Self-Promotion Mistakes: Avoid These Pitfalls For Effective Organic Marketing

If you run a Facebook business page, you would have probably noticed that Facebook only allows you to reach typically 10% of your total audience for free through organic marketing.

They need to throttle your organic reach because people will not pay for ads if they earn the results they want from organic posts. This limit to organic reach is reflected on many other social media platforms and has given rise to the novice "self-promoter."

Organic Marketing Mistakes

The line of people creating and promoting has never been longer, and the amount of those doing organic marketing ineffectively is ever-growing.

It's pretty much a given that you'll start your ventures in self-promotion by enthusiastically throwing mud at a wall hoping something will stick, only to learn that this method won’t produce the results you want. 

At Crowdfunding Nerds, we sometimes work with passionate creators who have made these mistakes and just need some direction. 

Effective Self-Promotion Tips

Out there in the crowdfunding community, there are those of you that aren't ready to take the leap of hiring a marketing agency for one reason or another. 

If that's the situation you're in, we still want to help and have plenty of wisdom to impart, whether from our own experiences or that of our clients!  Effective organic marketing can make an incredible difference in the success of your Kickstarter campaign. 

So here are 5 self-promotional mistakes you need to be aware of and some solutions for promoting your wares: 

1. The "I" Must Die 

"Hi all, I just started a blog. I would really appreciate it if you check it out and let me know what you think!"

"Hi, I just created a YouTube channel.”

“I launched my first Kickstarter..."

We've all seen this kind of marketing before. 

But the harsh reality about the internet is that people don't care about you or your projects- or not in the ways you would like.

I know, ouch. 

Think about it- do you show interest every time someone shares that they started a business and want your attention? Do you follow through with every Facebook post that asks you to click links?

Merely stating that you created something falls flat in a day and age when anyone can make content, and everyone is promoting themselves. 

The Solution

People only want to hear what's in it for them. So instead of making your post about a thing you care about, make your post about something your ideal audience cares about.

Here are a few ideas of how to remove the "I":

• Focus on a thing they love to chat about (like the theme behind your game!)
• Ask a question they can answer to help you
• Show instead of telling (a picture speaks a thousand words)

In other words, serve people with your content. Don't try to sell it to them.

2. Slam The Spam

Have you ever received a message via email, text, or post that is not addressed to you and solicited an exchange of goods or services for money? 

You weren't asking for it, but it came looking for you and found you. Can you remember the last time such a message made you do what it wanted you to do? 

This unsolicited advertising is labeled "spam". 

Spamming is an easy mistake to make, and many of us have all done it at one desperate point, like when your campaign went live... or you started working for that MLM business 😉

The objection people have to that sort of marketing, however, is that they don't yet know you, like you, or trust you well enough to follow through.

The Solution

Be authentic and willing to put effort into building a community and relationships. 

Give abundantly to all who you will ask from before asking. 

If you give them your time, attention, and energy (even in a small way), they'll be much more likely to reciprocate!

3. Delete "Delete If Not Allowed" From Your Life

Have you ever been on a Facebook group and a self-promoter commented, "Delete if not allowed"? 

This is not the way to win favor with Facebook group admins, especially when there are straightforward group rules. 

Developers have even created bots that automatically block and ban such posts on some social platforms like Reddit!

Always respect the admins of a group and their rules. If you don't agree with or like it, your time might be best spent elsewhere. 

The Solution

Not all groups or subreddits are created equal, and some have communities that are a better fit for your stuff than others. 

Do your research on the group's interests, and play by the group rules (or find another group). Also, see Dwight's timeless rule on being an idiot.

4. Memes Are Not For Selling

Sometimes you can forget that Facebook has other uses instead of meme curation. This is because of the sheer number of memes that proliferate on the site. 

Some try to create and curate memes to attract large crowds that they hope will all flock to their websites and throw money at them.  

That's called a "bait and switch." Salad cat memes, celebrity comedy, or trending topics won't sell your stuff, but you will get a lot of engagement. 

The Solution

If you have done your work, you have a product that the right people would care about if they knew. 

Focus on delivering value to your potential customers by creating exceptional products and services, and let your product's awesomeness do the talking! 

When used well, meme posts are great, but they will not get email subscribers.

Better yet, get your raving fans to be your meme force. Allow satisfied customers and their recommendations to become the bedrock of your marketing efforts.

5. Follow For Follow?

No one ever falls for this one. 

The idea is that you say, "follow for follow?" and then you follow them, and they follow you. Right? 

And then, if you are particularly dastardly, you quickly unfollow them when they're not looking, but they're still following you. Genius! 

If you keep doing this, you will have a limitless following and infinite power! 

This is how most people on Instagram think they will get big. If only it were that easy! 

In reality, the number of followers doesn't matter nearly as much as the engagement of your followers. 

Sadly, there are few actual growth hacks to building a following, and the danger is that you grow resentful towards people who, despite your efforts, have no obligation to support your work. 

The Solution

As social media guru and branding specialist Kristen Lamb put it:

"Giving is when you write a nice review of someone else's book unsolicited and expecting nothing in return." 

Therefore, the age-old idiom remains true: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." 

Sincerely promote and invest in other people's work, and you might find they do the same or not. And that's ok. 

People Buy From People They Know, Like, And Trust

Remember, before people give you their money, they give you their time. 

And before they give you their time, they have to be at least interested in what you are seeking to solve for them or like you to some capacity. 

This is why celebrity marketing is so effective. But let's be honest, we don't all have one of those in our pockets that we can just whip out. 

View your self-promotional efforts as a means of being generous and not only as a means to acquire something from someone. 

Check out this incredibly helpful interview we did with Thomas Covert, admin of the Board Game Revolution Community Facebook group, on how to organically engage a Facebook community with your board game. While you’re at it, listen to our podcast on how to market your Kickstarter with little to no money. 

We hope you've found this helpful. If you have any tips, share them in the Crowdfunding Nerds Facebook Community for everyone's benefit!

If you want to dive deeper into effective self-promotion check out our course here.