What Is… Self-Promotion

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of self-promotion is as follows:

self-pro·​mo·​tion | \ ˌself-prə-ˈmō-shən \

Definition of self-promotion

: the act of furthering one's own growth, advancement, or prosperity : the promotion of oneself

As a born and raised Midwestern girl, I was taught to be polite, to not talk too much about myself, and that self-promotion was kind of a dirty word. It was something nice people simply didn’t do. In addition, I’ve always been shy and am a textbook introvert. Seriously, if you look up “introvert” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, you may see my photo as an example.

So, what am I doing talking about self-promotion? I’ve been thinking a lot about this topic because, in this age of social media, I’ve had to do more of it than I’m comfortable with. As a freelance writer, I have to promote myself if I want to get work (hence this website). I also own an online jewelry store that requires way more promotion than I’ve been giving it lately. And, last but not least, I am deep into the 4th draft of my first novel that I hope to publish in the not-too-distant future.

If I want a chance of getting published, I have to show agents and publishers that I’m capable of self-promoting. That some people out there somewhere are already reading the stuff that I write and put out in the world. I’m not very good at social media but I do make attempts at it. I prefer Instagram but don’t think I’ll be an influencer anytime soon. On the other hand, Hector (the Stay Curious cat) had his own Instagram as Mr. Brad Pitt of Cats and managed to get 1,000 followers in the blink of an eye. He was way more photogenic though. I may dip my toe into TikTok but don’t really want to talk at a camera. What am I going to talk about? Myself?

Which is how I got to The T Salon. Yes, blogging is considered pretty old school at this point, but writing is what I do best. Exploring random topics like self-promotion comes naturally to me. It doesn’t feel like self-promotion. Sometimes it does when I push the links to Instagram and Facebook, but it doesn’t feel like a dirty word anymore because I’m exploring things I’m interested in and want to put out into the world.

Will I continue down my path of self-promotion? The T Salon isn’t going anywhere, and hopefully you’ve been enjoying random topics, recommendations, and some cute animals. I’ve been enjoying creating these posts more than I thought I would.

What does self-promotion mean to you? What are you comfortable with putting out into the world?

Maybe it’s time to get out there and promote something that’s important to you. And while you’re doing it…

Stay Curious.