5 Ways to Push Through the Awkwardness of Marketing Yourself

Raise your hand if you feel awkward/uncomfortable/terrified when it comes to marketing yourself.

Me, too. Here’s a secret: while I might APPEAR to be having a grand ol’ time when I do these FB Lives every week, each and every time I push that little red button to “Go Live,” I nearly vomit all over my screen.

Marketing is awkward. Marketing YOURSELF is even more awkward. And, for most of us, even the most extrovertiest extroverts (hand raised) that AWKWARD feeling never fully goes away.

But, if you’re building a small business using online tools, there’s just no way around it; visibility is key to getting in front of your audience and selling your services. (Whether that visibility is in the form of videos, podcasts, blogs, visual marketing, webinars, fill in the blank. In other words, you don’t necessarily have to be VISIBLE to be visible.)

So, what’s an awkward marketer to do? Well, watch this vid, for one. In this video, I break down my 5 tips for pushing past the awkwardness of marketing yourself. Spoilers below:

1. Join a Facebook group or a mastermind with other small business owners and entrepreneurs.

2. Do a marketing challenge.

3. Start in your comfort zone. No, you don’t have to do a blog AND a podcast AND videos AND Facebook AND Twitter AND Instagram AND LinkedIn AND…the list goes on. Start with ONE thing where you feel like a master and then slowly widen your marketing circle.

4. Practice a mindful approach. When negative thoughts and impostor syndrome shows up, acknowledge the thought, then practice re-focusing your attention BACK on your commitment to marketing yourself and growing your business. You might want to even give that voice NAME, like Hilda. Check out Jennie Mustafa-Julock’s awesome book on Hilda and tackling your inner naysayer: http://hildathebook.com/

5. Remember, user behavior studies show us that MOST users aren’t spending more than 15 second on your website. EVEN IF your entire high school class has rented out the Hampton Inn for the sole purpose of laughing at you, they’re only doing it for FIFTEEN SECONDS before they get bored of you. (Anyone else have the “What does Leah from English 11H think of me?!” nightmare? Just me? Cool.)

Marketing is awkward. You’re not alone. (And, you can’t spell “awkward” without RKA!) We’re in this together. #awkwardmarketing


Links & Resources I Mention In This Episode

Rachael Kay Albers

Rachael Kay Albers is a creative director, business comedian, and brand strategist gone wild. She writes and performs about branding, pop culture, tech, and identity. When she’s not muckraking about marketing, Rachael runs RKA ink, a reinvention studio and branding agency for businesses that burn the rulebook. She's also on Instagram a lot.