this all sounds too hard for you still, you can always hire out for an expert to help promote you. Sometimes it is best to have someone that can be a soundboard and watch out for you along the way.
Oftentimes, hiring out can save you a lot of time to do what you do best in your business. You will have to weight the pros and cons. Just remember, time is money!
Be Sure to Monitor as You Self Promote Yourself and Your Brand
Lastly, be sure to monitor your brand along the way. Do listen to what others are saying about you and your brand online. As a matter of fact, Google alerts are no longer enough!
You need a brand monitoring tool like Brand24 to monitor across various social media networks and blogs. Google alerts only cover news type sites. Now, you can sign up for FREE below for a 14 day FREE trial on Brand24.
Do you have tips on how to self promote yourself today? Of course, I'd love to know more tips and tricks in the comments below.
I'd also love to know if you find it hard to promote yourself too.
