Selling Your Art Means Selling Yourself

That can present lots of challenges.

Photo by Ryan Plomp on Unsplash

When you sell things, because of human nature, you’re also selling yourself.

Part of what entices people to buy from you is you. How you present not just your product or service is one element, but how you present yourself is another.

For example, if you’re tentative, uncertain, or otherwise showing a lack of confidence, that will make an impression on your audience. Once again, despite the old adage, people DO judge a book by its cover. They will, thus, judge your goods and services by you.

For some people, this isn’t a problem. They’re charismatic, outgoing, confident, and damned good at selling themselves alongside their stuff. Yet for others, this is a challenge.

Selling yourself versus self-aggrandizement and worse

For me, one of the biggest challenges of selling myself — in the process of selling my books — is a fear of coming across as egotistical, arrogant, and/or self-important.

Many years ago, as part of my ongoing struggles with a fear of abandonment, I was a bit of a braggart. I’d tell you all about who I was and what I was doing, overshare my achievements and accomplishments, and generally annoy friends and family…