The Importance of Visibility
I’ve had a YouTube Channel for a few months now, but I haven’t promoted it. I have very few subscribers, although I didn’t know how even those people came to me.
I have uploaded shorts with my poetry reading as well as other videos on the subject of writing.
I did this to increase my visibility. It scares me, but I know I need to do it. I need to put myself “out there,” and I need to become more comfortable with being seen. As an author, this is necessary. But, this isn’t the first time that I have worked on my “visibility.” I’ve been on this journey for a few years, and every time I have challenged myself, I have gained confidence.
The first time I challenged myself to become more visible about my writing was on August 14, 2019. I participated in a Visibility Challenge on a Facebook Live. The only people who knew about it were those who were on the challenge with me. It was the first time in my life I was putting myself out on any kind of video. I was supposed to talk about my writing, yet it was almost a year before I would publish any poetry online and two years before my first book would be published.
I woke up early to prepare, but nothing I did reduced my nerves. I had scheduled the FB live session for 9 am. As the time grew nearer, I got even more and more nervous, but I had no choice. I had to go with it.
I started the session well. I was animated and engaged. I shared my story without having to refer to the notes I’d prepared. I did have to wipe away the sweat beads that accumulated on my upper lip and I completed the FB live with a tissue waded up in my fist. However, I didn’t realize it until I viewed the playback.
When I got to the point in my story where I shared how I felt when I completed the first draft of my book, Lonely Dove, I started to tear. I tried to compose myself but the emotion swallowed me whole. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. I cried whenever I practiced the session and I thought I had squeezed out all the tears, but there was something quite powerful about stating my accomplishment to an audience instead of the four walls of my apartment.
I managed to get through the rest of the content, and closed by asking the group to think about what they may have not done because others discouraged them. I wanted to also share information about my book, provide a summary or introduction. But I couldn’t. Instead, I finished by staying, “I am a writer.”
Later I got feedback that it was a powerful finish. I am a writer. I write every single day. I have for years. Back then, I had just begun doing it more openly, and had started to tell others, instead of keeping my hobby private. Now, it is my profession.
Back then, I felt guilty and embarrassed because I cried. When I finished the Facebook live, my first impulse was to apologize for crying, and I did. Then I rationalized that at least I’d done it in private and only four other people witnessed it.
I realize it was a good exercise for me. I showed emotion—something I don’t to readily. Most importantly, I showed my vulnerability, which is harder still. I also was open about what is important to me and what I feel passionate about.
This visibility challenge was led by marketing specialist, Nailia Minnebaeva, and she said that becoming visible is a way to embody holding space for yourself. The aim is to bring more awareness to your space and the energy you are holding, where you cycle attention between you and your story and your audience. According to Nailia, the purpose of doing visibility challenges are to:
Get comfortable with people seeing you
Get comfortable sharing your brand promise
Get comfortable asking people to be a part of your community
Highlight your problem/pain and link to your solution/action
Looking back, I think it was beautiful. It is a big thing for me to admit that I feel strongly about something and to cry openly. I am known for going with the flow, being adaptable, having a positive outlook, smiling, and being even-keeled and calm. Outside of that, I rarely show emotion. It’s not that I don’t feel it. I don’t show it. Some have even labeled me as emotionally unavailable. Only those who know me deeply or well, experience my full range of emotions.
To cry was an accomplishment. To cry and overcome the guilt and shame associated was an even bigger accomplishment.
Since August, 2019, I have done other types of challenges to increase my visibility, including posting my poetry online, speaking in front of a crowd about my writing journey, reading poetry in front of an audience, recording myself reading my poetry, and so much more. The latest effort has been putting together my YouTube channel.
I didn’t cry when putting together the videos that I uploaded on YouTube, even though, in parts, I spoke about the same subjects that made me cry on my first visibility challenge. It turns out that I have processed the emotions I needed to release. It has been a process, but I feel more confident now.
I invite you to follow and subscribe to my YouTube Channel and become a part of my community: https://www.youtube.com/@soneesinghauthor