Seven questions to streamline your self-promotion messages
With all the noise on social media and in traditional press, how do you get your personal brand to stand out? Besides excellent content, great products, wonderful services, you need successful self-promotion. But, for many of us, the idea of promoting ourselves is just downright icky.
Trust me, I get it. The idea of putting myself out there, and selling “me,” is not my favorite task. However, I know there are people who can benefit from my perspective and experience. There are professionals, CEOs and creative executives who want to speak better, have a more commanding presence, and truly share their talents on a much bigger scale. But, these people won’t find me unless I let them know I am here. The same is true for you.
Communicating who you are, what you stand for, and your irresistible offer, doesn’t have to be forced or fake. It just needs to be purposeful. Take charge of your public identity and create your own narrative. Don’t leave it up to chance, because what others say and communicate about you may not be what you’re truly offering.
The key to self-promotion is choosing what you want to reveal. That’s why being authentic is important because you want to attract those who are willing to invest in you and your offer – not those who believe in something you’re not.
Here are seven questions to guide your self-promotion messages. To jump start your thinking I have shared my answers.
1. What is my gift?
My gift is the ability to deconstruct the way people feel, speak, and present themselves publicly, and how they can best represent their true best selves.
2. Who needs what I have?
Everyone can benefit from my process and content, however it is especially valuable to entrepreneurs and personality-driven brands.
3. Why should people listen to me?
I have 20 plus years experience in the entertainment industry and have worked with celebrities, TV hosts, and media experts.
4. How are people’s lives going to be better?
I believe you are a gift, but unless others know about you you will never be able to share it with the world.
5. What holds me back?
I am the only one who truly holds me back. The time is now.
6. What am I really selling?
I sell confidence. I help individuals showcase their brand.
7. What if someone doesn’t like what I have to give?
That’s okay. Not everybody likes strawberry ice cream, but those who do, really love it and will have it again and again. The same is true for those who value what I have to give.
Self-promotion gets a bad wrap because many people who model self-promotion are self-centered people who focus on what they want to get. The negative feelings about self-promotion will improve when you reframe your perspective so that self-promotion is about what you have to give, not what you want to get. When you shift your focus to what you have to give then it becomes less about you, in a self-indulgent way, and more about the audience you serve. What you have to offer is the brand that others are longing to see and at the center of it is you.
Personal brands are dynamic because we are constantly evolving. Don’t be nervous if your answers to the questions above are unclear or vague. Answers, like the brands themselves, will evolve over time. Also, don’t be discouraged when you discover that some people don’t value what you are offering. Just keep moving forward on the exciting journey of showcasing and promoting your core brand to the world and your core audience will find you.
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