It’s never too early to start promoting your open studio, book launch, event, or exhibition.
Creating anticipation means you are preparing people for something big. You are building expectation, excitement, and suspense!
If you have a major event in the future, don’t wait until a month or two before it begins to tell people about it. Start dripping information about it now.
But, and here’s the clincher, add variety to your missives to ensure the news is never stale. “Come to my exhibit!” gets old real fast.
Jeanne Bessette shares an image in April that will be in her June show in Santa Fe.
People follow you because they want to hear from you. There is a strong element of trust between you and them, so they expect to be among the first to know when you have something going on.
You are letting people in on a secret when you share news of your event in the planning stages. People love to know secrets!
TIP: Your earliest mentions should be less promotional and more informative or entertaining.
You don’t want your first messages to pitch something that isn’t ready. Instead, you are opening up, being a little vulnerable.
Use your newsletter, blog, and social media connections to get the job done. Weekly mentions on social media aren’t too frequent.
Here are some thoughts.
The Venue
Shoot photos of the venue, preferably with you in them: you pointing to a sign or inside talking with the staff.
Share on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and your blog.
The Art
Show photographs of your inspiration on Instagram or Pinterest.
Write about your inspiration on your blog.
Reveal the work in progress on your blog and share on Facebook.
The Artists
Write blog or Facebook posts about the other artists included in the event.
Compliment the other artists by posting a comment on their Facebook pages that says you’re looking forward to exhibiting with them.
The Temptations
What else might be happening near your event that would pique interest in your followers? Special food? A nearby outdoor concert?
Share this information on all of your platforms (i.e. social media, blog). People are more likely to come from a distance if they know they can make a full day or evening of the effort.
Is there a cohesive theme around your event? A location, a subject, a color, or a season?
Make a pin board on Pinterest to reflect the theme!
My favorite things around Golden, Colorado – all on a Pinterest board. Click to see the details.
Based on advice from Beth Hayden in our audio program about Pinterest, I created a pin board to share information about Golden, Colorado, where my October 11-12 workshop will be held. Check it out! This is my favorite use of Pinterest so far.
How do you create anticipation?
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