On Blogging And Self-Promotion Part II

I mentioned yesterday about the blogs I write and how I want you to read them and then either pat me on the back, give me a job making $100 grand a year or give me a pony.

I keed. (Well, maybe not about the job but you get my drift.)

With that said, it started a series of emails between myself and a few people off line that I wanted to address about public relations, promoting online content/products and the differences between being annoying and savvy. First of all, there is nothing wrong with self-promotion. It isn’t shady as so many people think it is. YES, I said it. It’s only shady if you are doing something shady. Many of us just blog because it amuses us and we like to communicate with other people. I’ve built some fantastic relationships with people that I’ve met in the blogging community. Relationships I would have not had otherwise.

How is, let’s say, folks who develop software, take photographs, have a cause, etc., get people to pay attention to them? They promote themselves as a viable, clever or entertaining market. They are marketing a brand and that brand is themselves.
As I said yesterday, if you don’t do it, who will? I’m finding that the best way sometimes to get from point A to point B is to ask questions that you might not have answers to and start a dialogue.

I found this at LifeHacker:

Whether you want to start your own business, sell your novel to a publisher, start a group for your favorite hobby, or get a promotion at work, you need to make people aware of you and your abilities. While we’d like to think that our work speaks for itself, the fact is that usually our work needs us to put in some work to attract attention before our work can have anything to say.

Good advice and the entire post is pretty groovy. Now, with that said, if you want on a blog aggregator, ASK. If you want people to buy your book, ASK. If you want people to visit your blog, then you have to visit theirs and participate in the conversation. And you might find that you have made an online friend. A master of this on a couple of different levels is Jackson Miller who talks about his company Statzen but is also an integrate part of Nashville’s online community. Another example is Kathy T. who runs several business and community blogs, writes books that are excellent and also promotes her abilities as a real estate agent. She does this not only with a businesswoman’s savvy but with a sense of whimsy. From another perspective, we might note Sam Davidson, who’s Cool People Care website is about a cause and has an amazing readership including myself.

Not everyone blogs for promotional reasons. Some people blog because they like the medium and they want to write. They want to get their point of views out there. Political blogs are a perfect example of this. Also, blogs about what’s going on in our worlds. It’s about communication.

So it’s alright to let the world know you are cool. Just don’t be annoying with it.

Go and be a part of the conversation first and the relationships will follow. I think it’s one of the most successful self-promotions you can do is be a part of the community that suits you the best.

Just call me MotivationalComa.