Arts Marketing - Visuals

(reprinted from Rogue Festival)

The Impact Of Visuals!

The visual element is an important factor in attracting the potential audience member.

Web Design
This extends to the "look" of your site or blog. I have seen many an arts website that just comes of as "corporate". Is this the image you really want to project about what you do? I, myself prefer sites that are visually interesting and if nothing else... fun. Afterall, we are in the business of entertainment.

Here are a few examples that I think are effective (and these are Rogue 2007 participants):

• Tanjora
• Mia Pascal
• Jesus in Montana
  

Poster Design
A good poster design can do wonders... and should be included on your site. This is part of "branding" your show... providing a visual link and hopefully interest. A few have been posted on this post. By The Way... if you click on them... it will take you to their sites!

TIP: Resolution
For Printed Media (posters, flyers, etc) at least 300 DPI
For Web Visuals (website, blog) about 72 DPI is good for quick loading in any browser.

Slide Shows
OK, not many people are going to do promotional videos for their shows. (Though, with a little effort... it's really an affordable to do these days... more on that later.)

But a slide show is easier to handle. There are several sites that allow you to upload pictures and create one. Once you do... just copy the code and paste it onto your website or blog. Reading about what you do is great and all... but remember... it's the visuals that grab your audience.

Below is a list of slideshow sites that you may consider using.
http://www.picturetrail.com
http://www.flickr.com
http://www.bubbleshare.com
http://www.slide.com
http://photobucket.com

Here are a few examples from Rogue 2007 participants:

• Ashtree Studios
• Theatre Ventoux
  
  

Then There Is Video
Sure, it takes a little time. And yes, editing can be a bitch. But it has become very affordable! Really, a camcorder and a basic editing program (that now comes standard with most operating systems these days) will provide you with the in-home possibilities to create an exciting visual

There is no medium that is more stunning than video. Once again, there are sites out there that will host your video... and once uploaded... just embed the code onto your site or blog. Presto! You now have a cool and interesting visual to sell your show to the world!

Below is a list of video hosting sites that you may consider using.
http://youtube.com
http://www.dailymotion.com
http://www.streamload.com
http://www.vimeo.com
http://www.zippyvideos.com
http://video.google.com

Here are some examples (once again from Rogue 2007 participants)

Example 1
Example 2



More on Arts Marketing on the Web - Coming Soon!

A Domain & Blog... Now What? Part 1

So, you took the plunge. You bought a domain (hopefully from Jungle Webs). But, you are not ready to commit to hosting yet... and you have a blog on a public server (like Blogger or Wordpress, etc...). Now what do you do?

THE EASY-LAZY WAY
"Forward" your domain.

What does this mean? Well, when you forward your domain to "point" to your blog, folks typing in http://yourdomain.com will magically arrive at your blog. This way you still have a nifty DOT COM and still keep the traffic you have built on your free public server.

Easy Steps To Forward Your Domain. (assuming you bought it at Jungle Webs) BTW... clicking the pictures will make them full size.

1. Sign in to your Jungle Webs account.

2. Look under DOMAINS and click "Manage Domains" or "Manage Domain Forwarding".

3. This will bring you to the Domain Control Center where you will...
a. Check-mark your domain name.
b. Click "forward".

4. That will bring you to this page where you will...
c. Click "enable".
d. Type in your blog address in the blog (e.g.) http://yourblog.blogspot.com
e. Click "OK" and in about 15 - 30 minutes your domain address should point to your blog.


That's it! Tah Dah!

DID YOU KNOW: That buying a domain at Jungle Webs gives you your very own FREE EMAIL ACCOUNT?

More on "Masking" coming soon!

In the Arts and starting a presence on the Web

So, you are in the Arts (musician, visual artist, theatre group, dance company, etc...) ... you want a presence on the net... you are a novice... you are not sure where to start.

"Darn, this is scary! What is CODE or URL or... or... " It all seems like a daunting task, right? Wait, take a deep breath.

Lets start with this...

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR PRESENCE ON THE WEB TO DO?

• Ultimately get the word of your vision out there! Drum up an audience! Get B.I.T.S. (Butts In The Seats). After all, without an audience... your art doesn't exist!

• Repeat business! Build on the audience you already managed to scare up in the first place.

Now, here are some start-up tips that range from free to affordable.

NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?

Get A Website - The Free Way!
(yeah, we realize we are cutting our own throats by giving you this information... but this site is a designed as a resource... and we're hoping you will go the "affordable" routes listed below and become happy and loyal customers of Jungle Webs.)

What you should have regardless...

1. A MySpace page - Great for networking and building up an audience through their "friending" system. You can also send out "bulletins" and "invitations" to your events and shows. Especially good for musicians and comedy acts... but not exclusively so. HERE is an example of a theatre group with one. Really, almost everyone has a MySpace page... even politicians. Techniques on building a friend base coming soon.
2. A Blog - This can also function as your "starter" website. You can sign-up for a free one with blog services such as Blogger and Wordpress. The user-friendly interface allows for easy postings with little or no knowledge of code. *Reasons to have a blog... coming soon

Get A Website - The Affordable Way

(and the main reason NOT to look "cheap" to potential audience members.)

1. Buy Your Own Domain - This really creates a presence! A potential audience member will look at www.yourdomain.com and instantly realize you are serious (and totally for-real) in your art. Plus, it's a lot easier to remember than something off a free server like http://somefreewebsite.com/yada/user/yourname.html . See the logic here? On top of that... buying your own domain costs UNDER $10 A YEAR... and comes loaded with tons of useful freebies! *Money Saving Tip: Own your own domain and associate it to your free blog... coming soon!
2. Buy Affordable Hosting - This opens up even more options to your presence on the web. Plus it puts you in control of the image you want to present. Affordable? Yep... our generous and reliable hosting plans start under $5 a month!
   

At Jungle Webs your own Domain and Hosting (*economy plan) will only cost you less than $5.60 a month! Click Here for more on this topic.

Check back at our blog JUNGLEWEBS.NET for more "How to's" plus affordable and creative tips and topics to create your presence on the Web.

Cheers!

an example of creative affordable arts marketing

Shameless and Blatant
(in pursuit of butts in the seats)

Why are people in the Arts so afraid or shy to push their craft? Are they guilty for what they do? Isn't it more embarrassing to have no BITS (Butts In The Seats) when they put on a show? Have they totally lost themselves in their "art" that they've forgotten that it does not exist without an audience? Why are so many in the arts so afraid of new media... like the internet? Do they not realize that for the first time in history there is a medium that puts everyone on a level playing field?

I admit I have been guilty of all those things in the past... but not anymore. It’s a new day with some pointed lessons from the masters! Da Vinci got paid so did Shakespeare... it could be argued that Bill and his peers invented what is show-business today. Those are 2 words that need to be paid more attention to in equal parts. (Sure, argue with me that those guys had patrons and I’ll tell you they are called “sponsors" or “advertisers"? today.)

Over the last few months I have been developing some ideas on arts marketing from an affordable, creative and pedestrian level. (Pedestrian meaning… a little effort and time and any idiot can do it.) I won’t just write about it… I’m doing it. If these methods work… cool! If they don’t… at least I tried.

So, here is the first of my shameless ideas in action…

Rehearsals for a brand new play, TALE END, begins today and... postings on our blog at the Theatre J’Nerique site will occur at least once every 2 days (save the weekend) from this point on.

Posts will vary from the writing process to acting to marketing in the creation of this new piece. Think of it as a "MAKING OF" as it's happening consisting of blog posts from the participants and videos (there are 2 so far).

Labels in the blog make it easy for you to follow your areas of interest in this creation. If you haven't been there yet... you can catch up at THEATRE J'NERIQUE... and keep coming back for more!

If you are on MySpace come over and "friend" us for updates and bulletins http://www.myspace.com/jnerique

You can follow this ride of the beast all the way through it's premier at Rogue 2007!

This show is designed to tour and we are planning to hit some of the venues on the Fringe Festival circuit in the Summer of 2008.

p.s. Our posters will be featured in t-shirts soon for your purchase... is that shameless or what?

more coming soon!

hola