Do You Have a Fear of Self-Promotion?

Speaking from my own personal experience, self-promotion can be terrifying, daunting and even cringeworthy. Often these feelings are my biggest obstacle when it comes to promoting myself or my business. However, without exorcising these demons they stand as a huge barrier to progress. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have experienced this! With that in mind here’s a break down of mindsets you may find yourself in and some practices of how to overcome them!

Fear of Failure

Pretty much anything you do has the possibility of not going as you planned. Failure is a risk, but sometimes this can halt us in our tracks. When it comes to promoting myself and my business, particularly on social media, it inevitably brings out my insecurity. However, fear of failure can be a bit of a paradox as if you don’t even try you have already failed. How can you deal with fear of failure?

One way forward is to plan ahead. Have a contingency plan! When launching a promotional campaign don’t solely rely on just one thing. If that aspect of your self-promotion doesn’t work, learn from it and have something else ready to try. With this mindset a failure is just part of something larger rather than feeling like the end of the world.

Classic Imposter Syndrome!

A very common experience is a feeling of inadequacy or doubt of our own skills. Almost everyone has suffered from imposter syndrome. When it comes to self-promotion it can be a crippling mindset that will either dampen your voice or completely silence you! It’s hard to promote your services if you lack confidence in your ability. So how best can you tackle this?

A good starting point is to remember what you’ve accomplished. Having worked in creative design for over 15 years, there are lots of success stories I can point to, and I’m sure you’re the same. Keep a note of your achievements so you can boost your confidence in your ability to deliver!

Lost For Words

Marketing is all about having a clear message, so if you’re struggling to identify the right message it feels like you’ve stumbled at the first hurdle. When it comes to talking about yourself it can be hard to know what to say. Not only that but the more pressure you put on yourself the harder it can be to find the right words.

If you’re not sure what to say when promoting yourself a good starting point can be to look at what others are saying. What are your competitors saying and how are they saying it? Does their messaging also apply to you or not? If not, what would you say differently? What are they missing that you personally think is important? Asking these questions will help form a foundation for your communication.

Fear of self-promotion is a very real and common problem many people face. One key aspect of overcoming it is to acknowledge that you’re not alone. Though this article is just scratching the surface, there are plenty of articles and studies that can help about getting over your fear of self-promotion, fears of failure and success, and how to overcome it.