Emma Dwyer writing, marketing and social media for visual artists siamse tire
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Emma Dwyer, writer, publisher and Communications Manager with EVA International offered some really useful pointers on writing about your work and promoting your work on line as a Visual Artist. Her talk was part of a Visual Artists Ireland Cafe hosted by Siamsa Tire Tralee 4 Dec 2015. Thanks for sharing Emma!
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Emma Dwyer writing, marketing and social media for visual artists siamse tire
- 1. EMMA DWYER COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER EVA INTERNATIONAL
- 2. WRITING ABOUT YOUR WORK DIGITAL MARKETING
- 3. WRITE CLEAR EASY TO READ ARTIST STATEMENTS
- 4. GEORGE ORWELL, POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- 5. NEVER USE A METAPHOR, SIMILE, OR OTHER FIGURE OF SPEECH WHICH YOU ARE USED TO SEEING IN PRINT
- 6. NEVER USE A LONG WORD WHERE A SHORT ONE WILL DO
- 7. IF IT IS POSSIBLE TO CUT A WORD OUT, ALWAYS CUT IT OUT
- 8. NEVER USE THE PASSIVE WHERE YOU CAN USE THE ACTIVE
- 9. NEVER USE A FOREIGN PHRASE, A SCIENTIFIC WORD, OR A JARGON WORD IF YOU CAN THINK OF AN EVERYDAY ENGLISH EQUIVALENT
- 10. BREAK ANY OF THESE RULES SOONER THAN SAYING ANYTHING OUTRIGHT BARBAROUS
- 11. “THIS MULTI ITERATION WORK HINGES ON EXTREMES OF ADVERTISING, INTERTWINED WITH AN EXPLORATION OF BEAUTY, FROM THE PROFOUND TO THE SUPERFICIAL. THE MECHANISM OF EVOLUTION ARTICULATED AS MARKETING TOOLS, SIMULTANEOUSLY MYSTICAL AND BALDLY SELFISH.”
- 12. AFTER A SEVEN YEAR BREAK FROM STAND- UP, DURING WHICH SHE HAD BABIES, MADE A MOVIE IN VIETNAM AND BECAME THE MOTHER OF MOONE BOY, DEIRDRE O’KANE RETURNS WITH A BRAND NEW SHOW. SHE IS OLDER BUT IS SHE WISER? WHAT HAS SHE LEARNED FROM BEING A STAY AT HOME MUM, ACHIEVING THE GLORY OF MIDDLE- AGE AND CHASING AFTER COLLAGEN AS IT ATTEMPTS TO LEAVE HER LIFE FOREVER? SHE REVEALS ALL (WELL NEARLY ALL) IN A LINE OF O’KANE.
- 14. WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHEN
- 15. USE A DECENT IMAGE
- 16. WEBSITE
- 20. SOCIAL MEDIA
- 21. FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, VIMEO
- 22. EMAIL MARKETING
- 23. THAAAANKS
Editor's Notes
- Undergrad in English. Oh, Francis Then MA in Art in The Contemporary World. Dublin Contemporary, mother’s tankstation, freelance Arts Council TBG+S, NewsFour, IAF, Mermaid Arts Centre, now EVA International. In all my roles I’ve worked with artists, writing bios, press releases etc to help communicate their practice.
- Vis Arts copy notorious for being indecipherable. When people talk about their work it’s way easier to understand, so try to write as though you’re talking.
- 6 rules for writing which can be applied across the board. 6 points that will help you not write bullshit.
- Phrases a heart of stone, apple of my eye, flogging a dead horse. Any overused phrase that has kind of lost any real meaning, or emotion. Think about why you’re saying what you’re saying. Are you flogging a dead horse?!
- Long words don’t impress they alienate a reader. If someone doesn’t understand a word they will stop reading Short words can pack the same punch if what you’re saying is interesting in itself
- Good writing is language charged with meaning. Any words that don’t contribute meaning to a passage dilute its power. Less is always better. Always.
- The man was bitten by the dog. (passive) The dog bit the man. (active). The active is better because it’s shorter and more forceful.
- If possible, remain accessible to your average reader. If a specialised reader use appropriate language.
- If you want to flog a dead horse do! Sometimes cliches can be apt. Sometime long words read better…Ask yourself what you are really trying to say rather than impressing with words. Maybe get someone else to write it if you really struggle.
- Gunning fog index measures the readability of English writing. Estimates the years of formal education needed to understand the text on a first reading. A fog index of 12 requires the reading level of a U.S. high school senior (around 18 years old). Texts for a wide audience generally need a fog index less than 12. near-universal understanding generally less than 8. Fog index: http://gunning-fog-index.com/ This has an index of 18.59
- Gunning Fog Index of 9.81: Almost universal.
- Press Releases: Do you and your wife work together, does your dog sing? Have you self taught? Pitch the story in a press release. EG 4 architect couples. Treat it differently to the copy that will be used elsewhere. It is just to go to newspapers/radio etc. Local papers? Local websites? Bloggers? Be realistic, if Aidan Dunne won’t come think of who is likely to. If emailing a journalist put in subject Story Idea: And the one line hook.
- Exhibition invite Text: Send out an invite to people you want to come to your exhibition. Printed postcards are great but costly. Email marketing is good and free. Keep this simple and to the point. Tell the Story of the exhibition: Who, what, why, where, when. Who is in the exhibition, what is it made up of painting, sculpture etc, why: the concept, where, when. Link it to a website with more information. Contact details.
- NOT MY STRONG POINT! This is the main thing that communicates your work. Language is important but if you don’t have a good professional image you may as well be talking to the cows. Take high quality images. Strong, high res, professionally done. Barter!
- Website are easy to do despite what you might think. Keep it simple.
- Clean simple design using tumblr. Free, you can copy templates, just like this and upload the images yourself: http://fuchsiamacaree.tumblr.com/
- Her shop is powered by big cartel
- Links to all her contact places including social media
- FB: Set up a business page, linked to your own personal account. Invite your friends to like it. Share images of your work, set up events for exhibitions. Any news/updates, nice pictures of your cat, funny stories etc go up here. Be yourself on it. Not too professional. Link to your website, and any other social media you might have. All other social medias should echo the aesthetic and images used on your website. Same profile pic. Link to all of them on each. Hootesuite can time posts and send them to all your accounts etc.
- Use mailchimp, or constant contact to communicate with a list of people. It can be small to start. Have a sign up form on your website and facebook pages. Updates every month at most. Match the look and feel of your website in your email template. Use buttons in your emails to link back to your website, social media etc. or the gallery where you’re showing. Christmas gift ideas. Link to your big cartel or whatever shop you’re using.