Marketing: Is it Promotion? Or Connection?

In the old days it was location, location, location.

Now, it’s attitude, attitude, attitude.

We know this is true, especially as social media marketing takes over the traditional way of doing business.

I mean, it’s always been true that our attitude…affects how we do what we do in our business lives, as much as our creative lives.

But the Internet has changed the balance of power from promotion to connection.

Part 3 – A Season For Marketing

by Waverly Fitzgerald

I’ve found it useful to shift my attitude towards marketing. I used to think marketing meant promoting myself. Now I think of it as a way to find my readers, a subtle distinction but one that makes it much easier to do.

That is, now I am looking for the people who will appreciate what I do, rather than trying to convince total strangers to appreciate my work.

When I thought of marketing as selling my work, it seemed self-serving and arrogant. After all, who did I think I was? But, once Slow Time was published, I recognized that marketing was a way to be of service to the book. That took my ego out of it. Now my job is simply to help the book reach readers who want more time in their lives.

My ultimate goal is to find ease and joy in marketing. I want my readers to come to me. I want people to invite me to write for them (Thank you, Ariane!)

But first, they have to know that I’m the person to come to for information about seasonal holidays, organic time management, slow time. And until I have more requests than I can honor, more orders than I can fulfill, I’ll go on doing my marketing, easily and naturally, one week at a time.

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What’s your attitude toward marketing your work?

(Note: you do not have to be ‘pretty’ here. Rant ‘n rave if you want!)