The key to self promotion

Some people can talk about themselves and what they do all day long, whilst others struggle to articulate their belief in themselves and their work. There's also a vast difference between shameless self promotion verses the ability to enthuse about your work and experiences, make people laugh and enrich their life with your tales. I know what side of the coin I'd like to fall on.

In the self publishing world, self promoting is not about forcing an audience to like you and your book. You shouldn't be constantly tweeting "Buy my book" and spamming people through the various social media channels. This kind of bombardment doesn't do you justice and it certainly doesn't add any value to your brand. A few sales may result, but most people will delete you to avoid the spam. We all know the social media code of conduct and not respecting it shows that you don't respect yourself, your fellow writers, or your audience.

Effective self promotion is about real belief in your book and yourself as a brand and pointing out the value of your knowledge and experience. It's a willingness to share, not bombard. This isn't easy with fiction as there are millions of stories, which is why a lot of wannabe writers (like myself) also have non-fiction blogs where we share our publishing experiences and offer advice on our specialist subjects. First you have to establish trust with your potential readers, then they become interested in your style, content, personality - and finally if they really like you and your work, they are more inclined to buy at this point.

Shameless self promoters only show up their chasm of ignorance - that they haven't bothered to do their market research, which could translate as they don't care who their readers are.

If self promotion doesn't come easy to you, just remember you are offering something of value to your audience. You don't have to hard sell anything!