“Don’t toot your own horn,” Mother often cautioned us.  She called it bragging when we told others about our achievements. She was proud of us when we received recognition, but the general feeling was to downplay it. Mother felt it was for others to spread the word. That was somewhat the practice of the era when I was a child.  So I grew up to be self-conscious about promoting myself.

However, when we’re in business, or even quilting as a hobby, we discover that others often like celebrate our achievements with us. If you’re commissioned to do quilting or fabric art, your clients like to know they’re associated with someone who is successful and recognized. 

You can learn to talk about yourself in a way that’s informative and humble, not with braggadocio.  You also give others the incentive for achieving in that field themselves.

• Give the award organizer the information for sending out press releases.  This also garners publicity for the organization or business that presented it. (When my daughter and I were listed in Who’s Who in American Quilting, the publisher sent press releases to local newspapers.  As a result, a school activity organizer, arranged for us to teach a series of workshops about quiltmaking, tying them into the curriculum.)
• Write press releases and send to online and off line publications yourself if no one else is going to. (I sent press releases about my book concerning my mom’s Alzheimer’s journey, When We Become the Parent to Our Parents, to our newspaper.  An organizer for women’s programs at a nearby church invited me to speak about caregiving and my writing.)
• Mention an achievement on your blog.  Your readers will rejoice with you and usually leave comments.
• Offer to write about your specific award field. 
• When customers ask, don’t play down the award, but explain what it’s for.  They’re interested. 
• Post copies of articles about your achievements on a bulletin board at your shop or on your blog/web site. (I’ve often gone into businesses where they’ve posted copies of newspaper articles, along with any photos taken at the time.)
• Make a scrapbook of clippings and awards that friends and customers can browse through.

An example of posting an announcement of an award is the one at Home Biz Notes, where I mentioned Yvonne Russell’s recent recognition. in the writing field.

What ideas do you have for spreading the word about your quilting and fabric arts achievements in an interesting, eye-catching, yet unobtrusive way?  

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

Let Others Know About Your Quilting Achievements