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January Issue 2004
Publicity for Artists:
You can do it!
by Wil Bosbyshell
"Wil, how do you
get so much publicity? What's the secret?" These are questions
I often get having achieved a certain degree of success with media
coverage. Well, there's no secret. Publicity requires preparation
and following a few easy steps. Preparing to send your message
to the media is time consuming initially. Once you have the necessary
materials though, they will serve your art career in a variety
of ways.
Every artist must prepare a biography, a resume, an artist's statement,
and 20 professional images before seeking media attention.
A biography is a one page, double-spaced, 12-point type distillation
of your life story. What is unique about you. Why do you matter
in the art world? What is it you have to offer? You are selling
yourself here so it needs to have flair and show how you've arrived
at or lived an artistic life. Write the bio in third person so
media writers can adapt it easily into their own words or clip
and paste easily. Those in the media work best with people who
make it easiest on them.
An artist's resume lists your artistic accomplishments by category
including juried shows, solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, juried
residencies, corporate collections and anything artistically noteworthy
that you have done.
The artist's statement
is an emotional explanation of "why" you paint, sculpt,
quilt, etc. Shorter is better so, at most, make it one, double-spaced,
12-point type page.
An artist needs at least 20 images of their work in the form of
professional slides, prints or digital images. It's best to have
the 20 images in all three formats. Snapshots of your art will
not do. It costs approximately $15.00 for a professional photographer
to make five slides of one piece of artwork. Your career is worth
the investment.
The bio, resume and statement must speak for you when you cannot
speak for yourself. They must be eloquent, persuasive and professional.
Use high quality paper, go for simple uncluttered look and avoid
unusual fonts. Showing a characteristic piece of art in the resume
is not a bad idea either. That's one place having a digital image
will be handy.
The media is more inclined to publicize your event if it's formatted into a press release. A basic press release includes a headline, sub-headline, contact information, and text describing the event in detail. The headline needs to be catchy, sub-headlines can add detail. Contact information should be an exhaustive list of the names and titles of all the people involved with phone, mail, fax, cell phone, pager, and e-mail contact information for each person. If the media can't reach you, they will put your press release aside.
Having an event is one
key to publicity. Unless you are Pablo Picasso, the media is generally
not interested in your story. However, if you are hosting or participating
in an event that's news. Give the details (time, date, and
directions) in the text of your press release. When you are planning
an event, know the duration required for publicity. For example,
some monthly magazines require an event to be open to the public
for 30 days or more before they will write an article about it.
Publicity does not happen on the spur of the moment. The most
essential point for you to learn is that you are working on the
media's timetable. They have no interest in your timetable. If
you are not going to learn how much lead-time is needed for the
media outlet through which you wish to get publicity, don't
bother submitting. Too many artists and art organizations
ignore this basic rule and then complain that they can't get publicity.
They don't learn how the system works and think of it as being
there to serve them. I wish this were the case, but unfortunately
it's not.
In order to get publicity
you need to plan events or shows far in advance. Media outlets
have different publication deadlines. Monthly magazines need press
releases four to six months in advance. Certain sections of the
Sunday newspaper are sometimes scheduled six months to a year
in advance, though four to six weeks is more common in newspapers.
An article on my paintings recently appeared in the trade magazine
Watercolor, An American Artist Quarterly. From inception
to publication, the article took 11 months and we had the good
fortune to sell to the first publication we approached.
With press release, resume, bio and statement in hand it's time
to address a cover letter or e-mail to the media rep. Include
in the package any previous reviews or articles about your art.
Find the proper addresses on the web or in the phone book and
send it to a person if it is at all possible to get a name. That
keeps you out of the slush pile of "to whom it may concern."
In the cover letter your first line must tell the reader what
you want them to do for you as they are likely to only read the
first line before deciding whether or not to pitch your packet.
You have to get through the media's triage to survive.
Follow-up by sending the press release by e-mail to your media contacts. Send the press release in the body of your e-mail, not as an attachment. Nobody opens attachments due to computer viruses. Do not mail images with your press releases. Send them only on request.
The press release is
in the mail and on the net. Now comes the most important step:
follow-up with a phone call. If you're not going to follow-up
with a phone call, again don't even bother to send anything. No
follow-up call; no publicity. It's that simple. The media get
thousands of submissions a day. Until you call, you are just another
packet in the stack to throw out at the end of the week. In the
follow-up call, ask if they received the packet (send it again
if they didn't and trust me they will tell you that they didn't
get it rather than dig in the stacks), ask if they need images,
and ask when they might publish it.
In a multiple artist event, each artist should send out a press
release. Teaming up with a charity is a great way to get media
attention. The charity will usually be happy to cooperate for
some small percentage of sales or if you are going to solicit
donations for them. Have the charity president or board member
send out the press release in addition to yours. You should write
the press release and have the charity put it on their stationery.
Write thank you notes
to people who publicize your show or event or even the ones who
don't. Partner with a local business group and ask their PR person
to send out a press release in addition to yours. Hire a professional
writer to write the press release or approach a writing club and
see if you can partner with a talented amateur. Send press releases
to media outlets not normally associated with the arts: religious
magazines, the home section of the paper, airline magazines, local
websites, etc.
A website can support your publicity efforts as they lend a degree
of professionalism to an artist. Are you serious enough about
your career to have a professional website? Having a website alone
does not generate sales or publicity, however, many media outlets
check on a story by going to the website of the contacts. They
may download images for a story from your site. If you decide
to launch a website, get a professional designer to assist you.
An amateur website indicates an amateur artist. Also for added
circulation, run your e-mail address through your website, for
example: (wil@bosbyshellart.com).
Do things to increase your public presence between events. Join the local art league for networking. Join the local museum and meet the program director. Serve on a committee in these organizations. Subscribe to Art Calendar magazine for insights into the business of being an artist. Read Jack White's book on marketing art to earn money: The Mystery of Making It.
The news media needs content every day, and the world is interested in art and artists. Use the news media to your advantage by preparing in advance and sending out your information in a user-friendly press release format. Learn the rules and make them work for you.
Wil Bosbyshell is an artist who lives and maintains a studio in Charlotte, NC. He teaches at the Art Institute of Charlotte. You can visit his studio at the Charlotte Art League in the Southend Cultural District or view his art on-line at (www.bosbyshellart.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
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Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
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