Promofobia…(Fear Of Self Promotion!)
   Do you suffer from it?

Imagine being a delivery driver…you’re delivering the most important cargo ever ...your own creative talent…you start this epic journey full of hope and enthusiasm… then you discover to your horror that you haven’t got a map, all the road signs are written in Aramaic, the people you ask for directions want a fortune to tell you the way that might lead you in the vague direction of where you want to be but can’t guarantee it and to cap it all a thick fog has just descended! In an ideal world you would find yourself a competent driver who understood Aramaic, didn’t need a map because they had travelled the same road with other cargos many times before and would you believe it!? As soon as they jump into the drivers seat the fog lifts and the road ahead is clear…and joy of joys they don’t want to be paid until they get you to successfully deliver your cargo. Hmmm…? But it’s not an ideal world!

Ok so that’s a very lyrical way to describe how I feel about promoting the sculpture that I create. I have now started to call it ‘Marketing Dyslexia’, all dyslexics out there will maybe start to understand how frustrating it is to have the ability to create work that many people admire and would buy  but not having the ability to put a marketing /promotional /sales strategy in place and implement it. I’ve met very few people who can understand it. This blog is putting the question, “Does anyone else experience this crippling form of ‘promofobia’?”
 
Before I get a thousand pseudo psychologists analysing my personality I should say that I’ve been sculpting professionally for over 20 years, I’m a confident person, have held seminars about creative workshops and I teach, so I’m hardly a shrinking violet.
You may well ask how have I survived up till now? Well, I have to say my work has always sold without me having to market it , it was just lucky I was creating work that people liked and it sold enough to give me a nice relaxed income.  A few years ago I started sculpting in a new style…larger more contemporary pieces that I wanted to show to a larger audience, this is when I discovered that I had ‘marketing-itus’, and it really isn’t me just being lazy or saying I just can’t be bothered, because I really have tried to put a strategy together but it just doesn’t happen.
 
So send me your thoughts...do you suffer with the same problem? Should I start a support group? Are there any marketing wizards out there that want to promote my work for me…if so, get in touch (and you don’t have to speak Aramaic!)

See my work on www.sculptureworkshop.net
Contact me  richard@sculptureworkshop.co.uk


   Sculpture Workshop
18 Trenant Ind Est, Wadebridge, Cornwall.. PL27 6HB
Tel: Work.  01208 816370
Mobile. 07769623974