Marketing yourself isn’t as hard as you think – you just have to know how to do it. Here are 20 tips to help you figure out how to market yourself in the most effective way.
People are good at different things – and when you identify your area of expertise, you can start working on ways to apply that to problem solving and innovating tasks. Figure out what makes you unique and try to apply that to the rest of your life.
Running a blog can help you earn recognition as an expert in your field. The ideal blogs are relevant to the current time, contain useful information, are written well, and have information readers want to know. If you’re running low on topics, talk about current events and how they impact your area of expertise.
Becoming an advisor is a great way to build your social network. You can work with nonprofits, mentor people, or take care of your community. It’s important to be honestly interested in helping them, not just trying to benefit yourself. That said…
You should actively try to be recognized for the things you know. Once you’ve got your blog, see if you can submit articles for publication or develop relationships with other people in your niche. This can quickly expand the base of people who know about you, and lead to interested parties contacting you for help. That’s nicer than submitting resumes all the time, isn’t it?
Sometimes, you can’t just find a community to join – you have to make one. Look for people with similar thoughts and talents and start bringing them together. Experts tend to enjoy spending time with other experts in their field, and this can rapidly expand your opportunities.
This is a lot like working on your blog, and many people will tie the two together. That said, this isn’t “fun” social media. Instead, your goal is to find people interested in a topic and bring them into your sphere of influence. By sharing a little of what you know, you can hook them and make them interested in learning more.
You are a brand. Your reputation matters – and you should live your entire life in a way that reflects how you want others to see you. Remember that one bad event can bring everything crashing down, so it’s on you to manage things and ensure you don’t veer off-course.
Who are you marketing yourself to, and what do they want to see? If you’re advertising yourself as available for romance, you should know what the partner you’re looking for would like. If you want a job, you should understand the skills and experience they’re looking for.
In most cases, successful brands are laser-focused on a specific audience. You probably don’t need the whole world to love you – just the part of it you’re focused on. Don’t be afraid to do your research.
Most serious employers will review your social media accounts, checking both the email you provided and trying to find you manually. They’ll be on the lookout for offensive content, evidence of substance abuse, and anything else that could turn you into a problem for their company instead of a benefit.
As such, use a professional email account for job applications and remove any problematic content from your social media accounts – going back as far as you have to. This will put you in the best position to appear intelligent and valuable to a potential employer.
In many cases, the skills you list on your resume are less important than the references and recommendations you can get from others. Talk to previous managers or bosses and see if they’ll be willing to act as a reference to you.
Ideally, you’ll have several endorsements available. This isn’t limited to employment, either. If a potential date’s friend says that you’re a good person, someone you’d like to romance is far more likely to try getting to know you.
This ties back to #8. When you know your audience, you also know what kind of endorsements or recommendations they’ll find most helpful and trustworthy. In a sense, endorsements are like online reviews – if other people think something is good, you’re more likely to buy it.
Your email signature should proudly declare who you are and what you do. Keep it brief, but try to add things like awards, a link to your website, and a general description of what you do. When done right, this can stick in the minds of people who see it and encourage them to think of you when they need help.
Think about what you can do without having to be prompted by others. How can you be more visible and more proactive in what you’re trying to do? Relationships – personal or professional – should also be aware of the ways you’ve succeeded and the things you’ve accomplished.
Note that this does not mean you should go around bragging. That will only upset people. Instead, try to work your achievements in the natural flow of a conversation.
You’ve accomplished things in the past, but unless you overcame a challenge, it’s not very impressive. Most people are more interested in hearing about how problems and difficulties were overcome. This can be one of the most effective ways of selling yourself as long as you don’t make it all about you.
Instead, try explaining problems and pointing out exactly why they were an issue for people. When your audience understands the problem, move on to detailing the solution and how it ultimately turned out. Seek recognition for what you did, but don’t oversell it or try to be the hero of every tale. In most cases, your audience doesn’t care about you – they care about how you can help them. Results are what you’re selling.
Confidence is key when deciding how to market yourself. Keep a positive attitude, know your strengths, and be willing to learn from your failures instead of dwelling on them. Be realistic about what you can do, but also look for opportunities to push forward. After you’ve succeeded for awhile, you’ll see yourself as a success and project that through the rest of your life.
It takes time to get what you want. The average job search takes six weeks, and it’s easy to get discouraged when you’ve sent in hundreds of resumes with no response. Understand how long it will take to reach your goals and give yourself the time you need to achieve them.
At the same time, try to expand your comfort zone. When you’re willing to do more things, it’s easier to succeed. If you limit your habits too much, you may find it harder to press forward. There’s no substitute for experience.
Many of us have things that stop us from acting. It could be fear, limited beliefs, a sense that only perfection is acceptable, or a negative perspective. Whatever the cause, try to identify the things that limit you, then learn how to avoid them.
This is often overlooked when deciding how to market yourself, but it shouldn’t be. When you know what other people are thinking about you, you can start working to change yourself, improve your weaknesses, and capitalize on the best aspects of your personality.
It’s good to have a long-range goal, but you should also have smaller goals you can achieve over time. If you want to get hired, short-term goals may include improving your resume and mastering the talents needed for interviews. Having a lot of small goals can also provide a constant feeling of success that reinforces your good behaviors.
It’s good to be loyal to your job and the people in your life, but you also need to take care of yourself. Don’t limit yourself to being second in everything. Instead, keep your priorities straight and make sure you have a good balance between them.