Publicity Resources for Promoting an Art Event

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.

Suzanne Morlock, Kite Dreams II. Found object installation.

©2010 Suzanne Morlock, Kite Dreams II. Found object installation.

When you want help spreading the word about your events, use this publicity checklist before asking for help.

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.

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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