Marketing Tidbit: Promoting *YOU* Without Sounding Self-Centered (Be Awesome Part II)

The most popular response I hear when I tell indie business owners that they need to promote themselves is "I don't feel comfortable talking about myself."  This definitely isn't an issue I have, but I have given it a lot of thought and have determined that you actually can promote your business without talking about yourself.  Shut up, yes, you can!

Look, here are a just a few ideas:

• DONATE.  Not only do you get the warm fuzzies, donating really is a great promotional tool.  Be sure to choose wisely and find a balance between the organization's needs and the exposure you'll gain.  Medium-sized organizations appreciate the donations more than the huge ones.  And, of course, make sure that the organization reflects the values of your business.
• Post links to shops/blogs/pages you like.  
• You will build both a following and an ersatz "street team" naturally by supporting other artists/indie business owners - make sure that you let them know that you are supporting their shops, too (but never make this mistake).  
• You can also do reviews of items you use and really love, or show off your "collection" of purchases from other indie shop owners.
• Give stuff away.  WAIT! Don't skip this bullet point yet!  You don't have to spend money.  For example, you can do informational blog posts (like these marketing tidbits) or give away online goodies, neither of which cost you anything except your time.
• Involve your fans.  
• Ask your facebook fans to help you name new products - Brooke Van Gory Designs does and her fans LOVE it!  
• Host a coloring contest on your page or your blog.  It isn't necessary to spend money to run a contest - some people will be happy with bragging rights!   Or ask some of your colleagues if they would like to donate something small from their shop to gain new customers.  
• Lean on your colleagues.  Invite your colleagues to become fans of your Facebook page - in return, be sure to become a fan of theirs.  Most want to support you and if they don't, they'll "unlike" it later so you don't have to feel like you're spamming them from your personal page.

Inviting friends is easy with the Build Audience drop down
(at least it is in June 2012 at the time of this post)

• Link-share!!  This is a good way to find new people.  I will occasionally post on my facebook fan page (or blog) asking people to tag their fan pages and post links to their online shops in the comments.  It works like a charm for me, for the other artisans AND for the fans who find new stuff!

• Promo Swap.  You probably know someone who has the same issues that you do, so why not talk their shop up and they can do the same for you?  I've done this at gallery shows and it's a much more pleasant way to sling art!

And there are tons and tons of other things you can do that will promote your brand and you won't have to say anything about yourself or your stuff at all.  Do you have an idea (see, I'm including you)?  Post a comment here on Blogger!


Read Be Awesome Part I

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