Sure, in a business meeting it’s always great to get “3rd party endorsement,” e.g. someone else backing you up and arguing your point, but out in the big, vast, world, if you don’t tell someone you’ve done something, then who knows that you’ve done it?
Now you have shows that are about making the show; there are commercials for the commercials. Self-promotion is a thing because there are so many places to do it!
Feeling blocked and wondering what you can do to promote you or your business?
- Write a story about yourself in the third person .
Write a story about yourself in the third person and extol your super talents, or write a story about one of your clients and how you helped them. Approach yourself as an interculturalist-observing yourself from the outside-interested and engaged in understanding who you are, what are your values, what makes you tick?
- What makes you tick?
Don’t be embarrassed or change it based on what others will think or how others would say it according to the cultural norm (e.g. back to the intercultural model-cultural norm as in what the language of the dominant business model would say). If you use someone else’s words you may come across as insincere or even worse…BORING! Be you! The world is expansive; there are room for many messages and many communities with which to resonate.
- The world is expansive with many outlets for promotion.
I remember a pantomime exercise game in Improv class called “what are you doing?” When someone got stumped, our teacher, exasperated, would say, “Really? You literally cannot run out of things to be doing (brushing your hair, tying your shoe, typing a letter, eating a carrot, making a sandwich, scratching your nose….).
It’s the same about where to promote yourself. Local print publications (think…Where were you born? Where do you live now? What religion are you?…all have print or online newspapers); your alumni network–high school, college-submit to the ‘where are they now’ sections in their publications; seek out trade publications or industry blogs.
Not finding anyone who is taking the bait?
Submit your own post or add insight in the comments on related topics; publish on LinkedIn; sponsor a local kid’s team; speak at a local chamber event; attend a networking mixer; call your best friend from 5th grade; put signs in windows; use online ads…
Tell the world how you make it better.
It’s not “I provide translation services,” it’s “I’ll connect you in any language anywhere in the world.” It’s not “come buy a way overpriced but relatively good cup of coffee.” It’s “Our servers will love you! Bring your laptop and stay! Be part of a community. Be hip and cool and connect…all for the price of a cup of coffee.”
Know what you offer, paint a picture of the person who would use it, write a compelling narrative about how it will make their life better and get the message out into the world.