Stop Being Afraid of Self-Promotion!

If I had a dollar for every time an author told me they hated platform because it felt like self-promotion, well, then I’d have enough money to fund all of your exotic writing research trips.

The notion of self-promotion tends to send authors running from platform conversations faster than a politician dodging a direct question. We see self-promotion as something only self-involved people who clearly think too highly of themselves would do. Of course, we think ourselves too holy, too busy, or too sophisticated to engage in such activity. After all, we are writers, right?

Which celebrity comes to mind when we think of self-promotion? There’s one in particular who makes us uncomfortable. I don’t want to use her real name, so let’s call her Pim Farsahshan. In 2019, she launched her direct-to-consumer shapewear brand called, um, Rhims. Within 10 minutes, Rhims sold out, and Pim made $2 million. Not bad. She’s not resting on her famous assets, either. Pim wears her products in all sorts of advertising campaigns and online content.

Additionally, she’s unapologetically vocal about her story related to shapewear and her product. Then she invites buyers to try her products, even though they are more expensive than others on the market. Countless critics bash her, including many of us, for drawing too much attention to herself. Instead of shying away, she keeps leaning in. Does her self-promotion-centric approach turn off consumers? Not at all. In 2023, the business was valued at over $4 billion.

BOTTOM LINE: If you don’t talk about yourself and what you write, no one else will.

My follow-up point will make you uncomfortable, but it is a truth you must wrap your mind around if you want to survive and thrive in today’s publishing world. Self-promotion is essential to the success of your product.

Let me use Pim’s story to make three very important observations:

If you don’t make your VOICE known, no one will know what you have to offer.
Your VULNERABILITY builds connection, but you must also bear the risk of being criticized or misunderstood.
You should be clear about what you offer and why it is VALUABLE.

I will unpack each of these and then offer some important practical applications if you’ve struggled with the self-promotion aspect of platform.

VOICE

Fear can silence us, whether it’s a bad case of imposter syndrome or, for many Christian authors, a deep fear that talking about our platform or our books is minimizing the focus on God.

Once, an author told me that if my brand grew out of my testimony, then every time I shared about why I’m doing it, I was giving glory to God. Therefore, self-promotion became secondary to the main goal of pointing people to Jesus.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Instead of talking about what you do, which can feel like self-promotion, borrow a page from best-selling author Simon Sinek and talk about WHY you do what you do. Answer these questions on a sheet of paper: What is it that you believe to be true? For the people you’re trying to reach, what beliefs do you share with them?

VULNERABILITY

Look at the comment section of someone who has shared about parenting challenges, medical issues, divorce, dating struggles, infidelity, and more. People are desperate to connect with wise, trusted, creative voices who can offer healing or insights in nonfiction, or build a realistic, imaginary world that tackles relatable themes and inspires in fiction.

How do you put yourself out there knowing people will attack? Yep. It will happen, especially in the nuclear reactor known as the Christian space. If you share yourself and your life, there will be judge-y people, trolls, and other Christians who will criticize or condemn. Don’t let them stop you from serving those who need to hear from you.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Let me introduce QTIP, or quit taking it personally. When we’re online, it behooves us to coach ourselves not to take responsibility for, or carry the weight of, someone’s different opinion or rudeness. People have different perspectives and a keyboard to share them, but that doesn’t mean you owe them an explanation or even a response. Just say to yourself, “Welp, looks like I need to QTIP that one,” and move on with your day.

VALUE

This is where we come back to our self-promotion fear of making it about us. Perhaps this is the center of the self-promotion fear, the lack of being able to communicate the value you have to offer.

Here’s a question that should settle your heart: Are you clear about the value of what you’re writing or creating?

Without that clarity, you are just promoting yourself because you don’t know how to articulate how you’re here to make a difference in someone else’s life.

This is where a mission statement or a vision statement comes in handy. If you’d like some homework, complete this statement and drop your value statement in the comments below.

PLATFORM VALUE STATEMENT: I write to (type of audience) to (inspire, entertain, educate, inform, challenge, teach).

I do this because (what’s your why), and I do this by (what type of writing) so that (what’s the outcome you want for the reader).

P.S. Need help? Watch this clip from a best-selling Christian author turned entrepreneur leading people through an exercise on how to explain the value they offer. This is really good!

ONE MORE THING… This is a request that I will make for those of you who’ve judged your fellow authors for their attempts to build a platform. If someone is using their voice, showing up with vulnerability, offering real value, and honoring God as they do, then this is the time to cheer them on and offer grace. No one gets it right all of the time. If you can offer grace to them, you can offer it to yourself as you’re building your platform.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: What’s challenging about self-promotion for you? If you’ve worked through some of the challenge, what helped you?