“My friend is an emerging fine artist in the Washington, D.C. area.
“He was recently featured in Elan magazine, a publication that showcases talented North Virginia artists. The magazine imcluded a photograph of one of his paintings on the magazine cover and included photos of six more inside.
“What are some creative ways that my friend could leverage this fantastic publicity? He has a few solo shows coming up in the next few months.”
WOW, so many ways you can go with this. I am not sure if his shows are only going to be in the DC market but that was my assumption. So here are just a few suggestions off the top of my head.
He can invite Fox morning news reporter Holly Morris to his studio and he can offer to show her how he paints and maybe invite her to be his “apprentice” without getting fired and avoiding bad celebrities.
Also how about a “creative” stimulus invitation to his showings? Offer an “artistic” bailout for folks suffering from a lack of elan in their lives?
Or, what about offering a “renaissance” session for folks who want to discover the artist within? Maybe he can post a video on YOU TUBE on his inspirational process with some tips for budding Rembrandts, Kandinskys or Rothkos? And folks who actually manage to paint something can then also be part of one of his upcoming shows.
If he’s a local, can he frame the copy of his magazine cover and present it to his art teacher if they too are local and have a photo opportunity made out of the presentation. Maybe he can also invite the art class from his high school (and their parents)to attend one of his showings.
Is his style like any other well-known artist? Maybe he can incorporate that into future publicity like a modern Monet?
Hope these help.
1) Send a link or information about the magazine (or a jpeg of the cover) to his email list
2) Embed the cover in his Web site. Media coverage = credibility.
3) Post about it on his Facebook Page
4) Twitter a link to it
5) Add it to his LinkedIn profile (i.e. “Featured in XX magazine, in a cover story….)
I used Animoto, a subscription service, to create a short video for one of my clients. It was amazing.
Consider using this to create a short video of the magazine publicity:
—First, get permission from the magazine to include their cover in the video.
—Then you can include your own still photos that illustrate what they said about you.
—Upload the video to the video-sharing sites like YouTube and share it with your Facebook friends and Twitter followers.
—Remember that in order to use this video to promote, you must buy a commercial license.
Read the terms of service before you buy anything. Go to http://www.Animoto.com
This is a perfect story to break up into a sequence on his blog (he does have a blog, doesn’t he?). The Before/During/After story of the magazine article: behind the scenes is always compelling.
Then he should send an email blast out to his list of collectors (he does have a list of collectors that he can email at the drop of a hat, doesn’t he?) for each of the three posts in the series.
This also makes perfect twitter fare: blog posts.
Then, I’d make sure he has a postcard featuring the magazine coup, and send that to his entire list, along with ALL his contact information.
The key here is not necessarily how “creative” his promotional efforts, but how consistent and effective.
He should be executing at least 3 promotional ideas a week to keep the ball rolling and the buzz buzzing.
Karen: Congratulations to your friend! You have some good suggestions here. Without having seen the article (and this is key) I’d suggest your friend get copies (or have copies made) and send them to his best collectors or potential collectors–along with a personal note.
He can also send copies to curators and potential galleries in the area along with a personal invitation for a tour of one of his upcoming exhibits. He’d need to follow up with them and send another invite closer to the date.
If he has a blog, your friend can blog about how he got the attention of the magazine and what it was like to work with them. If there is a complete article (you didn’t mention), he can get the magazine’s permission to use the words on his blog and make a series out of it–generously linking back to the magazine.
Be sure he keeps a few copies and has them out at his solo exhibits–either by themselves or in a larger brag binder.
Finally, he should make sure he sends a handwritten Thank You note to the author of the article or the editor of the magazine.
Hope this is helpful.