Authors, Musicians & PR’s Brave New World

February 24, 2012 Leave a Comment

Yes, the music industry has changed and in many ways it’s more challenging than ever before, but with change comes new opportunities.  Success can still be had by those who work to create it.  The traditional major label options aren’t as great and as varied as they were when the Stones or Madonna or REM initially made their marks, but there are now new and different ways to succeed, develop an audience and build a strong career

It’s not only the music industry that has been stood on its head by the internet.  The worlds of publishing, film and TV are also reeling.   In the past authors expected to sign a publishing deal, get an advance and then prepare for a book tour.  Well times have changed.  Fewer and fewer publishing houses are investing in tours unless it’s for one of their reigning literary superstars.  So whereas more and more musical acts are back on the road and touring, fewer and fewer authors are out there meeting the public and bookstore owners.  Book tours are more important than many realize.  They are about making connections with individual stores, store owners and managers.  Even those inevitable signings that end up with a handful of people in the audience can be beneficial, if a relationship is forged between the writer and a bookseller.  Making it even more challenging is the fact that bookstores themselves are facing some of the roughest times they’ve ever encountered. Independents are falling by the wayside; Borders is gone and Barnes & Noble is doing all that it can to simply survive.

As with all types of intellectual property, book sales are being hit hard.  The model that worked so well only a few years ago, is now broken. Still, in both music and publishing as the old models begin to falter, new avenues and opportunities are surfacing.  For musicians and authors that take their careers and their works into their own hands there is a new world of opportunity out there.

The tough part here is that artists either have to become marketers, or they have to hire PR and marketing firms to handle their promotional needs for them.  Particularly in the fields of art and entertainment, marketing cannot be looked at as a luxury.  Marketing, particularly media relations, is a necessity.  The upside to the internet is that every area of interest has its own bloggers and social media sites.  Savvy authors and musicians are using social media, blogging, and article marketing to create an inbound marketing funnel for their books CDs and music downloads.  Some are launching and investing in their own tours, others are offering online events.  Those that are truly savvy are launching traditional public relations campaigns to reach their target market, establish themselves as experts in their field and gain the validation and legitimacy of being in the news.    With the right buzz both musicians and authors can with a bit of creativity generate their own sales and build their fan base, and establish their own successful careers.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Filed under Authors Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Promoting Your Art Utilizing PR – Part II

February 17, 2012 Leave a Comment

I know how difficult it is for artists to promote their work.  Look at it this way.  PR is an art.  It’s not hawking or selling, it’s the art of effective storytelling.  For it to work it needs a narrative, a story arch.  Learn and use the art of storytelling to promote your art.  Use your creativity in your media relations campaign.  My last article highlighted 4 approaches that artists can use to highlight their work and garner media coverage.  There are at least two other approaches to consider:

1) Controversy:  Are you creating art or a show that is different, or controversial?  If so utilize that.  The media loves controversy.  You don’t want controversy for controversy’s sake (although people have gotten pretty damn far going that route) but you want it to be a part of your work, your show, your journey.

2) Timeliness: Can you tie your work, or a show to a particular time, season, date, etc.?  Can you revolve your media pitch around a particular holiday or tie it into a story that’s currently in the news?  Try and find ways to make your story pitch timely and use that to your advantage.

Regardless of the type of marketing campaign you choose to launch, keep in mind chances are you’re not going to hit a home run your first time at bat.  There are those situations where you score big right off the bat, but don’t count on it.  The most effective campaigns are long term, cumulative approaches.  They need to be refined, adjusted, and modified.  As you go, you learn.  But as an artist, public relations and being featured in the media is your best approach.  It offers the validation and credibility of being featured in the news.  Take a look at your favorite, famous artists, most likely you will find most or all of them are media darlings and have learned the art of PR.

You can definitely launch a campaign on your own if you’re working on a shoestring, but if you can possibly afford it, bring a professional on board to guide you and run the campaign.  If you do bring on a PR consultant or public relations company, work with them.  It’s a collaborative process.  It’s important you work as a team to develop story ideas, media pitches and create a campaign that meets your needs but also allows your PR firm to meet the media’s needs.  Don’t look to your friends and acquaintances to give you marketing and PR advice.  Advice is cheap and easy to give.  Everyone believes they’re marketing mavens, but few actually have a clue.  If you start listening to everyone’s advice you’ll continually be in reactive mode.  Your marketing campaign will function like an old fashioned pinball machine, shooting to the right and then to the left with no focus, no point of view and no concrete direction.

Don’t let marketing your artwork intimidate or depress you.  View it as an artistic challenge.  Play with it.  Have fun with it.  Remember you’re building the bridge between yourself and the public.  You’re giving your art a chance to soar.    

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Filed under artist pr, Authors, Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Promoting Your Art Utilizing PR

February 16, 2012 Leave a Comment

If you’re a sculptor, painter, photographer, craftsperson, musician, author, cartoonist and/or performance artist creating your art is step one when it comes to launching a successful career.  Once you’ve created your art, you next need to build the bridge between your art and the public.  From my perspective, once you’ve given your time and care, blood, sweat and tears to your artwork, you owe it to your art to get it seen and experienced.

There are a number of ways to promote your art including advertising, direct marketing, guerrilla marketing, social media and publicity.  For artists, PR can generally be the best route.  Public relations and being featured in the media offers the validation and credibility of being featured as a news story.  Often the most effective approach is a combination of medial relations and social media.   The two complement each other.  You can amplify and magnify your media placements via social media and a creative social media campaign can result in coverage in TV, magazines and newspapers.  The most important element when launching a PR campaign is coming up with compelling stories that meet the media’s needs.  Below is a quick overview of approaches you can use when pitching the media:

1) Pitch An Event: Do you have a show or a gallery opening coming up?  Here you have something concrete to point to.  You can offer the media somewhere to go something to see.  But keep in mind that journalists, editors and producers are inundated with offers to come to shows and events.  So find a way to make your story different, compelling

2) Something New:  Give the media something new to cover.  Have you begun working in a new medium?  Have you changed your subject matter?  Is there a new approach or style you’re utilizing?

3) Tell Your Journey:  Your art is a story, but so is your journey to becoming an artist.  Offer the media human interest stories about how you became an artist, how you followed your dream.  Outline the obstacles you overcame, or the uniqueness of your journey.

4) Defining A Trend:  Are you a part of, or are you helping to define, a new trend?  You might not initially think so, but give it some thought.  Don’t just think of art-oriented trends, keep in mind demographic, cultural commercial, and aesthetic trends as well.  Think of how you can position yourself as someone how illustrates that trend.

These are just some approaches that artists can use to help promote their work.  Keep in mind that, like it or not, this is a part of your job.  Have fun with it.  Don’t just keep your creativity for your art; use it in your marketing. You owe it to yourself, your work and the public.  

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Filed under artist pr, Authors Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 48 other followers