How to Do Self-Promotion Without Feeling Gross
It happened again last week.
I sat across from a new author. Sharp mind. Beautiful story. Powerful message. And she was already exhausted.
“I’ve been posting,” she said. “Trying to stay active. Doing the carousel thing on Instagram, little videos on LinkedIn, quotes from the book… but nothing’s happening.”
I asked her gently, “Why are you posting?”
She blinked. “I thought I had to. Isn’t that how people find you?”
There it was. Again. That quiet panic that lives in so many authors: “If I don’t post, I’ll disappear.”
We are feeding people content tactics when what they’re starving for is clarity.
We’ve Got It Backwards
Most authors don’t need another marketing plan. They need to sit the hell down and get honest about what they’re actually trying to say, and who they’re saying it to.
But instead?
They jump on Instagram. They launch a Substack. They download Canva and start yelling into the algorithm.
No pause. No strategy. No grounding.
Just spaghetti.
Because that’s what fear does, it keeps you in motion so you don’t have to sit in the silence.
But that silence? That’s where the real work lives.
You’re Just Unclear
If you’ve been here, you know how it feels:
You’re posting, but it feels fake.
You try to explain what your book is about, but the words fall flat.
You record a video and delete it 30 seconds later.
You’re not undisciplined. You’re just unclear. And being unclear makes everything feel heavier than it should.
This is what an old mentor told me and it deeply changed me.
Marketing doesn’t fix a foggy message. It magnifies it.
So if you’re foggy? It won’t matter how often you post, how flashy your videos are, or how many tools you use.
You’re just accelerating confusion.
Morgan DeBaun: Self-Promotion Without Selling Out
That’s why I want to talk about Morgan DeBaun.
Morgan is the founder of Blavity Inc., a media company that now reaches millions. She’s the author of WorkSmart, an advisor, and a respected business voice. But here’s the part most people miss:
Morgan didn’t start out as a personal brand.
She started as a builder. Head-down. Product-focused. Reluctant to be the face of anything. She believed the mission should speak for itself.
Sound familiar?
But over time, Morgan hit a wall. Investors, partners, and her community needed to see her. Hear her. Connect with her story. Her presence wasn’t a bonus, it was a bridge.
And she’s talked openly about how uncomfortable that was at first.
“I had to unlearn the belief that self-promotion meant ego… when really, it meant leadership.”
She didn’t grow by gaming an algorithm. She grew by getting clear on her mission, her people, and her value, and then showing up consistently with that clarity.
Her podcast WorkSmart wasn’t born out of a growth hack. It was born out of a need to create a resource for the people she wanted to serve. Every episode is food for thought—practical, grounded, clear.
She didn’t become visible overnight. She became trustworthy over time.
Before You Show Up, Sit Down
This is the part most authors skip.
Before you make another post. Before you build your website. Before you “launch your brand.”
Sit. With. Yourself.
One hour. No phone. No laptop. No audience.
Just you, a pen, and the truth.
Ask:
What do I want to be known for?
Who am I truly here to help, and why them?
What belief do I want to challenge in them?
What emotional wound is my work trying to heal?
What do I want this to feel like, for me and them?
These are not branding questions. These are identity questions.
Because if you don’t answer them, you will always feel like you’re faking it, even when you’re doing it “right.”
The Power of Batching—Once You’re Clear
Once your message is real and rooted, content becomes easy. You’re not scrambling for ideas, you’re repeating truths.
Here’s my method:
Pick one core message per week
Write 3 LinkedIn posts (a story, an insight, and a challenge)
Film 2 short videos (talking to the one person you help)
Repurpose from your book, every chapter is content fuel
Batch once a week. Then step away. Let your content work while you live your life.
Terri Dien: From the Kitchen to the Platform
Terri Dien is a perfect example of how this plays out in real life.
She’s a cookbook author, chef, and culinary educator who spent years creating food that brought people together. But when it came time to promote her work, especially her books, she hesitated.
“I thought my recipes would speak for themselves. I didn’t want to be front and center.”
She told me during our podcast conversation that self-promotion felt unnatural. She didn’t want to be on camera. She didn’t want to talk about herself. She just wanted to cook, write, and share the work.
But then she had a realization: If she didn’t tell the story behind her food, why she wrote her cookbooks, why these recipes matter, no one else would.
So she started showing up. Not loud, not performative—just honest.
She started sharing simple videos on LinkedIn. Stories behind the recipes. What cooking taught her about grief, identity, resilience. She made it personal. Relatable. Human.
And it connected. Because it wasn’t about “marketing.” It was about meaning.
Watch to the full episode at Rising - Authors dot com
If you’re a nonfiction author, thought leader, or coach—LinkedIn is your playground.
Here’s why:
People come for ideas, not entertainment
Long-form writing is still respected
Conversations in the comments become opportunities
Visibility compounds quietly—one reader, one DM at a time
You don’t have to be viral. You just have to be visible and valuable.
The Truth About Growth
I won’t lie to you.
This takes time. Not because you’re slow, but because trust is slow. It builds in layers. In patterns. In presence.
That’s why Morgan’s approach works. That’s why authors like Terri are finally gaining traction not because they did more, but because they showed up with clarity.
They didn’t chase attention. They earned trust.
This Isn’t Self-Promotion. It’s Self-Respect.
Let’s be real.
You’re not doing this to become famous. You’re doing it because your book matters. Your work matters. And if nobody knows what you do, or who it’s for, it doesn’t matter how brilliant your writing is.
When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help
If you’re tired of the spaghetti-posting hustle and want a plan that actually fits you:
Power Pack Pro → Clarify your brand, build your site, define your positioning
Power Pack Boost → Weekly content strategy, video scripts, lead systems, platform growth
Power Pack Ultra → Done-for-you content engine, podcast-ready video, full visibility support
DM me or reply to this email. We’ll build something real. Something that works, because it’s based on who you really are.
– Hussein
