Let's play a little make-believe.
Say you make talismans. You've made some for friends and family, sold a few to acquaintances, but are generally unknown. Your work is beautiful and you feel really strongly about sharing your unique take on a classic art; you just need to be where the people are.
Or maybe you design clothes.
Or you're a tea leaf reader.
You teach witchcraft to students.
You write magazine articles.
You host open circle events.
You lead social justice events.
You lead a coven.
You're in a band.
These things don't have to be a money-making venture, but they're a big part of YOU. Expressing that on a large scale is the ideal way to live the big, beautiful life of your dreams. But first, people need to know that you exist.
Our community is generally insulated against non-magical folk but friendly and highly vocal once you come inside. This can mean an open door to expressing some of those amazing characteristics that don't get to come out at any other time. In addition to its general sense of welcome, we also have a unique take on topics that mainstream society handles quite differently:
- We support pop-up business
- We put money into independent ventures and small business
- Our social interactions are rarely aligned by social class, affluence, or upbringing
- Learning is our prime status symbol and authors are our celebrities
This is good news for those unique offerings that might not fit in any other place. Let's see what we can do with that.
#1 Get Familiar Online and Off
If you've been reading Ex Penna, you know that I'm not much interested in being tech savvy (hell, I don't even have a cell phone), but I'm here because this is where it's at. If the latest trend was to communicate by carrier pigeon, I'd be in on that, too. Go where the right kind of people all hang out and present yourself.
Of course, being social isn't just about the internet. The whole world is your Facebook if you do it right! Find opportunities to meet people, even if you have to arrange them yourself. Find or create a book club, join meet-and-greets, go to workshops. Regularly doing spontaneous things, too, can inspire connections, like talking to people you meet in the Metaphysical section of a bookshop or tucking your business card under the wiper blade of a car with a pentagram bumper sticker.
#2 Know What You Want to Gain
It's not just what they say about "getting your name out there" or spreading positive word of mouth. The real question is "Where am I going with this? What's my final outcome?"
In all reality, your destination is not one place but a succession of many. For example, I write here because I love to write but also so that I can be recognized as a writer, gaining further opportunities to write for other blogs, leading to more magazine articles, to form a worthwhile author platform for my manuscripts, and to overall interact with a much larger audience than just my shop customers. That's a bit more complex than "getting my work noticed," but it's that kind of precision that gives a plan its practical value. I've given myself a way to know if I'm actually succeeding or not.
#3 Go All In
If you can name 3 famous occultists from any point in history, you'll understand this point perfectly. You absolutely must give your all if you want to be remembered. Though some of our community's characters might be less than reputable, each one knew/knows how to throw themselves into their work and the promotion thereof.
What kind of character are you? Embody that most magical side of yourself, that unique and vibrant persona that you just can't legitimize in your mundane world. There's something wonderfully individual there and bringing that to your forefront can be not only creative and magical but also deeply liberating.
#4 Connect the Dots
Don't let any of your social interactions exist as an island. To make it work, all pieces should find their place among the whole. Just as you are made up of many interests, talents, memories, and quirks that acquaintances may uncover at different times, so too is your witch persona discoverable in many places. Be sure that all those places lead to one another, as well as leading back home.
For myself, my shop, my writing, my spellcasting business, teaching, online interaction, and art have at least 2 threads apiece that tie them to me as a person. I blog about most of them, share my blog on Facebook and Twitter, then use each of them to promote my art, which I make available online and in person. I use examples from online to illustrate points made in my classes and use student questions as the basis for some of my blog posts. If we were to meet on the street, you wouldn't immediately know all the places my work is present, but in hearing about one, you would have information leading to the others.
#5 Don't Stop for Anyone
The most important aspect of any success is the fortitude to persist. Though the magical community can be a welcoming and open arena for each of us to test and refine what we bring to the world, it can also be quiet and lonely. Don't expect a pep squad to keep you going. Be self-driven and persevere.
This goes double for any time you come up against those who try to silence you just because they feel entitled to speak for the whole of us. Let it be known now and forever that there is no spokesman for the occult, and no one has the right to declare one in or out of the fold.
Keep doing your thing, keep sharing what you've got, keep shining, keep going. Even if it's quiet, the world is listening.
Images from:
royal.pingdom.com/2012/08/21/report-social-network-demographics-in-2012/
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/74/a4/7e/74a47e960b916ae5dbdc2b70d99b838f.jpg
aliexpress.com
pinterest.com/source/polyvore.coms-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/74/a4/7e/74a47e960b916ae5dbdc2b70d99b838f.jpg
aliexpress.com
Also see this perfectly timed page:
http://www.thefrisky.com/2015-12-08/gift-guide-for-the-materialistic-social-media-witch/
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