How To Overcome The Fear Of Marketing Your Writing


If there’s three words which have always brought discomfort to me as a writer, they would be ‘marketing’and ‘promotion. They are major parts of the work of being a writer I really don’t enjoy. I know I’m not alone in that struggle either. Many of us struggle with promoting ourselves and our work, “getting attention,” as it were.

But if we want to get our work out to a wider audience, the reality is we’re going to have to market and promote our work.

Here are four key tips to overcome fear of marketing and finally, getting attention for yourself and your writing.


Serving others: 

The people I know who grow platforms fastest are people whose heart is to serve. If all you are interested in is building your own kingdom, people will know. Serve first, and people will follow you.

Know your story and tell your story: 

Your story, your perspective is unique. It might be similar to others, but it’s uniquely yours. This is what people are dying to hear. You. Share your own story or other people's story to connect emotionally with your followers, inspire them, motivate and teach moral lessons that will spur individuals to positive decisions. You have no idea how powerful your story can be.

Be generous:

When I published my first book, I gave it away as a free e-book, and wrote blog posts, for my own blog and guest posted for others. I gave some of my best poems away for free. And this makes such a difference. An e-book, guest posts, helpful Facebook posts, and Facebook videos are all ways to help people for free – it’s a way to give people work/advice which you could legitimately charge money for, for nothing.

Meet a need that you care about: 

One way I grew my platform more recently was by looking at a basic need people had – building a daily writing habit — and creating something which met that need, my Saturday Poetry contests. Poets are invited to write poems on a certain theme and their poems are put up on my Facebook page for votes and critical analysis. This is an area I had expertise in, a cause I cared about, poetry; it is a way to serve. It’s often where people’s needs meet with our passions, that we find our authentic voice, which makes marketing a lot easier.

What Then?

If you put these four principles into practice, then marketing and promotion will come almost naturally. In my experience, when we’re really excited about a cause, when we ally what we do (services and products) with generosity and a desire to serve, suddenly marketing comes far more naturally. And EASY!

Try putting these four principles into practice. Spend some time free writing, connect with your authentic voice, and then create and promote work you care about – and see what happens.

My bet would be marketing comes a whole lot easier when it’s a cause you care about.

What has been your experience marketing and promoting your work so far? Share with me on the comment section.


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