Promotions, Promoting, Promoters: The idea compared to the reality

Some of us are here reading this and have once imagined being promoted to a higher authority position than where you may be working right now. Maybe bossing people around, or moving locations, something that sounds like you get paid more and do less maybe. Then some of us are here promoting a new brand, a blog (as that is what I’m doing), or trying to become a full time influencer. Then some of us (if not all of us), have gone out on a Friday night and got approached by a “promoter” that offers us a bottle of champagne and their business card. Quick question: Why do they give us their business card? Most of us are girls not involved in owning a night club.

All of these “P’s” have these unrealistic expectations set with them, but what is the cost of each of them coming true?

I can say confidently we have all dreamt of being promoted. Getting paid more, and doing less. At least that’s what most of us will whisper to ourselves when our boss tells us to do something like a servant, or when we go home at the end of a stressful workday. Or maybe when we’re in a pajamas and scrolling through Instagram wondering how everyone else is living their best life in this economy? (Comparison is the thief of joy) If we got promoted we could be the boss, be in charge, make decisions, and instead of getting bossed around, we could boss people around! Yet, the reality is not just opening a bubbly bottle of joy to celebrate and our work life is easier. More responsibility means more pressure, and who is pressuring you? The people with the position one higher than you’re in after your promotion. It is just the price of of power, no matter how glamorous and glossy those magazine covers make it look. Some people may like that, but some people were maybe thinking it would easier. I’m not trying to pop your bubble, I’m just trying to say it like it is. More. But hey, welcome to the club.

And then there’s the people who make everything look effortless, including promotions. The influencers and bloggers (I would throw myself in this category). To be fair though, who wouldn’t want to be their own brand? Every post, story, and photo getting admired and maybe even paid. The temptation is there. We all want to be seen, but there’s something about being an influencer. Being on stage all the time, being watched constantly, do they even sleep? The pressure to perform is relentless and exhausting, hence why I stick to typing. Do you guys even know what I look like? So, influencers curate they’re life, polish it, filter it, color inside the lines. But at what cost? Sometimes your peace of mind, sometimes your privacy, and sometimes feeling guilty for being “authentic” when in reality your whole life is monetized. But we do it, because who doesn’t want to be who they follow?

And then, of course, there’s the Friday night scenario- the one we’ve all been part of at least once. The club, the lights, the music. And then, as if from nowhere, a “promoter” appears. He’s got that smile that could sell ice to an Eskimo, and a business card (with no important information might I add). Champagne? Oh yes, that too. A bottle of bubbly, handed to you like it’s a token of something more. And you wonder: Why are you being given this? Is this what they give girls like us? The ones who aren’t here to own the place, just to have a good time? The answer, darling, is simple. They're selling exclusivity. They're selling the idea that for a moment, you can belong to something bigger, better, shinier. You get a taste of the high life, even if it’s just for an hour. But what’s the cost? The cost is that this ‘exclusive world’ is built on promises that are empty. The bottle of champagne? It’s not just champagne—it’s an invitation to buy into an illusion. A world where people don’t just drink champagne, they drink the dream that comes with it. And when the bubbles fade, so does the fantasy.

I don’t know exactly where my vendetta for promoters came from, but probably somewhere along the line when I was doing sales, and realized many of them are not walking around with an amazing intention. Just something to think about.

Every single one of these “P’s” come with this glossy cover. A cover that is so tempting and sounds so freeing. They all come with a seductive promise of freedom and power. They also all come with a large cliff as soon as you get to the “top.” Power means pressure. Fame means scrutiny. Glamour means living life in the public eye.

So, I’ll leave with the fact that maybe some things are better left as day dreams… because once it’s open, the champagne always goes flat.