At the weekend I sat down to write this week’s blog post. I looked through my stack of ideas and drafts until one of them sparked. As I knew I had to, I committed to that topic and started editing the draft. I was passionate about the topic, but the minute I started writing self-doubt crept in and started niggling.
Someone else has already written about this. And they’ve said it much better than you. You’re too vague. This isn’t practical enough for writers trying to figure out how to market themselves.
My daughter’s swimming lesson finished and my time was up, because, you know, there are things like making dinner that don’t disappear just because you’re a writer. I closed my laptop and drove home deflated. I went round and round, back and forth in side my head. As my husband reminded me, I always feel like this with draft one of a blog post. By the time I came to upload it, my brain would have come round to accepting that it was good enough to publish. Anyway, I had time to tinker with it. Still, the doubt niggled.
So today, I’m sharing that moment because it is as relevant to our marketing as it is to our writing. One of the biggest things which keeps us from effectively marketing ourselves in an authentic manner, is self-doubt. Call it Resistance (read Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art if you haven’t already), fear of rejection, imposter syndrome. It’s real. I had even listened to a podcast that very day on this topic (How to Risk like a Writer) and here I was doubting myself.
Self-doubt stalls our marketing as often as it stalls our writing. I’m a fraud, I don’t know the tricks of the trade, I don’t know enough about social media, I don’t know what all those acronyms mean, what if I say the wrong thing? I actually think it’s one of the reasons people sometimes ‘shout’ about their product. It’s the equivalent of the nervous giggle; if we just shout loud enough, no-one will notice that I’m not sure what to do and not sure any of this will work.
Unless you’re a badass mind gardener, that is, and you’re adept at pulling up the weeds of negative thoughts on a daily basis!
Have you found yourself in this place as you attempt to market your writing? Then, track with me and I’ll share some of the ways I get unstuck with my marketing.
READ A UNICORN AFFIRMATOR: Or listen to a short podcast, read a blog, reach out to a mentor. Just limit it to ONE.
BO BACK TO THE SPARK: During a webinar, a literary agent gave a piece of advice about the craft of writing, and it works for marketing too. She told us to go back to that moment when we got excited about our story idea and felt compelled to share it. What was that nugget of story and who was it for? Do that with your marketing: WHY are you doing this? WHO do you want to help, to do WHAT? Write it on an index card and pin it up.
AUDIT where you are at. Yes, analysis can lead to paralysis as easily as self-doubt can, but limit yourself to ONE thing. Add ONE item to your SWOT inventory (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). Research ONE ‘competitor’. Review your to-do list. Review your marketing activities to date: Which have been successes, which have failed?
PICK ONE THING: Choose ONE, discreet, quick and simple task from your audit that you can do straight away. You could look for ONE more meaningful connection on social media, brainstorm your hook, brainstorm your pitch, brainstorm potential tweets.
This blog post isn’t perfect. It’s probably not the best written on the topic. It’s certainly not the only thing written on this topic. I know because the day after my moment of self-doubt, I read a blog post on Medium on this subject. But, it’s honest. It got me unstuck and it moved me one step closer to one of my goals: helping writers market themselves effectively and authentically. Maybe most importantly, it proves to myself that I can kick self-doubt in the butt!
What are your techniques to get unstuck with your marketing? I’d love to hear about them. Do you need help moving forward with your marketing? Reach out – I’d love to talk it through and help you take the next step.
Leave A Comment