You can’t imagine how thrilled I am to announce the name change of this newsletter. I’ve been struggling with finding the right name for at least a year and I’m confident I’m finally there.
In tune with this issue’s topic, I feel like Strategic AF will help me self-promote more easily because it articulates what I do for my clients and audience much better than the now-defunct Ideas to Power Your Future.
I don’t want to dwell on this too much since the name change doesn’t affect the content but I will say this: it was a labor of love — many hours were spent pondering various potential names and testing them out.
Speaking of testing, today’s partner had a huge role in helping me with the rebranding. The lovely folk in the Growth In Reverse community saw me through two name versions, offered feedback, called me out on my own BS, and helped me make the final decision.
So I’m more than happy to say that this issue is…
📣 Brought to you by 📣
The Growth In Reverse Pro Community
If you’re serious about building your brand online, join me in the Growth in Reverse Pro community. This is the only product I ever bought without fully reading the emails about it — that’s how much I trusted Chenell Basilio, the founder.
And it paid off too. It took less than three months for me to find partners, clients, and a community that taught me more about personal branding and newsletters than an MBA.
All that happened organically and warmly, without resorting to shady self-promotion tactics.
You know I rarely rave about stuff — come check out why I rave about this community.
Join me in the Growth In Reverse Pro community!
Want your name up here? Grab a slot before the prices go up!
(Sold out until April)
Real talk: I hate self-promotion — for myself, at least (I love it when others do it right). It’s part of the reason I hide behind writing rather than jumping on 10 sales calls a week.
Some people thrive on self-promotion. They’ll wear the same T-shirt every day for “branding” and scream into the void about how they made a gazillion dollars from a “proven framework.”
Meanwhile, the rest of us would rather walk barefoot on Legos than post “Hey guys, I just launched something — check it out!”
I’m working on it. Here’s me walking the talk: did you know I recently launched the Strategic AF Welcome Sequence? *wink-wink*
Why does the world seem to be divided between shouters and whisperers? And is there a middle ground? Something that doesn’t require us to shout like a football coach but still sell?
Let’s unpack it, starting with the psychology behind the ick factor in self-promotion.
The psychological and cultural roots of self-promotion anxiety
The first concept on the list is something that prevents us from doing way too many things.
1. The Spotlight Effect
The Spotlight Effect is a term used to describe the tendency to overestimate how much other people notice about us. For instance:
- That typo in my latest social media post made thousands of people laugh at me → almost no one noticed it.
- What if I send an email about my recent launch and people hate it? → No one pays that much attention to other people’s content.
- Will my reputation tank if my newest product goes bust? → No one knows and very few people care.
In other words, we think we’re more in the spotlight than we really are. Like you, other people fall for this effect too, so they care more about their own typos and self-promos than yours. So why not post the damn thing?
2. The Imposter Syndrome
Briefly put, The Imposter Syndrome means you’re doubting your abilities and often feel like a fraud.
“Who am I to teach other people how to [insert what you do]?” is a common question for people who suffer from it.
The reality: Imposter Syndrome is far more prevalent in high-achieving people who have trouble accepting their accomplishments. If you’re self-aware enough to worry about being a fraud, you’re probably not one.
3. Cultural conditioning
Many of us were raised to think talking about ourselves, especially in laudative terms, is rude. That bragging is a character flaw.
Is it, though?
Jason Cohen (A Smart Bear) has a very interesting framework for figuring out if you’re a braggart or just stating facts.
Use this figure to figure out if you’re walking the talk. You can re-create it on a whiteboard and add post-its in the right area for all your marketing claims.
How many of them are in each quadrant?
Ideally, you should be in quadrant B, where you can do nothing and enjoy your status quo as a trusted brand OR do more self-promotion because it would be a shame for people not to discover a brand like yours, that keeps its promises every time.
3. The Decency Deficit
I just discovered this term coined by Christopher Fox, a criminally underrated thinker. In his words:
“Decency deficit: the accumulated cost of years of extractive, short-term thinking in communication, marketing, and influence. It is what happens when manipulation replaces respect, noise replaces depth, and transactions replace trust.”
Christopher’s term hit home for me because I believe that it’s one of the most ignored reasons why decent people hate self-promotion.
We’re so worried that we might be associated with the gurus and bros of the world that we prefer to keep silent when we should be speaking. Coupled with all the psychological and cultural reasons above, you have the perfect storm of silence.
How to fix it: shady marketers and bros overpromise and underdeliver — always! Look at your client feedback: how many people complained that you duped them?
No one? Less than 5% (you can’t please everyone!)?
If so, please do more self-promotion.
We need more people like you to counter the deafening noise made by snake oil peddlers.
Why you need to self-promote more (even if it feels awful)
The best people don’t always win. The best-known people do.
Above outcomes and “guaranteed results”, people pay for reputation, nothing else. So take care of yours like it’s your most precious asset — because it is.
Look around. Are the most competent people running the show? Or the ones who show up the most?
If you don’t talk about your work:
- No one will magically discover it.
- The less qualified loudmouth will get the clients you should have had.
- You’ll stay stuck in the cycle of “I’m great at what I do, but why is no one noticing?”
Self-promotion is not bragging. It’s letting the right people know you exist. And if you do it without sounding like an MLM bro, that’s just a public service.
Let’s see how you can do that elegantly.
Self-promotion for people who hate self-promotion
You know as well as I do that there are only so many “buy now!”, “click here!”, “check this out!” CTAs you can add to your content. But you don’t have to scream at the top of your lungs to get people to check out your work.
Walk the talk: show, don’t sell
Instead of screaming “LOOK AT ME,” just become the obvious choice by:
- Sharing what you’re working on. Not as a flex, but as an interesting insight into your process. You’d be surprised at how many people are curious about your processes and approach.
- Explaining your wins in a way that helps others. Instead of “I made $10K in 3 days,” try “Here’s what I learned about pricing after 10 failed attempts.”
- Putting the spotlight on your clients: less “Look how great I am,” more “Here’s how this strategy helped someone like you.”
Each of these is a nudge in the right direction.
Case in point: 80% of my clients tell me “I discovered you on social media but bought from you because of your emails”.
Translation: they know that everyone can fake it on social media (and most people do!). But you can’t fake expertise with long-form, in-depth content.
BTW, I’m hosting a workshop on how to create a newsletter that SELLS. Interested? Click here and you’ll be the first to know when it happens.
Let others do the bragging for you
You know I’m a die-hard fan of social proof. No ad and no bragging can convince people to buy from you like seeing their peers’ feedback.
So:
- Ask for testimonials and reviews. Whenever someone says something good about you (in a comment, an email, on a call) screenshot/record it and use it. Ask for permission first.
- Create case studies that go into detail about how you helped someone go from point A to point B. People trust results, not adjectives.
If people keep saying “Wow, you’re good,” at some point, you just have to believe them. Take that, imposter syndrome!
Join communities of peers
There’s a reason I can’t stop talking about Growth In Reverse Pro and the other communities I’m part of (sorry to all my friends who have had to put up with it).
In a community, you start off with inherent trust, especially if it’s an application-only community. People will naturally refer you and even hire you/buy from you.
The only caveat? You can’t go in like a MLM seller at a networking party and scream “buy my pots and pans” as soon you as you become a member.
You have to be helpful — not in a “value-packed” way but in a natural, friendly way: engage, answer questions and requests for feedback, and be there for your peers.
Referrals and affiliates are your self-promotion side-kicks
There’s a reason I offer a 50% commission to my Audience Accelerator partners. They take “self” out of “self-promotion” for me, so it’s only fair.
If you don’t have a product that’s a good fit for affiliate marketing, try referrals instead. You can incentivize them (“if you refer a client to me, you get a 20% commission”) or you can simply ask your friends (“if you know someone who needs this, please send them my way”).
Yes, it can be that simple — but you do have to ask.
Self-promotion isn’t about forcing yourself into conversations
It’s about making sure the right people see what you already do well.
This is why I preach benign as visible as possible. Go on as many channels as possible without spreading yourself too thin. Become a guest on podcasts, join networking events — get your face and your work out there.
Nothing happens overnight but I cannot overstate the power of becoming a familiar face. If people stumble upon you on several social media platforms, then a podcast, they will trust you – and eventually buy from you.
Need help with increasing your visibility and self-promoting without the ick factor?
I built Audience Accelerator for people like you — who want to build real influence without screaming into microphones. Dozens of people rave about it.
