Recommending your own work?

Hi,
I'm wondering how you guys deal with recommending your own work? Do you even do that in a forum like this or in the advertising area? How do you handle awkward feelings around self-promotion, especially online?
Would be interested to hear your experiences!
Peace
Elizabeth

Sounds like you're asking two different questions: one specific to this forum, and one about recommending your own work in general.

In this forum, the ways you're allowed to recommend your own work are limited. If the work in question is an astrological service, blog, video, book, software you developed, etc., you may make a post about it in the Advertising forum, but you may not promote it in any other section. You may also put a description and/or link for it in your signature.

If it's not astrological work, and you have a vested interest in it (for example, suppose you're a professional tarot card reader, but you don't include astrology with it), you may not use this forum to promote it at all.

If it's just for fun work that you want to share casually, you may post about it in the Chat area. One of the Chat subforums, the Show Off Board, is specifically designed for that. That's where you can post things like poetry, artwork, stories, etc. It doesn't have to be astrological, but it does have to be something you don't stand to make money from and have no vested interest in, other than just wanting the forum folks to see it. You may also use a link in your signature for that purpose: if you have, for example, a hobby blog on some different subject from astrology, putting it in your signature is fine.

Awkward feelings around self promotion are a whole other topic, and that's not about this forum. As far as the forum is concerned, we don't care how you feel about it, just that you follow the rules. As far as working around those awkward feelings is concerned, that's a question with no easy answer.

Personally, I can tell you that when I went live with my website and blog, this forum was one of the first places I shared it (within the limits of the self promotion rules, of course). At that time, I'd been a member of this forum for four going on five years and a moderator for two of them (plus some months), so it was a familiar place, and one where I was already known in an astrology context.

That made it not awkward. I was sharing it with people I already knew (if only online), and I knew they were interested in astrology.

I've also made it my solution to a problem I was having: by the time I set up that website, I was getting several pm's a week from people asking me to read their charts, in pm. It was way too much. That's why I created the signature you see below. Having my website is a good redirect: if anyone's really that eager for my astrological attention, they can hire me, outside this forum. If they don't have the means and/or the desire for a full consultation, my Ask the Astrologer option is close enough to what I'd give in the forum to fulfill that purpose.

But that's just sharing my work. If you're talking about self promoting as in, getting people to give you money for it, I still don't quite have that figured out on any grand scale. And I can't and wouldn't use this forum for that purpose. I've very occasionally had a client find me here, but that's just through my latent self promotion (signature, Advertising post), not any big self promotion effort.

I understand the rules since you clarified that self-promotion should happen in the adveritising section if there is a chance that you may some day make money from the endeavor.
I'm interested in how people navigate these areas from a personal pov. I hear you that had developed relationships in this forum and that helped you to feel comfortable sharing your work here and that definitely makes sense to me.
I've heard from many astrologers that this year is going to be a lot about how we can offer ourselves into the collective with the square between uranus and saturn and this area of discussion resonates with that theme.
How do you offer your work? Is the collective receptive? How do you navigate contributing your work online?

YogaAnyDay said:

I've heard from many astrologers that this year is going to be a lot about how we can offer ourselves into the collective with the square between uranus and saturn and this area of discussion resonates with that theme.

Click to expand...

Thanks for bringing this up and informing as to what you have heard being the popular opinion regarding Saturn - Uranus squares.
"How can we offer ourselves into the collective?" and do it in a manner that is not "self promotion" yet it being ones profession at that...!?!?

As I'm somewhat familiar with this particular subject as I was born during one...albeit a rather weak aspect at just under 7* [and Saturn conj. Neptune by 0* 15', Neptune being of the greater distance from Uranus at birth]... I think I can offer a bit of insight from which one might best find their own derivative for their own personal advice.

I begin by advising to keep foremost in mind that Uranus, which is the most influential planet in my natal chart, is known as "The Great Awakener" and also as "The Planet of Sudden Change", which I've sometimes added that it often can be a "Sudden and Rather Rude Change", and for that matter, "Sudden and Rather Rude Awakenings". Keep in mind, also, those other aka's that Saturn is known by. I sometimes call it the "Planet Payback".

I would like to quote the team of authors I have found to be such an excellent source of understanding the, nearly, 37 years I've been studying this "science", Sakoian and Acker, from their book "Predictive Astrology" and will keep it under one hundred words, the amount allowed here at the forum, for quoting others interpretations and such. As the book is written with the intent of being used for interpreting transits to natal positions what I will quote is to be taken as a condition, in general, that everyone will experience, some just far more than others and many will only do so minimally as
hardly more than empathically, as for the rest of everyone else being so strongly aspected.

"The individual encounters obstacles in the general application of creative ideas during this transit. Unexpected difficulties and reversals of fortune can occur in the individuals business or career, especially if past motivations have been selfish. Selfish motivations can also bring about sudden and unexpected damage to ones personal reputation and status. The individual is likely to feel frustrated in efforts to realize his or her goals and objectives. ... This is not a favorable period for joining or working with groups and organizations - unexpected factors are likely to arise.... likely to either mistrust others or be mistrusted."

Given the recent developments regarding flaws in the vaccines developed and being distributed for COVID-19, the recall efforts going on nationwide, of obvious note, particularly, the State Governors Cuomo of New York and Newsome of California and the unprecedented nationwide, worldwide, mandates of "social distancing", I think serve as excellent examples of how this aspect "operates"

I also see it as being imperative that one become, if not already, resilient?

I find it to be a time when the "Exemplars" will be so very much needed.to come forward and that they are also called the "World Servers" should be kept in everyones' considerations.
Of all the Superhero comics I read as a lad during the Golden and Silver ages of Comic books, there's one thing that really stands out among them, in my minds' memory. i.e. not a one ever charged for their service.
While gratuitous offerings, meritoriously deserved, were never frowned upon.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.
ptv

I want to clarify what I wrote and posted above in that I don't condemn the act of charging a price for ones services. I think that astrologers that already have a bit of a long standing [a few years, at least] reputation as for being an astrologer, and , hopefully, for being at least decent at the practice of it, should continue to practice it for a living, [if even partially].
It's going to be a difficult time to "try to make the scene", get in with the known. In times when such vast numbers of peoples, all over the world, are suffering physically and psychologically that is when the Sham Artists get busy and anyone new on the scene is going to get some inevitable skepticism, more than otherwise deserved, and probably at least double what they generally get in other times.
Unless you can "deliver", and noticeably so, this is not a good time to make such attempts, as the scar left by failure more often than not is a permanent one upon those aspirations>

Those of you long established just have to worry about not missing anything big... say, like COVID-19... Ya' all did predict something like that? Dinja?
I mean, Uranus in an Earth Sign, Taurus, and Saturn being in an Air Sign, Aquarius... what could that mean... something airborne and wicked to come our way? We've got another Square, with Saturn retrograde, coming June 15th, in the 14th degrees of Aquarius and Taurus
This "THING" ain't over yet. nor will it be until early next year, at least...as Saturn and Uranus will conjunct a third time this December 24th, on Christmas Eve, in the 12th degrees of Aquarius and Taurus and Uranus will be retrograde at that conjunction.
The Sabian Symbols for those degrees of the Zodiac are quite intriguing as the one in the 12th of Taurus is about [From Dane Rudhyar's book on the Sabian Symbols, "An Astrological Mandala"] "TAURUS 12°): A YOUNG COUPLE WINDOW-SHOPPING.
KEYNOTE: The fascination of the youthful ego with the products of its culture." ...and if that doesn't seem somehow appropriate for Xmas Eve, you probably aren't an American of the USA?
Saturn is going to be in square aspect to that precept.
Can ya get the picture?

Lots to unpack in what you wrote, thank you for your contributions. What resonates with familiarity for me is that intention and karma are the basis of our experience. So if we have positive intentions we can feel confident! And whatever happens we will learn, possibly karmic lessons. Those messages help me greatly to feel more grounded and approach these issues in a step-by-step way rather than feeling overwhelmed. Thanks!
Elizabeth