Breakthrough Skills for the Modern Day Artist. A career seminar by Impulse Artist Series & Spacetaker, by K.C. Scharnberg.

1. Breakthrough Skills for the Modern Day Artist
A career seminar by Impulse Artist Series &
Spacetaker
by K.C. Scharnberg

2. • Marketing and promotion is a necessity
of life.
• It’s a frame of mind
• Media relations – the way to free
editorial coverage (valued at 3x more
than an advertisement)

3. • Timing – current; in relation to something that’s
happened recently
• Significance/Impact – the number of people
affected; who, what, how affected
• Proximity – the closer the story to home, the more
newsworthy
• Prominence – well-known things, people or
organizations get covered because they are well-known
• Human Interest – stories that appeal to emotion

4. • Press release, Calendar release, Media
alert
• Pitch
• Media List
• Photos
• Website
• Tenacity

5. • Calendar release - basic who, what, where,
when, why, how much & for more info
• Press release - more details about the event,
about you and your background
• Media alert - an alert for media only typically
used to alert them of a unique coverage
opportunity

6. • 1-2 pages maximum (400-500 words)
• “For Immediate Release”
• Date
• Media contact name, email & primary phone
• Title that encompasses what the release is about in one line (must stand out, catch
reader’s attention)
• Strong lead paragraph that states the who, what, why, when, where & how – gets
to the crux of the release in a short, to-the-point opening paragraph; contains the
hook (the reason this event is important, interesting or unique, etc)
• Where to find more (web address, blog, social media links)
• Boilerplate info
• ### or -30- at the end

7. • Important to read what the arts &
feature writers are writing about
• Craft a unique pitch for each different
media outlet or writer

8. • You need a list of media contacts that
make sense for your field of work
• Update regularly
– Look on media outlet website or call
• Keep up with social media messaging
of media outlets and writers

9. • Have 6-8 high resolution photos
available to send at a moment’s
notice
– 300 dpi (print resolution)
– Variety – horizontal, vertical, action,
portrait, serious, fun, etc.
– Include photo credit
– Include caption

10. • 2.5 to 3 months out – Distribute calendar release; Set up
Google Alerts
• 4 to 6 weeks out – Distribute press release & begin pitching to
your targets
• 2 to 3 weeks out – Post event to online event calendars; Send
personal invitation to select media to attend
• 1 week out – final follow ups to online writers, include
photos
• 1 to 2 days out – Distribute media alert to TV news desks
and daily and weekly print photo desks
• Follow up, follow up, follow up!

11. Common Mistakes to Avoid
• Poor timing - not starting early enough, missing deadlines
• Spamming - only write and send a release when you have a
newsworthy story to tell
• Not Bcc-ing
• Sending your press release as a pdf attachment; paste
release in body of email; include URL to image download
• Not being available or answering a reporter
immediately
• Not following up
• Working in a vacuum

12. • Being successful in media relations means building
relationships with reporters and editors over time. It’s not a
sprint, it’s a marathon.
• Don’t only email them when you have something you want
them to cover. If they do cover you, send a thank you.
• Make sure you always deliver on what you’ve said you can or
will do.
• Finally, supplement any media relations campaign with other
promotion efforts (social media campaign, your own blog
posts, team up with other people or organizations that can
promote you/your event, print & distribute flyers/posters, etc)

13. • http://www.prsa.org
• www.deirdrebreakenridge.com
• The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases
www.briansolis.com/2008/02/definitive-guide-to-social-media
• Putting the Public back in Public Relations – by Brian Solis
@briansolis & Deirdre Breakenridge @dbreakenridge

14. – Spacetaker - www.spacetaker.org/culture_guide
– Eventful - http://www.eventful.com
– GHCVB - http://www.visithoustontexas.com/events-list
– Chron.com - http://www.chron.com/entertainment/calendar/submission.html
– Houston Community Newspapers -
http://www.hcnonline.com/calendar/submit/
– Houston Press - http://www.houstonpress.com/feedback/SubmitAnEvent
– KHOU.com -
http://www.khou.com/community/calendar/event-submission-form
– Houston Going - http://www.houston.going.com
– Houston Backpage - http://houston.backpage.com/Events/
– Upcoming - www.upcoming.org
– Yelp Houston - http://www.yelp.com/houston
– KUHF - http://www.kuhf.org
– Artshound - http://www.artshound.com
– Do713 - http://www.do713.com
– CultureMap - submissions@culturemap.com