Your People Can't Find You: Self-Promotion Tips for Visionaries
- Melanie L. Denny
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
This article is a guest post from: Melanie L. Denny- Your Identity Strategist, Mellynated | Mellynated.com
You’re a visionary, doing incredible work.
You’re making an impact on your community and committed to your meaningful mission.
But sometimes (often times) you feel like the best kept secret.
Overall it’s fine…your work speaks for itself, right?
You don’t need public recognition or to be in the spotlight. You like to stay humble. What
matters is the work is being done.
But, how much more of an impact could you make if you did not stay humble?
See, as a purpose-driven business owner, somewhere along the way, you were somehow convinced that it’s more important to stay in the background.
Self-promotion as a visionary is arrogant and if you’re really good at what you do, people will find you, mostly by way of referral.
And referrals are awesome.
But that way of thinking is limiting.
Being in the background and staying silent is keeping you invisible.
Doing the work is great, but you also need to talk about it.
The people who need you and won’t ever cross paths with someone who can refer you deserve access to your work.
So, you’re going to need to start tooting your own horn. Don’t worry, you won’t do it in a way that comes off arrogant; we’re just stating facts.
Here are 5 Ways to Self Promote as a Visionary
1. Claim your expertise out loud
Take a look at your bio, your social media profiles, your LinkedIn, and your website and rewrite them to make it abundantly clear who you are, who you serve, and what transformation you create. In other words, what will someone you work with walk away with once you’re done.
Practical action: write your one-sentence brand statement. I help [who] do [what] so they can [outcome]. Then, put it everywhere.
2. Let your clients tell your story
Stop sitting on wins nobody knows about. Leverage testimonials, case studies, transformational before and after results. This is an easy way to put yourself out there without you talking about yourself. Your clients can do the talking for you.
Practical action: reach out to 3 past clients this week and ask for a testimonial that speaks to a specific result. Then share them.
3. Share your thoughts publicly
Post about your unpopular opinions, unique perspectives, hot takes, and lessons learned. If you’re a visionary focused on impact, you likely have access to inside information that most people don’t even consider. This is the foundation of thought leadership, so let people know what you think on social media, YouTube, or your email.
Practical action: commit to one piece of content per week that shows how you think, not just what you do.
4. Get in other people's rooms
Borrowed audiences are one of the fastest ways to get known. Right now, I’m reaching a whole other audience by guest blogging on Kijaffa’s site. You can reach out to podcasters, or event hosts to join panels, speak, or collaborate. Again, when you show up, focus on your thought leadership and the transformation you provide.
Practical action: Research 5 podcasts or collaborators in your space this month. Then, pitch them.
5. Take up space in real life
How you show up in real life matters just as much as online. Networking events, discovery calls, even casual conversations are all opportunities for you to stop underselling yourself and assert yourself as the expert you are. Offer your opinion instead of waiting for someone to ask or speak up in the group conversation.
Practical action: write and practice a 30-second introduction that actually reflects your expertise and makes people lean in (see #1) and at your next in-person event, introduce yourself with your full expertise.
The Cost of Staying Humble
The fact is, staying humble while your people are out here struggling to find someone like you is a disservice to them.
Every time you shrink, soften your introduction, or wait to be recognized for the sake of being humble, somewhere, someone who needed exactly what you offer either continued struggling, or hired someone else who probably wasn’t as good as you, simply because they were more visible.
The people who need you can't find who they can't see, so take this as your sign to start showing up like the solution to their problem.
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