Marketing Tip Sheet #4 for Introverts
The Loner's Guide to Getting Publicity

by Marcia Yudkin

Some people assume that introverts, who recharge their energy best when alone, naturally shy away from being in the public eye.

That is not true.

As an introvert, you enjoy getting recognition for a job well done, and you probably understand the benefits of getting your business better known. However, certain aspects of publicity can feel tricky and paradoxical for you.

Getting Publicity for Introverts

My fondest fantasy is to be able to go through the rest of life being invisible. That's safe and comforting. Yet I've mastered the art of earning publicity and help others step happily (and profitably) into the spotlight. Here are tips for seeking publicity if you consider yourself reserved, essentially a private person or shy.

1. Pursue print more than broadcast publicity. Interviews with newspaper and magazine reporters are much more forgiving than those for radio and TV. For print, you can take a bit more time to get your thoughts together when asked a question, and you need not worry about how you look or how your voice sounds while answering.

2. Draw boundary lines to protect your privacy. Unless you are a Hollywood celebrity or involved in a sensational crime, you normally get to create some limits to publicity. For example, you can be photographed at the office or in a public place rather than at home with your family. You can stick to publicity opportunities that highlight you in your professional capacity.

3. Team up and put your partner in the spotlight. When the second press release I ever wrote sparked interest from the Wall Street Journal, we agreed that my more talkative co-owner was the one who would talk to the reporter. Likewise, when it was my co-author, rather than I, who appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, I was happy to applaud her from home.

4. Get famous as an expert. Instead of wanting to be famous for no reason, you prefer to get known for your abilities and accomplishments. Writing articles and books, distributing press releases and sharing your perspectives in interviews are strategies that better fit your personality than angling for a mention in the category of "who is who around town." 

5. Get famous as a listener. Introverts generally listen better than extroverts, and you can take advantage of this strength to become known as a gifted interviewer or a probing conversationalist. Teleclasses, podcasts and Internet radio offer accessible new venues for this type of personality strength.  

Contradictory as this sounds, you can engineer publicity that makes you a public figure and a "name" while keeping you relatively cocooned within your personal sphere.

So get prepared to enjoy your 15 minutes - or 15 years - of shining in the spotlight!

Your marketing mentor,

Marcia Yudkin

P.S. If you're an introvert and could use intensive feedback and guidance on your branding, web site, marketing strategy or a publication project, come work with me one-on-one next winter on Maui.  Your retreat is structured so you have ample time to relax on the beach and tour the island, too - and most likely, your whole trip is tax deductible.  Maui private marketing retreat.