Julie's Web Journal: When Does Self-Promotion Go Overboard?

Fresh when it gets here from Julie Barrett
Monday, October 13, 2008

Rat 'cheer, you may say.

I've been meaning to write about this topic for a long time. The reason I haven't has less to do with my mad procrastination skills than with a simple fact:

I'm guilty as hell of doing this myself.

Truth be told, most of us have been guilty at some point. When you sign that contract, when the check comes in the mail (and clears!), when that book hits the shelf, when your work gets published online, it's celebration time. Of course, you want to share the good news with your friends and family. Furthermore, if this is your first publication, or you've finally hit the big time after years of toiling away in the trenches, you want to shout it from the rooftops. By all means, shout away.

But please, be aware that there is a limit.

That limit is something we all have to figure out for ourselves. I'm also keenly aware that people have different thresholds. What may seem like annoying behavior to one person is perfectly acceptable to another.

I've come up with a bit of a formula. Like all such things, your mileage may vary:

It's definitely too much when you spend more time promoting than creating new work.

There is an exception, and you're at mine. Your blog and your web site are two of the best self-promotion tools you have, and you should make use of them.

I do have one rule: Put yourself in the other guy's shoes, or at their computer. Think about what behavior drives you up the wall and try not to emulate it.

This is what I'm trying very hard to do. Or not to do, as the case may be. We'll see if I make progress.

Tags:Self-Promotion
Filed under: Self-Promotion

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Julie's Web Journal

Est. 2002