Copyright 2006 GrammarGods.com
Whenever creative people get together there will, more than likely, be conversations about who is selling themselves creatively, and who is selling out. Making money has always existed uneasily with the creation of art, but that doesn't mean you have to live in a garret, unless your romantic illusions (or too much wine!) get the better of you.
Promoting yourself and your creative work is an unavoidable fact in this commerce-driven society of ours. You can pay someone to do it for you, but publicists and sales agents are not as personally connected to your book or other project, and sometimes their work, and your sales, suffer as a result. You will always know how to talk about yourself better than anyone else, even if you need help figuring out how to do this.
The first step is to allow yourself to be in charge. Creative people are often shunted to the sidelines, called weird, or made into outcasts, so many of us may feel that the world will not want to listen to what we have to say. That may be the case, but if you have done your homework, I believe there are readers, viewers and listeners out there for practically every kind of work.
Nationwide Newspapers is a place to start thinking about ads. They have very affordable prices, and can target your ads to a certain area of the country, to specific newspapers, or all over the country, with a classified or 1/4 page ad. Placing it is as easy as using their online form and checkout procedure, so the first step towards promoting your creative project couldn't get any simpler!
The second step is to employ sophisticated search marketing techniques through Yahoo, whose Sponsored Search puts you and your product or service in front of millions of eyes every day. Everything is done online, and in less than a half hour, you could be reaching out to an enormous new audience for just what you do! Fast track your listing for an even faster result.
Once you've got people searching for your product or service, try Verizon Super pages. It doesn't hurt to be listed in their book, but they can also help you out with Pay Per Click advertising, which places small ads on your web site in exchange for money they send to you each month. Until you get rolling with your direct sales, this is an excellent additional source of income.
Another great avenue of creative self-promotion is through articles. Writing articles and publishing them in periodicals, newspaper, ezines or magazines helps others to understand your expert status in your chosen field, and can also have the added benefit of getting you more paying work. Freelance Work Exchange is a great place to find work writing articles for others. But it's also a great place to get your name out there. By adding your site name and URL to the bottom of each article, you advertise your work virally, by allowing others to distribute it for you.
Lastly, think about audio as another way of getting your message out into the world. Mixonic is a wonderful source for CD design and duplication. You can upload sound files to their web sites, design CDs or DVDs, as well as any packaging, with ease. Simple, step-by-step instructions take you through what are usually the hardest steps of this process and before you know it, you're a promoting fool, with all the tools you need right at your disposal.
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About the Author
Noel Brinkerhoff is part of the team at
http://www.GrammarGods.com. He has been a professional writer for over ten years, specializing in journalism and screenwriting. For seven years, he worked as a reporter for the California Journal and State Net Capitol Journal in Sacramento. He is equally well-versed in book adaptations, and can provide excellent script coverage and story notes, as a former reader for the Chesterfield Screenwriting Fellowship.
