Let’s say it loud and clear:
There’s nothing wrong with promoting your small business, your art, books, your services on mastodon or any other social media.
Self promotion is not an ad!
It’s being part of a community.
People have to do it. Other people might need and want the good stuff their community members might offer.
Mutual support and buying from your community members is good, wholesome and necessary.
Boost if you agree, so creators feel welcomed to self promote here
#mastoart
Anyone who says that indie creators shouldn't advertise themselves because "it's annoying" gets an instant block from me.
I'm taking care of those people, so they don't get to see my annoying self advertising my art.
As artist I'm not only here to provide my audience with free art as a source of entertainment and good vibes. I'm also here to sell my art and services, to those who enjoy what I do. Because Unless I make money from my art, I won't make art at all.
This boy has got to eat.
So either you accept me as both a creator and an indie art entrepreneur, or my free art is not for you.
@ThistleArts such a hard concept for people to internalize, and ultimately its up to each artist to figure out how to hawk their wares in a way they (and those who appreciate their art) can live with.
Me, I really have to up my game I still make art but hardly ever promote it anymore.
Not coincidentally, I make less art nowadays.
) that’s one of the things about the “culture” that sucks here and I’ll be glad to see it gone.Actually I consider both opinions/positions to be valid and can't see why they shouldn't coexist.
I consider that point in case is that "the community" should agree on on terms, hashtags to be more precise that toots should use.
Something like:
#advertisingMyArt #selfAdvertising, something like that. That way people can adjust their filters or even search specifically when they want to.
sounds like growing pains to me.
@ThistleArts whether you call it advertising or not, I generally don't want it so I end up blocking people who do this.
Hardly anyone I follow does it, so I only see it from people using hashtags or groups I follow and I don't want people jumping in on my carefully curated timeline with what to me are ads.
It's fine if others want this, and if I'm following someone I'll be more receptive, but it is a way to get blocked.
One of the problems is that those who do this do it too frequently.
@ThistleArts Thank you!
I digitalize photos, negatives, and slides and clean them up, especially if they are older and the colours have changed: https://dokufotos.biz/
I also sell my photos as postcards and wall decorations: https://photo-portal.shop/share/dvgv87S/ (more to come)
@ThistleArts I agree! it should be encouraged for individual, independent artists to self-promote their work, especially since many have come from the "big tech" socials to the Fediverse because algorithms kept burying their posts and they don't want to appease The Algorithm™.
(Edit: So long as they're not spamming!)
@ThistleArts It is kind of weird how it's controversial to promote yourself on social media. Because one of the first things we ask people irl is 'what do you do?' or 'what's your job?'
We also offer our services to our friends and family and acquaintances. Why is it so different on social media?
@ThistleArts
THIS, yes!
I'm here because I don't want an algorithm to decide what I see, especially if it's most influenced by who pays the most to flood my timeline.
If someone's individual content shows up because my follows share it, and it shows up more because it's popular among real people, Mastodon's "algorithm" is working exactly the way it should.
@ThistleArts I was asked by an author who had self-published why I'd bought their book.
Firstly, sm usually gives a glimpse into the soul of a creator; and secondly, it was clear the writer had poured their heart and soul into crafting their work.
So I bought a copy.
It's actually a privilege to see a little of the creator as well as the product of their creativity.
@Varpie I absolutely agree with that.
And I'm not talking about intrusive self-promotion here. I'm talking about people writing "hey, I've got this art print on sale in my store" or "hey, i've got this book coming out" on their social media.
Which should never be scolded or thrown upon. It should be encouraged.
Most creative people I know are the opposite of those who spam people with self promo.
They struggle to post about their store more than once.
@dfx @hbons But why does that topic switch towards extremes?
Those who are here only to promote and who don't give any value to the community jst won't gain followers because they won't be interesting for the general public. So they won't have any traction.
While those who do interact with their audience will and that's totally fine.
Do you have a slightest idea about how much time it actually takes to make a real good interesting video that actually talk about some cool topics? If you don't want ot buy from their sponsor, just skip that part and that's it.
People are so incredibly entitled to all the free goods that creatives post online these days, it's ridiculous.
@ThistleArts Agree with this 100%! Being part of a community means to support one another with their work!
If anyone is interested in my writing journey/progress with my stories, check out the links in my profile :)
@ThistleArts Hear, hear!
There are no algorithms driving traffic here - only our own individual interest in what the rest of us are doing.
This is far closer to the ideal public square dynamic than Twitter ever could manage.
It's almost entirely peer to peer.
@masteremit I think advertisement is when you pay someone to advertise your work whether it's a firm, a website, a blogger.
While promoting your own stuff in your own blog, OR genuinely recommending some stuff that you enjoy in your own blog when you're not paid to do that, is either self promotion OR word of mouth.
And those are very different things
If someone pays me so I advertise their book on my blog it's an add
If I post links to buying my book on my own blog is self promotion
If a person makes proft from advertising stuff they didn't make
they are selling add space to someone.
If a person is telling about stuff THEY DO and give their audience the opportunity to support them and get those cool things - it's inherently different.
Hear hear @ThistleArts
with the important caveat that you need to *engage as a person*. Don't treat social media as your marketing channel; you're talking directly to individual humans. We can smell marketing crap and we hate it.
If you want to get blocked and hated and mocked, use it one-way like a dumb marketing channel.
If you want actual engagement from people interested in what you do, be *human* here. You're interesting and real, so show that.
@ThistleArts
> that seems pretty obvious […] there’s no way your getting followers and support unless you’re actively present as a human being
I wish it were obvious to everyone yes. Sadly, a lot of people seem to believe they're getting blocked *merely* because they promote their work
when they're getting blocked because they use social media as a marketing channel, and people don't want one-way marketing crap in their feed.
It's entirely feasible to promote your work on Mastodon and engage with people as people. More creators need to do it that way.
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