Ah, self-promotion. That horrible mix of nerves, awkwardness and mild nausea that strikes whenever you hover over the ‘post’ button. Yes, you’ve poured heart and soul into your work. Yes, you’re proud of what you’ve made. But the thought of sharing it online feels like standing in front of a crowd at a bus stop and yelling, “LOOK AT MY THING!”.
Here’s the thing, though. For creatives who want to succeed in the 2020s, self-promotion is unavoidable. However good your portfolio website is, clients aren’t going to magically stumble across it, and word-of-mouth can only carry you so far.
Yet there’s no need to stress. Promoting yourself doesn’t have to feel like selling double-glazing door-to-door. In fact, done right, it can even be fun.
To help you reach that point, we spoke with the Creative Boom community about how they personally approach the art of self-promotion. We share their best tips below, and you can also read the full discussion on our own private network The Studio. (Not joined The Studio yet? Do it now: it’s free!)
1. Step out of the shadows
Terrified by the idea of self-promotion? Designer Kultar Ruprai feels your pain. “This is a constant battle for me,” he says. “I’m very much an under-the-radar, let my work speak for itself, type. With all the noise out there, I feel overwhelmed, and that puts me off even more. But I have to remind myself to step out of my comfort zone and add my 2p amongst all the noise. Who knows, someone might agree, or spark a debate. You’ve got to be in the race, instead of watching from the sidelines.”
Creative Andy Culbert tells a similar story. “Self-promotion has never sat comfortably with me,” he admits. “It always left me with that sick feeling in my mouth. Perhaps it’s my upbringing, or perhaps it’s growing up in Manchester, where you’re taught to keep your head down and work hard. But the truth is, it’s mostly in my head, and probably in a lot of our heads. We overthink it far more than we need to. What really matters is showing up. Speaking up isn’t bragging. It’s just sharing a bit of yourself and letting people know you’re here. Life’s too short to worry.”
2. Be honest
Traditionally, sales and marketing have been stereotyped as conniving and deceitful. But when it comes to self-promotion, graphic designer Pearse O’Halloran pursues the exact opposite. “My golden rule is honesty, plain and simple,” he explains. “Your marketing should reflect how you talk to your friends about what you love about your job. When freelance designers go all ‘Bizness’ spiel, it’s not just cringe but feels disingenuous and does your brand a disservice.”
Illustrator Annie McGee agrees that self-promotion needn’t be about the hard sell. “For me, it’s more about leaving creative breadcrumbs,” she says. “Tiny and honest posts build trust far faster than one giant shout. So I post messy desk shots, sketchbook sneak peeks, and the ups with the downs, because that represents true life as a creative freelancer.”
3. Share what excites you
Not sure what to post? Designer and illustrator Neal McCullough keeps things simple: he posts things he’s proud of. “Promoting yourself as an illustrator never really feels too spammy,” he reasons. “You’re sharing colourful, fun stuff that usually raises a smile anyway. I share my work on social media because I’m genuinely excited for my friends, clients and colleagues to see what else I’m working on. If that leads to more work, that’s a bonus.”
4. Consistency beats intensity
For Adrian Carroll, creative director and co-founder at D8, another key aspect is posting regularly. As he puts it: “We just try to be consistent, and aim to share one piece of work a week. Sometimes it’s big, sometimes it’s small; it’s just about being regular, to keep the level of awareness high over time.”
Copywriter Denise Strohsahl agrees, and suggests you strive to make posting a habit. “Set aside time every month, or fortnight, to write those posts and schedule them,” she advises. “Make it part of your routine, just like doing your taxes or sending invoices.”
5. Create your “work self”
Lack confidence? Illustrator Jacqueline Colley has found a neat hack to give herself a boost. “I started a fake persona of a work self, and I act like it’s my job to promote this person, which of course it is!” she says. “This trick helps it not be about me but my work and what ‘Jacqueline’ is up to. It possibly helps that I mostly go by Jacquie to my friends.”
6. Make it fun
Self-promotion might sound like a lot of work. But multimedia creative Eve Macdonald reframes it as play. “If you feel cringe about posting, the trick is just to talk about things you’re passionate about, with other people who care about the same stuff,” she explains. “If you think of it more like show-and-tell, it suddenly feels less icky and more fun.”
Eve also recommends problem-solving as self-promo. For example, her Leeds Creative Calendar started as a personal tool but soon evolved into a way to connect with the community. Sometimes your side project is your marketing.
And if cringe strikes? Eve suggests you: “Ask yourself whether you remember the last LinkedIn or Instagram post you scrolled past. Most of the time, you can’t. So if something you post feels cringe, no one will remember anyway! A little nihilistic, but honestly, pretty comforting.”
7. Don’t be modest
In the UK, we’re often brought up to hide our light under a bushel. But if you want to make it as a creative, you have to do the opposite. And creative director Erick Ortega has purposefully learned to train himself out of modesty.
“One thing that shifted it for me was an interview by Tyler, the Creator,” he recalls. “He talked about how it is lame to not feel proud and excited when we’ve invested a lot of time, effort and even money to get an idea formed, executed, finished and released. It’s part of the process to put yourself out there and make people aware of your presence.
Erick’s top tips? “Don’t assume everyone is watching and knows all about your life updates,” he says. “Go beyond just an Instagram Story post. And be proud of yourself.”
Conclusion
So there you have it: marketing doesn’t need to feel gross. If you focus on honesty, joy and connection, self-promotion stops being cringe; it just becomes part of being a creative. Aaron Becker, designer at Gestalt Werks, puts it simply. “Self-promotion simply means talking about your services with confidence,” he says. “It’s uncomfortable at first, but with time, practice and humility, you will come off as genuine.”
