Other people can help you promote your art events more effectively if you offer a stash of publicity resources for their use.
Online media rooms on your site are a must-have, but you should also provide guidance for promoting specific exhibit openings, workshops, demonstrations, fundraisers, and performances. You must make it easy for others to promote you.
When you want help spreading the word about your events, use this publicity checklist before asking for help.
Links
There must be a clear link to the event itself as well as to the page with the resources for promoting the event. Do not use home-page links. Use the precise URLs where the information can be found.
Images
Include images of your art, of you with students, or of an event graphic – whatever best relates to the message or purpose of your event. Resize the images so that they are convenient for Web use (maybe 200-400 pixels wide). Don’t forget to provide credit lines for your artwork or for the photographer.
Social Media Updates
Write two or three 110-character blurbs that people can use on Twitter and Facebook.
Short Paragraphs
Provide a couple of short paragraphs, about 250 characters each, that can be added to a blog post or newsletter.
Media Release
Some people may want a longer media release that includes everything about your event in one document.
Details to Review
• Spell all names correctly and double-check the title of the event.
• Confirm that the venue location and directions are correct.
• Make sure you provide the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How for any event.
All of these tools will be in a single place: a blog post, an events page on Facebook, or a page on your website. Make sure you have a link that leads directly to the resources. No one should have to spend time guessing or searching for this information.
Remember these two things when asking for help promoting an event:
1. Your chance of losing people increases with each step (or click) you ask them to take.
2. The more work you ask people to do on your behalf, the less likely they are to do it. For best results, do as much of the work as possible for them.
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6 thoughts on “Publicity Resources for Promoting an Art Event”
Thanks, Alyson, for a needed checklist and valuable ideas!
Elizabeth Yarnell
RecipesForPublicity.com
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Alyson: This is a great help. I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting to see a page example of this idea. Do you have a link to a good online media room that you can show us? Thanks so much for what you share with all of us.
Thanks Alyson for another of those “Well duh! Something so simple and I totally missed it!” moments. I’ve had a dedicated page on my web site since I started it where I put an image of my artwork included in current exhititions and all the details of the exhibit. I’ve never included a link to the exhibit’s web site in the listing. How stupid on my part to not make it easy for viewers of my site to easily go over and look at the whole exhibit or the gallery that is sponsoring the exhibit. Something to add to my list of things to include each time I am accepted into an exhibition.
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There are also other sites to list your openings and events. Artslant is one of the best, it is world wide and you can create your own profile page, and list your own openings.