Tips for Artists
Orientation Toward A Successful Silicon Valley Open Studios
Suggestions, Tips and Hints
Please send us your comments and suggestions so that we can improve information for the future.
PUBLICITY. PROMOTE YOUR EXHIBIT
What we do for you
Publicity for you and for the event is a top priority for us. Our Steering committee is staffed with marketing professionals who are working hard to engage the local papers and community groups, to educate them about the event and to create “buzz” and excitement. Furthermore, we plan to engage a professional PR firm to handle the PR as the date approaches. The press release for Open Studios will be sent to 150 news media across the Bay Area. As with all news sources, in order to get attention, we need to provide interesting stories – so please tell us about yourself! If you have an intersesting personal story, or artistic experience worth sharing, please e-mail us at [email protected] or contact Diana Henneuse, our PR Consultant on the Steering Committee. We will do our best to create an engaging news story our of it. In 2004, as funds permit, we will purchase advertising space in selected news media to promote the event. We are planning to have handbills and announcement cards available for artists to distribute as they see fit. As we do every year, we send direct mail notification of the dates and cities to our mailing list of art enthusiasts and artists (over 5,000). As for our Website, www.svopenstudios.org, we aim to present your images in color by late February/early March. Throughout the Tour Guide, in which your images will appear in black and white, we expect to remind the public that they may see them in color on our Website.
Your own advertisements
Consider having your own advertisements in your local paper by sharing the expense with nearby artists who are also participating. We will also give you the opportunity to promote yourself or your group by means of advertising in the Tour Guide. Ad agreement forms may be received by e-mailing [email protected].
Your own publicity to the public
Contact your local newspaper by letter or by telephone. If you can determine who writes about the arts, direct your text to that person. Give information about your plans for Open Studios and write a brief description about yourself and your work. Local papers may be willing to write a piece about a local artist or group.
Your Own Mailer
Consider inviting your patrons, mail invitations to your own mailing list. Through our recent survey, many artists said that they have been more successful when they invited their own customers and augmented our marketing efforts with theirs.