My subscribers are really reading their newsletters! And you all are on top of things. After last week’s newsletter about news releases, I received a load of emails asking me where in the world will these news releases be posted and sent. It was my intent all along to tell you that this week, but I failed to mention it. Mea culpa. I can’t let this Thanksgiving week go by without thanking you, my subscribers. After writing this for five and a half years, I remain grateful for every new person who joins the ArtBizCoach.com community. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting me to help you with your art career each week. With much gratitude,

Web Site Basics

Teleseminar Thursday, November 29

Pat’s back! My Web guru Patricia J. Velte has agreed (after much cajoling) to rerun the fabulous teleseminar she gave us last December. At that time, our recording equipment malfunctioned and we didn’t record it. We’re taking another stab at it. Join us to learn the basic information for getting your art online.
http://www.artbizcoach.com/classes/webbasics.html 

Be a Part of My Inner Circle

Do you sometimes feel like you’re all alone? Have you been looking for some type of ongoing, affordable support? Become a member of the Inner Circle community and gain access to monthly one-on-one consultations with me, a group discussion list, weekly audio recordings, a premium newsletter, and much more. It’s all just $10 for the first two months. Read the details and sign up:
http://www.artmarketingaction.com 

2008 Live Workshop Schedule

Lake Forest, IL on Saturday, January 26
http://www.deerpathartleague.org/workshop012608.htm
also:
Ann Arbor, MI on Saturday, March 15
Mobile, AL on Saturday, June 7

► View all upcoming classes and events.
 

FEATURE ARTICLE

Post and Email Your News Release

Last week I wrote about the fact that news releases are no longer being consumed only by traditional media outlets. These days, the general public--your audience--is reading your news releases because they are online. At least they should be online. In case you missed last week’s newsletter, you can find the podcast version on the Art Biz Blog.

This week I want to talk with you about where you're going to share all of those news releases now that you have them. Here are five outlets for your news releases.

1. You will post your news release on your Web site in an area titled “News” or “Media Room.” You can see news release samples and what my media room looks like by visiting the ArtBizCoach.com media room. (It’s going to be filling up with the upcoming arrival of my book, so look for a big change in content over the next couple of months.) You will also post your news release on your blog. See how Margret Short did this by visiting http://snipurl.com/1tdyq .

2. Email your news release to your mailing list with a short pitch letter above it. Do this in the body of a regular email--not as an attachment. You want to make it as easy as possible for the recipient. You can see Margret’s pitch letter to her friends in the link in the previous paragraph. Read how to assemble your email message in this article I wrote for Art Business News: http://snipurl.com/1te5s .

See a news release that was sent to me that I was happy to post on my blog since it benefited a large number of artists: http://www.artbizblog.com/2006/08/public_art_on_c.html .

3. Email your news release with a different (more formal) pitch letter to local reporters and editors who cover your story. It might be someone in the arts, but you might have a lifestyle or business angle to your story as well. Pitch it to the appropriate person. Do not send it as an attachment, but in plain text in the body of the email.

4. Use the text outside of the official news release format to post an announcement to Craigslist. We had one person attend the workshop in Iowa because he saw it on Craigslist. You can post without charge at http://www.craigslist.org .

5. The first four items on this list are my favorites for getting an actual return on my investment, but it doesn’t hurt to post your release on some of the free distribution services out there. Some will charge a fee for a “higher ranking.” I have only used PRWeb and paid once for such a ranking and saw no results from it. Here are some places to start.

PRWeb: http://www.prweb.com 
I-Newswire: http://www.i-newswire.com
PRFree: http://www.prfree.com
Free Press Release: http://free-press-release.com/

There are many others out there and you could spend a lot of time posting news releases to free distribution services. I would encourage you to try one here and there, but to spend your time with targeted releases that are more apt to garner results.