Marketing Our Butts Off

There are so many reasons we retract our claws when someone says "marketing".

It feels selfish.  It feels desperate.  It feels...crass.

And guess what?  It is.

At least it is when we force ourselves to do it.  We all have been given insecurities, usually by well-meaning and slightly misguided loved ones.  Those insecurities can be pretty strong, and sometimes hard to spot.  We're pushing past that whole army of negative voices in our heads when we try to say something positive about ourselves.  Naturally when the pro-marketing, pro-us voice finally emerges, it usually comes with all of that forced energy trailing behind.

We've all seen it.  Most actors at a meet-and-greet fluctuate somewhere between groveling, self-deprecating behavior and preening like the proverbial peacock.  Neither one is particularly endearing.

So what can we do?  Are we just doomed to under- or overcompensate?

I don't think so.

Part of the process is acknowledging the negative stuff that roils around in our heads.  Just identifying those voices as being not real takes a lot of the energy out of them.  What feels like an epic battle turns into something just ever-so-slightly silly.

The next part is really understanding that our self-worth is innate and unassailable.  We are beautiful individuals.  There is no one in the world exactly like each of us.  No one can take that away from us, no matter what they say or do.

And when our self-worth isn't on the line, all of the sudden, self-promotion becomes...if not natural, at least not painful.  We can even progress to the point that we *gasp* enjoy it.

One other thing begins to occur.  Our creativity comes to the forefront.  Our personalities emerge.  We come up with awesome ideas to promote ourselves that no one else could pull off because they aren't us!

Identifying our personal Negative Nancy's, embracing our self-worth and allowing our true personalities to come out and play.  Pretty awesome!

Now, once we're there, we usually have a pretty steep learning curve ahead of us when it comes to effectively marketing ourselves.  For that reason, the next of my online workshops will focus on how to market ourselves as actors!  Keep your eyes on the stream, and as before, if you would like a discount on the workshop, leave your Twitter handle or email in a comment below. :)