SELF-PROMOTION FOR BEGINNERS

Marketing your small business through social media or other channels means that you need to be comfortable with self-promotion. But for most of us, societal norms mean that shouting about how great we, or the services we offer, are doesn’t come naturally, and we’re far more likely to err towards hiding our light under a bushel. We’re stuck in a mindset that self-promotion makes us appear arrogant. 

However, successful people know that there’s nothing wrong with promoting yourself – in fact, it’s usually essential to their success. BUT, there is a fine line between self-promotion and grating arrogance, so with this in mind, we thought we’d look at some of the things you should bear in mind if you want your message to come across well to your ideal client. 

Get Comfortable

It’s a simple fact that, if you want your business to be successful, you need to be comfortable with promoting yourself. Try to think about the positive words your friends and family would use to describe you and your business and apply them to your own message. This will help to give you the confidence to shout about your positive attributes. Write down a list of all of the things that you want people to know about your business and think about how you can communicate this in a way you’re happy doing so. 

Don’t Sell

This one may feel counterintuitive, but if you’re not comfortable with the hard sell, simply don’t do it. Instead, present yourself and your business as a service and lay out what you can do for your clients. Show them what you’ve done for other clients and let this be your sales pitch. Even better, ask your satisfied customers for reviews and testimonials – client advocacy is one of the strongest forms of marketing and allows your customers to say what you’re not comfortable saying. 

Be Yourself

There’s nothing more obvious than someone who’s trying to promote their business using gimmicks and sales spiel, and this can be quite off-putting to someone who is genuinely interested in your business. Try to use your authentic voice to promote yourself – after all, who knows your business better than you? 

Think About Your Client

You should have your ideal client mapped out by now, and as such should have an idea of the tone that appeals to them. While the “be yourself” message is important, try to make sure your tone is appropriate. For example, if your ideal client is a mature lady, using slang and abbreviations generally won’t translate. 

Have Confidence – Or At Least Fake It!

Think about your favourite small business and how they promote themselves – they usually sound super confident, right? It’s incredibly rare to see someone successfully marketing their business without an air of confidence, or at least competence. The best thing you can do is emulate this confidence and even if you don’t feel it now, eventually you’ll start to have the confidence you need to promote without feeling the cringe!