The Self Promotion Thread

Self promotion is the worst. Many of us aren't taught the proper etiquette, or we have crippling anxieties about the value of what we do, or we just don't have a lot of practice at it.

This is a thread to talk about self promotion, and is an off-shoot of this discussion in the Loathe thread.

Also, feel free to put your own projects forward here at any time.

It's so tough, isn't it? I wanna scream from the mountaintop "Hey, I've got stuff you should see!" but I don't wanna be a jerk about it.

Folks have told me to go to reddit communities and such, but I hate posting there because I don't wanna be one of those jerks who just pops in to post their stuff and never engages. But I don't have time to engage with every community.

GAH.

Dr_Awkward, I've been noticing that you're really stepping up your level of awkwardness around here lately.

Lousy puns, novelty and nonsensical posts, and tossing around decades old cultural references so obscure that nobody could be expected to get them - All top notch.

Not to mention that you remain blissfully lighthearted and remorseless while being a crippling liability to your Rocket League teammates.

For these reasons and more I'm promoting you effective immediately.

What I'm terrible at:

I'm terrible at Facebook and Twitter promotion. Of course, it doesn't help that most of the only people that have liked my Facebook page are relatives or friends. There are some random folks I'm not friends with that are following the page, but it's, like, count-on-one-hand quantity. Similarly, Twitter is a constant blizzard of posts that I likely get lost in, and it is likely that I don't help myself because I've come to really hate Twitter. I am actually actively wondering if I'd be better off without social networking altogether seeing as I cannot seem to network in a fashion that really works in my favor.

What I've learned:

In terms of self-promotion, I've found that it works best for me when I'm engaging with someone with the intent of engaging with them. The best example I can provide is how I got an "explosion" of subscribers to my YouTube channel (basically: how I went from maybe 20 or 30 to over 100, and have been rising steadily since). Before he was Patreoning I was watching Noah-Caldwell Gervais' videos, and managed to put together an Aliens: Colonial Marines video before he tackled the AvP game series, wherein he also discussed Aliens: Colonial Marines.

When I commented on his video, I noted that he hit on a lot of the same thoughts that I had in my own video, and then proceeded to discuss what he noticed that I didn't, what I noticed that he didn't, and also brought up the other games I hadn't reviewed. I only mentioned my video once and I didn't link to it. In the end, I reached out to engage with him, and as a result he checked my channel on his own, found the video, watched, commented, and subscribed. This led to the torrent of subscribers, many of whom Reddit.

Ever since then, while I have not exploded in "popularity", I've found that there are folks following my channel that will post my videos on Reddit and share them around. Which, to me, is the real secret. The key to self-promotion is finding someone that will do the promoting for you. Think about how the recent Every Frame a Painting video on Marvel Scores got around. Two or three different people posted the same video in multiple threads.

I have that a little bit, but not enough to really grow grow. I'm over 350 subscribers, and I think that's amazing, but growth in 2016 has slowed for a few reasons. One of those reasons is that I haven't put out any truly good content. Which means half the job of self-promotion is to keep creating, and putting your all into it. Also: just because it works once, doesn't mean it always will. I got into a discussion with Maxbarnyard for one of his Great Levels in Gaming series and brought up a video I did, and... if he checked it out, he didn't say so or subscribe.

What I Will Try:

At the moment, my only plan is to switch to having a voice-over ending for my videos. Right now it's just music with text-credits, and I have a feeling a lot of folks just close the window at that point.

My other plan, is... I dunno. I'd like to draw more attention to my blog and my writings here, but that's a lot harder to cultivate. The advantage to YouTube is that it's part of a network that people are already members of and thus subscribing is easily. They're already coming to YouTube, which essentially becomes a glorified (and awfully cluttered) RSS feed. So keeping someone coming back is as simple as posting a new video.

Unless they're using RSS feeds already, the blog is a lot more difficult. I cannot update regularly. I wish I could, but I cannot write often enough for such a thing. I've considered using the Blogger account attached to my RamblePak e-mail and using that for my blog instead, but there's a problem: my own website is also my web development portfolio (or at least, proof I can code). And while I've got professional experience, rarely has it been something impressive. My website is a necessity to say "Hey, I know X, Y and Z tech" (and seriously needs a redesign). So aside from the issue of having hundreds of posts I'd need to archive and find a way to keep alive, I'd also lose a necessary portfolio.

I need to figure out if there's a way I can get my work to be a one-stop shop. Or, I need to figure out how to approach aggregate sites like Good Games Writing when I do post something worth reading, because to me, that feels weird. "Hey, can I be presumptuous and assume I'm good at games writing?"

So I suppose I got a lot to try and figure out as well in regards to where I'm going.

Bottom Line:

idontknowwhatimdoingdog.jpg

Veloxi wrote:

Folks have told me to go to reddit communities and such, but I hate posting there because I don't wanna be one of those jerks who just pops in to post their stuff and never engages. But I don't have time to engage with every community.

This is the toughest one. Reddit communities sniff out shameless self-promoters fast, so you have to engage. However, I have two barriers keeping me off of that site.

1) I cannot stand the design/interface/IT'S LIKE NAVIGATING A VOMIT STREAM WITH A BAGUETTE AS MY PADDLE

2) I've found a few communities I would theoretically like to participate in, but just lurking is a full time job.

So while Reddit would be the perfect place for a lot of my work, it would require me to basically be on Reddit enough to get fired.

In my film company, of my partners, I've ended up being by far the best at networking and promoting the film. Most of the rentals we got came from people I knew, or as a result of attention that came from connections I had (including the Ramblecast!) I was wondering why that was, as I feel like I'm awful at promoting my stuff due to well cultivated crippling self-doubt brought about by having my own self-worth marginalized while I was growing up.*

I think Chris's story about actual engagement is totally true. At every film festival I would watch other filmmaker's films, including going to the shorts programs. Then I'd talk to them afterwards if I responded to something in their film. I liked doing this because I like film, especially stuff that's taking a chance. A lot of stuff at festivals isn't great, but a lot is, and even in things that aren't perfectly executed there is often a lot to enjoy. And just showing up for other people and engaging with their work in a serious fashion leads to them engaging with you and taking you seriously. My other partners didn't really enjoy that aspect of film festivals, for very legitimate reasons. But that stuff does pay off if it comes from a sincere place. Showing up for people is huge.

Spoiler:

*Stealth Promotion!

ccesarano wrote:

2) I've found a few communities I would theoretically like to participate in, but just lurking is a full time job.

This is the one I've the biggest problem with, either Reddit or elsewhere like Google Plus. I just don't have time to actively engage with more than a few communities besides my own.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

Showing up for people is huge.

Huh, I've not thought about this one much. I do watch other folks' videos, but I rarely comment, so one might never know I'd "show up." I should make more time to show up to other folks' things.

Veloxi wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

Showing up for people is huge.

Huh, I've not thought about this one much. I do watch other folks' videos, but I rarely comment, so one might never know I'd "show up." I should make more time to show up to other folks' things.

I always think about how good I feel when someone actually takes the time to write a review, or send a message about how much they like something I did. Giving that back is really lovely, especially because I do watch and enjoy lots of stuff made by people.

Which reminds me, I really enjoyed your stream of Halycon 6! It bumped it up to the top of my wishlist. Your streams are also some of the big inspirations for me contemplating a gaming laptop - I want to play in space more and the Mac space game library is limited!

Aawww, thank you.....

Wait. MY GOD YOU'RE RIGHT!

Seriously, you're totally right, and I need to start giving as good as I wanna be getting.

Comments are a valuable thing, but they can be rough. Sometimes I watch YouTube on my TV since a lot of videos I view are 15-30 minutes. If I want them on my TV, I'm not in a space to comment. Other times, there are arbitrary loopholes to commenting on someone's blog.

While I don't get much attention from the people whose work I'm commenting on, this does get the occasional person curious to check out my stuff, even if I don't even mention doing videos. Youtube comments aren't always the worst!

Just that they are much of the time.

I'm small enough that I mostly get pretty relevant and great comments. Thank goodness.

I came here to learn a thing.

I'm curious as to what the hardest part of putting yourself forward is for everyone here, and what is easiest.

My big challenge is the internal battle of self-worth, but I'm actually more of an extrovert than lots of people, so once I'm actually talking to people it is a bit easier.

I have a similar problem with self-worth as well, but I also have an issue with not wanting to annoy people, I want promotion to be as natural as possible, but a lot of times I feel like I need to be some sort of pushy, in your face used car salesman in order to get my sh*t out there.

I'm terrible at sales. Terri. Ble. Especially, it seems, when it comes to selling myself.

I think a lot of it is not wanting to come off as a slimeball. I know folks that sneak whatever they work on into every conversation they have with someone new. If I'm with my friends, bringing up the fact that I need to work on my next video this week is just like saying I gotta do my laundry. But if I don't know someone that well, I really have no clue how to bring it up without sounding like "Lookit me! I do a thing! Pay attention to me!"

Or worse, "I'm sorry I forgot your name five seconds after you told me but here's my amazing wonderful stuff aren't I so amazing and awesome?"

I'm also not sure how to bring it up sometimes. I haven't shared my YouTube channel with my co-workers, really, but some of them know I have one. But when you say "I have a YouTube channel about video games", no one expects "I have a thirty minute dissection on what went wrong with Metroid: Other M". They expect Let's Plays and stuff, or quick five or ten minute reviews of a game.

I've gotten over the fear of rejection, though, or the idea that my stuff isn't good enough. I dislike my Homefront video because I was too focused on not wanting to be boring, and as a result it is a lot weaker than it could have been. But, when I look at many of the videos before it, I feel like I put out some quality stuff. So I know as long as I keep going I can keep making good videos.

I suppose it's also telling that I don't even think about marketing my blog or that I write for GWJ. I suppose that's more because people just don't like reading as much as watching something. Also, even as a writer, writing feels much more disposable. Which itself is a problem, really.

ccesarano wrote:

I suppose that's more because people just don't like reading as much as watching something.

I'm actually finding the opposite, people who are deaf or can't understand English super well have asked me to write more, and I'm trying to be accommodating, but arg, so much time.

Veloxi wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

I suppose that's more because people just don't like reading as much as watching something.

I'm actually finding the opposite, people who are deaf or can't understand English super well have asked me to write more, and I'm trying to be accommodating, but arg, so much time.

Many times I tend to read more because if I have only 5 minutes to spend on something, it takes a lot less time to read about it than watch a video. It's one reason I like to see update *notes* rather than video updates. I don't want to spend 10 minutes watching a video when I can read the notes in about 3 minutes.

I used to also worry about annoying people, or coming off as a jerk. Then I remember that most people, when you meet them, are also worrying about how they are coming off and facing the same doubts, or their mind is on something else. All of that stuff going on in my head doesn't matter at all to the other person in the room, they're wrestling with their own stuff. And that's liberating because it makes it easier to say "Hey, this is me, and here's what I do."

We live in a society that defines who you are by what you do - which actually makes self promotion really easy. Traditionally this has meant "your job" but it is simple to introduce yourself as the other things you do. My wife works in philanthropy, so I get to be a +1 at a lot of a swanky events. After the first one I started introducing myself as a writer / actor / filmmaker instead of a temp, or my wife's husband and it was a revelation. That's easy to carry over to other events, and it isn't annoying. You meet someone, you exchange names, you ask them what they do, they ask you what you do and BOOM. You have self-promoted.

Once it is okay to say what you do, it is a little easier to take it a step farther and put it out there a little more directly. If someone isn't interested they'll move on without a second thought. If they are interested, they'll engage. It is rare the person who will actually judge you annoying, and if they do then so what? That could be all about where they are, and not have anything to do with you. And a stranger's opinion of you being tarnished is actually incredibly low stakes.

So I try to keep all of that in mind if I have to "network."

Of course there are people who push it, but I suspect a majority of them are coming from a genuine place and simply haven't thought it through. Or they're overcompensating some internal weakness. Regardless, they deserve the benefit of the doubt - at least for a first offense.

In Scotland, to promote my play, I got really good at flyering. I'd give out a couple hundred fliers and maybe ten of the people that I gave out flyers to would come. I'm sure those that didn't show weren't annoyed, they were in Scotland during the Fringe so there is a social acceptance of flyering. They also have the option of saying "no thanks" or ignoring me. But I'm also sure SOME people were annoyed when I approached them. But that was about where they were, not about me or my flyering tactics, and ultimately they probably don't remember that specific experience the next day. They remember "the city I live in was crowded with tourists and that annoyed me yesterday because I had a lot to do and they were in my way." Which is reasonable, but not about me or any other individual.

Now if I was screaming at people and trying to shove a flyer in their hand that would be totally different. Then I'm crossing a line. I feel like a lot of us worry that we're going to cross some sort of line unintentionally.

My therapist's response to that is that the fact that I worry about crossing lines means that I'm not going to actually cross them. I'm just aware of it, and as an anxious person, I worry about doing it. But the worry also shows that I understand the line, enough so that I should give myself a break and trust that I won't cross it.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

We live in a society that defines who you are by what you do - which actually makes self promotion really easy.

Not so much for me, probably because I don't view the things I do as being very important or interesting to most other people. When I do attempt to promote myself out of necessity, like for job reviews and such as all the "sell yourself" advice recommends, I get marked down for being too aggressive. Of course, when I don't do it, I'm "not being a team player" and get marked down for that. After years of being subjected to such passive aggressiveness, I just muddle through things however I can, or put on a mask of not caring.

This thread has been enlightening. As always, it is comforting to find people enduring similar struggles.

Personally, I can rarely summon the energy for self promotion. Creating, shooting, editing, and dreaming up locations for the next video are ridiculously time consuming. Throw on the full-time day job, and the prospect of bombarding social media with links quickly falls to the bottom of the priority scale.

I find it awkward to work my projects into casual conversations, and generally only do so when similar topics are being discussed, or I'm directly asked about it. Probably not the most conducive method for getting information out there, but at least I don't come off like one of the aforementioned self promoting slimeballs

I'm the professional lurker. I've been on GWJ since 2003, and my comment count is quite low. Very similar situations for most communities I'm involved with. I'm here, just not trumpeting my presence.

With all that said--and with the clear invitation in the original post--I will plug my YouTube channel. I fly drones and make aerial videos of things that interest me. Mostly just getting an aerial perspective on natural environments that until recently were only possible if you chartered a helicopter. I posted my latest video of Edisto Island--near Charleston SC--yesterday. Give it a look if things like that interest you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYEw...

Harpo, that is super enlightening, and gives me a lot to chew on. Thank you.

aphesian wrote:

With all that said--and with the clear invitation in the original post--I will plug my YouTube channel. ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYEw...

Very nice! That's a pretty part of the world, and I think you did it justice.

Off topic: There's a guy up at the OBX who does similar drone photography, fyi. Not sure if you know him (I don't - just via reputation) - just a virtual heads-up, I guess.

bekkilyn wrote:

Not so much for me, probably because I don't view the things I do as being very important or interesting to most other people.

Yeah, that's hard. My approach to that might be kind of weird, but what works for me with that stuff is trying to focus on giving the other person the agency. It is better to let other people make those decisions for themselves than it is for me to impose it and decide for them. I could be down on myself or stuff I do all I want, but other people might be genuinely interested, and isn't fair for me to decide for them. I know what I'm interested in and what I'm not. I also know that if I'm not interested in something and ignore it, I don't hate it. So I try to project that on to putting myself out there. Other people are likely reacting the same way - if they're interested great! If not, no harm no foul.

aphesian wrote:

This thread has been enlightening. As always, it is comforting to find people enduring similar struggles.

Personally, I can rarely summon the energy for self promotion. Creating, shooting, editing, and dreaming up locations for the next video are ridiculously time consuming. Throw on the full-time day job, and the prospect of bombarding social media with links quickly falls to the bottom of the priority scale.

I find it awkward to work my projects into casual conversations, and generally only do so when similar topics are being discussed, or I'm directly asked about it. Probably not the most conducive method for getting information out there, but at least I don't come off like one of the aforementioned self promoting slimeballs

I'm the professional lurker. I've been on GWJ since 2003, and my comment count is quite low. Very similar situations for most communities I'm involved with. I'm here, just not trumpeting my presence.

With all that said--and with the clear invitation in the original post--I will plug my YouTube channel. I fly drones and make aerial videos of things that interest me. Mostly just getting an aerial perspective on natural environments that until recently were only possible if you chartered a helicopter. I posted my latest video of Edisto Island--near Charleston SC--yesterday. Give it a look if things like that interest you.

Thank you for sharing! It is gorgeous stuff. I went ahead and embedded it so people don't have to click through the link to see it.

I also want to second how helpful it is hearing about how other people have racked their brains over this stuff and that we all struggle with what is feels like a universal issue / set of issues.

(Also, I love your avatar.)

Veloxi wrote:

I'm actually finding the opposite, people who are deaf or can't understand English super well have asked me to write more, and I'm trying to be accommodating, but arg, so much time.

Oh man, that's a whole other bag there. If I look at my channel's stats, the most consistent audience that watches my videos to completion are Russians. A Russian reviewer just subscribed to me and I feel bad because I can't understand his stuff.

My bucket list for my channel is to be able to hire and pay someone that speaks Russian fluently to add closed-caption subtitles for my videos. It would be a major endeavor and not one I'd feel comfortable working with someone to do for free.

Haven't had any deaf/hard of hearing folk comment, though. Which, given the nature of the videos, makes sense as without audio there's really nothing. I wonder if I should have my scripts available? Hrm...

ccesarano wrote:

Oh man, that's a whole other bag there. If I look at my channel's stats, the most consistent audience that watches my videos to completion are Russians. A Russian reviewer just subscribed to me and I feel bad because I can't understand his stuff.

OH GOD EXACTLY. I feel so bad I can't really reciprocate and hope they understand. Ugh.

Well, since this thread is for self promotion, I think I should promote the fact that my wife and I are doing a podcast now.

I can't get it onto itunes yet, because itunes is telling me that a jpeg that is 2000x2000 and 340kB does not meet the requirement that an image be between 1400x1400 and 3000x3000 and under 500kB, so all I can give you is a direct link until I get that sorted.

Enjoy.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Well, since this thread is for self promotion, I think I should promote the fact that my wife and I are doing a podcast now.

I can't get it onto itunes yet, because itunes is telling me that a jpeg that is 2000x2000 and 340kB does not meet the requirement that an image be between 1400x1400 and 3000x3000 and under 500kB, so all I can give you is a direct link until I get that sorted.

Enjoy.

Congrats! Can't wait to check it out.

It is so much easier to promote an idea or product that you are associated with, and then if it gains traction, hang on for the ride.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Well, since this thread is for self promotion, I think I should promote the fact that my wife and I are doing a podcast now.

I can't get it onto itunes yet, because itunes is telling me that a jpeg that is 2000x2000 and 340kB does not meet the requirement that an image be between 1400x1400 and 3000x3000 and under 500kB, so all I can give you is a direct link until I get that sorted.

Enjoy.

Congrats! Can't wait to check it out.

I figured out the image issue, and I've submitted the feed to iTunes, google play and stitcher, so as soon as those are approved it will be easier to subscribe to. I'm trying to get it into Tunein also, but their website for content creators appears to be broken; I get nothing but error messages on all fields. I'll try another browser tonight.

EDIT

And we are live on iTunes and Google Play!

By all means check us out and leave a review if you're so inclined. Our plan is for it to be a half hour show, and we haven't decided if it will be biweekly or weekly yet. We'll have to see how it works out.

So FYI to folks in here, Zoso went and made a channel in Slack called #creatives. Figure it could be a good place to have conversations related to self-promotion.

Also here to learn more.

I've found a bit of self deprecative narcissim backed up with a hint of truth is good for breaking the ice without coming across as overbearing. Like today I introduced myself as "Sydney's most handsome lawyer but not just a pretty face" (the first part is wrong but the second part is true enough); it gets a rise out of most people who then ask about what I've done or do which naturally leads into the self promoting part.

But also it's very much about impressing those who will then speak a good word to their friends and colleagues. It's hard to be discovered even if you're good at what you do.