Hey Boo

Welcome back to part 3 of 3 of The Self series. As the series draws to a close, I decided to round it off with a piece on Self Promo. I felt like it was super important to put this topic at the end of the series as I wanted to give you a chance to soak up the gems I dropped in your lap in 3 Ways to Practice Self-Love in 2019 and Be about that Self-Care life in 2019.

SELF  PROMO

the action of promoting or publicizing oneself or one’s activities

If you follow me on social media then you already know that Self Promo is not something that I struggle with. I can guarantee that at some point during the day you will find me promoting my content on your timeline. As much as self-promo is practically a walk in the park for me I am aware that this is not the case or everyone. So last week I reached out to my Insta and Twitter family to find out if you guys struggle with self-promo and find out the reasons why?

It was no surprise that 85% of you answered yes to poll on Twitter and the reasons why were as follows:

Scared straight

Sounding desperate

Coming across as centered

Feeling like you’re bothering others

Getting aired 

Feeling awkward

Now all of these reasons are somewhat valid, as they may or may not occur, but so what if they do? it won’t be the end of the world. Last year, when I popped up on the blogging scene, no one knew who I was, no one knew about my blog and no one cared. I had the hardest task of trying to get people to click on my website and stay long enough to actually read it. To do this, I had to promote the life out of my content. This was a challenge especially since I stepped into a community already filled to capacity with Travel and Lifestyle bloggers.

Was this scary? Yes

Did I feel like I sounded desperate begging for readers? Yes

Did I feel intimidated? Hell yeah but I pushed through

Although I had all of these worries and doubts swirling around things in my head, it didn’t stop me because I realised something that kept me focused. Yes, there were many other bloggers out there from the same niche as me but me being Jenna made me different, so I took that and ran with it. I figured if I didn’t promote myself, how would people know that I was different? I had no other choice but to put myself out there, in hopes that someone would take an interest in reading about my view of the world.

It took some time but my blog has really taken on a life of its own. But, it was not always like this because, in my early days of being the newest blogger on the block, my requests for readers sometimes fell on deaf ears. I would slide in a few DMS, introduce myself with a link to my blog only to get aired out like wet clothes on a washing line during a hot summers day lol.

Now I know how those guys feel trying to sell their mixtapes in the streets. Maybe sliding in the DMs was not the best approach but I somehow managed to push through. 10 months into my blogging journey and Jennasworldview.com has nearly hit 14k views. My family of online supporters continues to grow daily and the engagement between my audience and I is pretty steady. Who knew that this was even possible when I first launched back in March?

Take it from me, you can let the whole self-promo thing scare you straight or you can decide to use 2019 to really give it a shot. It is time for you to bruk out of your shell and stop putting yourself and your talents on the back burner.

Here are 3 few gems that will help you step your Self Promotion game up in 2019:

1. Believe in yourself

I strongly believe that you can not genuinely promote something that you don’t believe in and this includes yourself. To be able to promote yourself, you have to believe in yourself first and foremost. If you think about it what is confidence without self-belief?not a damn thing.

I will tell you this for free if you don’t believe in yourself no one else will. A lot of people promote faking it until they make it, but believing in yourself is something that you can not fake. So take it from me believe in who your sauce. Believe in your God-given talents, gifts and abilities. Believe that whatever you possess will serve some sort of purpose to someone else. Once you truly believe in yourself, the self-promo thing will become a little less frightening.

2. Take Risks

If you don’t take risks and step out on faith you will never know what you will find on the other side. When I first started my blog, I worried if anyone outside of my family and friends would read it. But the only way I was going to find out was by putting myself out there and waiting to see what came back.

What was the worse thing that was going to happen? I would get ignored, someone might not like my content well those things did occur. But for every person who ignored me, read it and said I was not their cup of tea, there were many more people out there who felt differently. So take that risk boo, because anything is possible and you never know who you might reach with your work. I can tell you I am so glad that I took a risk on the 2nd March 2018 and launched JennasWorldview.com.

3. Network

Scared money doesn’t make no money and mute people don’t make no connections. Sometimes it is not about what you know, but who you know. I know networking can be daunting but it is a great way to engage with others and get yourself and your content out there. Everywhere I go, I network. I went to a comedy show earlier this month and connected with a videographer who has a creative space.

Who knows what that connection might bring? It is always good to being open whenever you go because you just never know who you might meet.  Even if you are not creative, networking can be beneficial if you use it to your advantage. Rubbing shoulders with the right people can be just as powerful as going viral. So the next time you are out at an event, speak about yourself with your chest and make valuable connections.

Last but not least

I understand that Self- promo might be sticky and as there is no direct formula on how to make it work, you just have to freestyle and pray that you are doing it right. Some say self-promo makes one come across arrogant, conceited or damn right annoying and yes in some cases this might be true.

However, this is not always the case so don’t let that put you off. This year don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, promote your work or showcase your talents, gifts and abilities. If you don’t speak up about yourself, I can assure you that no one else is going to do it for you. People have let many great opportunities pass them by because they were afraid to promote themselves, don’t let that be you.

Thank you so much for starting 2019 with me by following ‘The Self Series’. Remember 2019 is the year of YOU, no ifs, no buts and no maybes. Stay on your job and do whatever you need to do to ensure you are looking after number one…YOU!!!

Self Love – Self Care – Self Promo

Stay Blessed

Lots of Love

Jenna

xoxo