Artist Entrepreneur: N for News— The Artist’s Alphabet Guide to Writing About Your Art by Aletta de Wal

Welcome to Artist Entrepreneur Fridays, where we talk about the fun, wild and scary ride of succeeding as an artist entrepreneur of all stripes and types and mediums.

Welcome back guest columnist, Aletta de Wal. She specializes in helping visual artists succeed in their fine art careers. She posts regularly on “The Artist’s Alphabet Guide to Writing About Your Art” and other success tips for fine artists on the topic of writing. This week it’s N for News, tips on crafting your message carefully for the world by focusing on your audience — essential keys to business and artistic success. Enjoy!

PS. Be sure to check out the new August issue of Author Entrepreneur Magazine, helping authors create successful careers.

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Technology has expanded your potential audience to the planet, shrunk the world to the size of your computer screen, and extended your reach to the span of your keyboard.

That’s good news because you can reach so many more people without even having to step out of your studio. The downside is that we are all inundated with information everywhere we go.

“Not too long ago, the average American was exposed to over three thousand advertising messages in the average day. Today, you get that many before breakfast! Everyone is trying to build a brand. This season, the networks have added one more minute of commercials per half-hour, and that is just the beginning. Have you seen the ads in golf holes (talk about hidden persuaders), in bathroom stalls, on grocery register receipts and even in the sand on the beach?” — Newspaper Association of America Website http://www.naa.org/display/retailheadlines/v1no4/pg6.html 

(Full disclosure : When I teach workshops, I leave my postcards in the women’s bathroom next to the sinks. Why? Because they stay to primp and will usually notice my brightly colored artistic message related to the reason they came to learn with me.)

There is a price to pay for ubiquitous exposure.  More than ever, you have to craft your message carefully, especially when you call it “news.” I am delighted that you are having (yet another) exhibit, but why should I choose yours instead of doing any of the many other things I could do with my time?

Be clear about what you have to say that is newsworthy to your audience. What is fascinating to you may not be all that important to your readers. Your audience – not you – decides what is newsworthy. Start by putting yourself in the audience’s shoes and ask yourself these questions:

• Is your news relevant to their art interests? Relevance is the most important criteria. Writing “one-size-fits-all-news” will attract only my passing interest instead of my rapt attention.
• Is your news timely? If you send me an invitation to your art exhibit the day before it happens, chances are I will already have other plans or I won’t see it until after the reception because I don’t check my e-mail every hour.
• Does your news tug at their heartstrings? Art is an emotional purchase so your news will pique my interest if your message is about endangered species and I am a volunteer for Artists for Conservation.

Be methodical in the way you present your news. You are intimately connected to your news so what you want to say is crystal clear. Your audience does not live inside your head, so assume that they are from another planet and spell your news out for them.

• Decide on the purpose of broadcasting your news. Do you want to inform, invite or excite? The purpose determines your voice, length and images to accompany your words.
• Craft a “call to action.” If you inform me about your most recent award, do you want me to applaud or spread the word? If you invite me to an exciting exhibit with the baby orangutan who modeled for your award-winning drawing, do you want me to RSVP or bring along friends? If you want to excite me about supporting endangered species, do you want me to bring the model a snack or post the invitation to the Artists for Conservation Face Book page?
• Writing is a four-part process – think, write, edit, check.  Assemble the information and write a draft. Your skeleton outline or mind map should address the questions journalists use to write news: Why (should I care?), who (should care?), what (should they care about?), when (to take action), where (to take action) and how (to take  action.)

Be deliberate about how, when, and where you deliver your words and images. When most art news was sent out by a press release, there was a standard format and length to contain your eloquent written message. Now you have the choice of a print document that you mail or handout or an online version that you post to web sites and social media platforms. You may even want to use both print and online. To streamline your production line, decide on where you plan to distribute your news before you do your final edit.

• If you want to use print, determine the size of the area where you will place your words. You have to be much more succinct when you are designing a postcard than a brochure or rack card. If you are adding images, make sure they are high resolution.
• If you are posting your news online in more than one place, start with the longest post, like your web site or blog. Then edit to the size dictated by each social media platform. Add low-resolution images and consider a copyright watermark.

Most news is event driven, so if you are short on what to write about, maybe for now you need to get back to the studio to create art for events to brag about.

Next time “O” for Open Studios (so you’ll know how to write about these events.)

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Aletta de Wal, Artist Career Training

Aletta de Wal inspires fine artists to make a better living making art in any economy.

Aletta works with part-time, emerging and full-time visual artists who are serious about a career in fine arts. Aletta makes make art marketing easier and the business of art simpler.

More information at: http://www.artistcareertraining.com/artmatters-newsletter/