What If It Does Work Out? by Susie Moore

Author:Susie Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: 2017-01-22T05:00:00+00:00

10

The Why and the How of Self-Promotion

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”

–Eleanor Roosevelt

“If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that . . . I believe in what I do, and I’ll say it.”

–John Lennon

Here’s the cold, hard truth. It’s no one else’s job to promote you but you. How would you feel if your burning desire that wants to manifest as a killer side hustle remains silent out of a reluctance to put your idea forward? If you, in the words of Wayne Dyer, “die with your music still inside you,” are you OK with that? I doubt that very much. Besides, other people are too concerned with their own stuff—their bills, their weight, their Facebook account—to judge your new entrepreneurial venture. So put it out there!

I was terrified when I put out my first video. These were the thoughts circling in my mind:

“WTF? Everyone is going to think I am so dumb/showy/full of myself!”

“Who actually cares about what I have to say?”

“Oh man, my frenemies are just gonna laugh their heads off.”

“I look gross. It’s too close up. I should have thought this through more.”

“Once I post this it’s for life. It’s not safe.”

Now I put out videos regularly and feel a twinge of both nerves and excitement when a new one comes out. The philosopher Goethe said, “Everything is hard before it is easy.” Of course I hope people like my videos. But the process is no longer terrifying like it used to be and I can survive if some people don’t like them.

One of the most common concerns people have when I coach them is putting the work they are doing “out there.” I totally get it. The fear of getting started is one hurdle to overcome, but it’s not the last. The fear of putting out your work and letting people see what you’re doing is another biggie. When I was working full time I had this nagging feeling that I was waiting for my “real life” to begin. It, of course, already had. I had found my real life’s work but was just so scared to talk about it.

I started by telling my friends one by one about how I was training as a life coach, sharing with them the course that I was taking. Share your own steps with those close to you. Your friends will congratulate and support you. (If they don’t, find new ones!) But my friends were not necessarily going to be my clients. I had to generate some. And there are no clients without awareness. You’ve got to put the word out about your work and promote yourself. You can be the best life coach/interior designer/stand-up comedian on the planet but it doesn’t mean anything unless other people know about it.

I started a newsletter that I sent out on Sundays—and still do—to my entire contact list (with permission to unsubscribe, of course).

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