Victoria North, The Individual Chair. Acrylic on canvas.   (c) The Artist   http://www.theredchairgallery.com 

Start Promoting Your Exhibit Now
Part 3: Execute Your Plan

This is the third and final installment in a series of articles designed get you started promoting your art exhibit now rather than waiting until the last minute. Last week, I had you make a list of everything you wanted to do to promote your exhibit. Now it’s time to execute your plan.

Without execution, you just have a bunch of good ideas. The trick is taking those ideas and turning them into real commitments--commitments you know will boost your visibility and reputation, which will get you closer to your goals.

Start by taking the list you came up with last week. Go through each item and set a deadline for completion of that task. You might even need to break it down into smaller baby steps and attach deadlines to each baby step. Then, add the deadlines to your calendar and set reminders on your computer if you need them. It helps to work backward in time, starting with the exhibit closing date. Why closing date and not opening date? Because you want to continue promoting your exhibit even after it has opened.

Are your deadlines realistic? Do they take into account that you work better on some projects with large blocks of time and on other projects with shorter segments?

Next, make a file where you will put everything related to that exhibit: contracts, correspondence, promotional pieces, list of artwork included, insurance certificates, etc. In addition, create an electronic mailbox into which you can drop all email messages pertaining to the exhibit.

Now, identify where you need help. It might be designing a promotional piece, licking envelopes, or updating your mailing list. If could also mean that you seek coaching support for accountability. Even if you think your budget might not be able to swing hiring someone at this point, keep a list of everything you do that someone else could do. Make the list without judgment. The universe will respond when the time is right and you need to be ready.

Be with your promotional plan every day. That means looking at your task list and staying on top of it. Don’t put it in a file drawer and forget about it. Make it a reality.

Stay organized. Being with your plan every day is one way to do this, but it helps to keep a clean desktop, updated task list, and file drawer that you can actually find things in. We’re working on this in the Get Organized class, which begins next week on July 9.