This Little Light of Mine: A Lesson in Marketing

"From a little spark may burst a flame."  - Dante

I made a stomach-turning discovery this week.

I've been watching my readership sink over the last five weeks since Thanksgiving.  And although I've always approached my readership stats with a sense of curiosity,  they've been pretty deep in the basement lately in a way that's been hard to explain.

Do I have spinach in my sentences?

Rather than taking it personally, I assumed people had gotten busy with Halloween, followed by that nuisance of a time change, caught a quick breath over Remembrance Day, and then swan dived into the early and persistent pressure of the jingle jingle.  Who has time to read this time of year?

But this week I discovered it was all my fault after all. 

I took for granted my default social media settings.  Instead of posting for the world to see, the last couple of weeks, my blog posts have been inadvertently locked up in a me-only viewing party of one.

Rather than letting it shine, I was accidentally hiding this little light of mine under a bushel. NO!
What is a bushel anyway?

This is a good marketing lesson learned the hard way. 

Sharing my writing publicly - as far and wide as possible -  is the best way for me to showcase my skills, generate interest in my services and build my brand. I'm small right now, but I'm figuring out how to get bigger. Stay tuned!

It is entirely my responsibility - from writing the headline that grabs your attention, to choosing the photo that catches your eye and prompts you to click, to burying a secret scroll-over message in the image.  (Go ahead, hover on the candle!) 

If I don't get the hits, as the business owner, it's entirely my fault.  It's not you, it's me.

Luckily I learned my lesson early, and among friends.

I'm sure there will be many more lessons as I bump my way along.

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Photo courtesy of Bithrim raj @ pexels.com.