By Michael Simpson - Author “The Sales Cookbook”

It’s no secret: to get ahead, you have to promote yourself. But for most people, the thought of promoting themselves and their accomplishments seems unprofessional. Many people that I have coached feel that they quite good at their professions, making good money and that they shouldn’t have to market themselves.

If thoughts like these often cross your mind, ask yourself this — who are the biggest names in your industry or profession and how did you get to know about those people and their work? Did you hear them speak or see them interviewed, Did you read an article or book they had written, hear them on the radio, learn about them on the internet? The point is that these well-known people became well-known because they followed a path of Self Promotion and shared their experience, expertise, stories, and ideas with a wider audience than just their co-workers and associates. You know about them and their work because they marketed themselves through Self Promotion. And I’ll bet it never occurred to you to call them unprofessional for doing it.

Real Self Promotion can never be unprofessional. The reason we get a bad feeling from overt self-promoters is that, most of the time, their efforts are insincere and not authentic. It’s clear that they’re not building a relationship with us but only looking for the quick payoff, whether that’s a sale, a vote, or a positive performance evaluation. They are pretending to be our friend to get something they want. Real Self Promotion extends beyond a targeted objective or goal. It gives people a reason to associate themselves with us, for the long term. It’s genuine and authentic — more like making friends than selling something.

What separates you from everyone else who does what you do is the particular value you bring to your clients, customers, or users. The same applies to your self marketing efforts — people tune out if you’re just blathering on about how great you are. Instead, apply your particular expertise in demonstrable ways — by adding insightful points to a discussion or blog post comments, by creating entertaining and informative promotional spots, etc.  If you are telling people something that adds value to their lives, there’s no reason to feel as if you’re intruding. Stand up tall and show that you have faith in yourself, your abilities, and your work. After all, if you don’t have confidence in yourself, why should anyone else?

Showing off your work doesn’t have to sound like, “Boy! Aren’t I great?” It doesn’t have to contain even a hint of bragging. There are a host of very dignified and appropriate ways to let a wider audience know how good you are without ever saying so. Here are the core 7 that Positive Success focuses on:

Public Speaking - Appearing as a speaker allows you to broadcast your expertise with three different audiences — the people who attend your talk, the people who are invited by the sponsoring organization but can’t attend, and the people you tell about it before and after. If standing in front of a room makes you too nervous, serve on a panel of experts instead. You’ll get to sit behind a table and speak from notes.

Writing - Putting your expertise in writing and sharing it with publications your target audience reads is a powerful — and very professional — way to let more people know about your unique talents. Submit your articles to both print publications and web sites that serve your niche and watch your visibility grow.

 Media interviews - Being interviewed by magazines, newspapers, or on radio and television can spread the word quickly about your expertise and capabilities. Landing interviews is not that hard to do if you remember to start small. Begin by approaching easy targets like association newsletters, neighborhood newspapers, and local talk radio.

Social Networks - One of the fastest growing self promotion tools on the internet is Social Networks. I have found that the acceptance of self-promotion within the social media space is increasing especially in sites like linked In. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. The goal of anyone—be it individual or marketer—is still to reach the point where your fans/readers/subscribers become your evangelists.

Testimonials - Whenever you do a good job for a client, ask them to write you a simple thank you note describing what you did to make them happy. Then make their words available on your web site, brochure, or other marketing materials. Let them tell others about your value, and you won’t have to say it yourself.

Web Sites - A web site can be one of the most rewarding Self Promotion tools you can use. It shows that your up-to-date, gives you instant credibility and exposes you to a global marketplace. Most importantly, prospects can get instant access anytime to your information and examples of your work.

Products - Packaging your work into merchandise that prospective clients can take home and sample gives them a compelling way to discover your real value. Products like ebooks, white papers, and audio recordings allow you to showcase your expertise and increase your credibility. They can often be advertised more widely than your services can, giving you another avenue for getting your name known.

Pick just one of these ideas to pursue and make a plan to showcase what you can do for a wider audience. Self-promotion is about building a long-term reputation for yourself. Establishing trust and respect in the marketplace. This is not something you do in a few months. So you need to get some work habits that will allow you to move self-promotion from a project type thing to a lifestyle type thing