Professional Art Advice

(Part 3)

The power of PR. There is one field in which small business, even or especially an artist, competes on equal terms with big business: PUBLICITY. And people take more notice of what they read in the newspapers or hear on TV shows or radio programs than they do advertising. Why? Because it's more credible. Publicity isn't free. You have to make an effort. The first step is to figure out what story you have to sell. To decide this, you need to think like the editor of a newspaper or the producer of the radio or TV show. Develop something their audiences would want to know about.

Rule no. I of PR: Observe.

Read the papers and magazines you want to see your story in. Listen to the radio shows. Watch the TV programs. Think about what they are looking for in a story. What is the angle or point that excites the viewer? Do you have an idea yet? How about inviting a journalist or editor to lunch to explain about you or your gallery and ask for advice about how you might go about getting your story out. If you know what your angle is, make it easy for the media to use your material. Hire a staff photographer to take the shot and a staff journalist to write it up for you and you'll get a professional job done. Make yourself available. John Frank, owner of the Woolloomoobo Bay Hotel, gets more coverage on television than any other hotel owner in Australia. The stations know he has a visually exciting pub and he will always bend over backwards to accommodate them. Under age drinking, new drink driving laws, whatever, the producers of the news programs often   have no footage to show. They look around for some colour and bingo! John's pub gets more coverage.You could do the same. Most local newspapers do not have a resident art expert'. Make yourself available and the positioning can be yours. Many businesses think the major newspapers are the best exposure. But they're not, particularly for people like us. Instead focus on the local press for publicity. Local papers have a much higher readership than major metro newspapers. They come over the fence or into the mailbox of every home. They contain local news; much more relevant to daily life, than politics, and crimes in distant places. Most people spend their money locally so make sure you're there. Local papers look for good news stories such as a new exhibition, an artist (you) who has won an award, perhaps you've sketched whilst skydiving, or you have a story about a customer, your l00~ sale for the year, and so on. Be inventive, but remember it's human-interest material that keeps the bad news stories apart. You could offer to co-sponsor (with the newspaper) a prize in a local competition; for instance, does your area recognise a sports person of the year? If so, how about donating a portrait of the person? If you have a written guide for your customers, a booklet which offers handy hints about whatever it is you do - 17 pitfalls in having artworks framed - you could use local PR to announce the information. Once the local paper publishes something about you, use it well. Send copies to your customers. Mention it in any material you send out. Place it in your window, or door but blown up three times its size or more.

Publicity is powerful. Harness that power to yourself !

ACTION MEMO

Study your local media, looking for ideas that you could use.

Most people do, particularly if they are professionals. There's nothing inherently wrong with wanting to make money, it's how we do it and what we use it for that may lead into moral problems for some. So here's more help on how to do it (and be morally correct).

1. You'll only be poor if you give up. The important thing is to try, and having tried, keep going.

2. Learning is not done by talking; it's done by doing. It's much more important to actually do something about making money (or anything else) than talk (or read) about it.

3. You are not likely to learn how to make money in a classroom. You'll learn live experience. Opportunities come and go and being able to make quick decisions is an important skill only learned in the real world.

4. You may need to make sacrifices. You may need to do some things you'd rather not do (like ringing potential clients), but you'll do them because they're on your pathway to your objectives.

5. Learn life's lessons and move on. If you give up when you meet obstacles, or if you get angry and blame others, you'll never make it.

6. If you think someone else is the problem you have to change them, a very hard task. It's easier to change yourself and that's what learning is

7. Most people spend their lives working for money without understanding whit it is they're working for.

8. If you understand how money works then you can make it work for you.

 

ACTION MEMO

Write down something that you can do to make money.

Which means you can now find ways to make that money (no matter how small) work for you.