The Tour is coming up fast! I know you're all very busy getting ready, but I wanted to share what the Gorge Artists Board and other volunteers are doing to promote the Tour and ensure many visitors.
This is also the time for you to work to increase the number of guests coming to your studio. The artists with the best turn-out are always those that worked to bring in visitors, so check out What you can do to bring guests to your studio below to bet the biggest bang from your participation in the Tour.
Advertising and promotion for 2012 Open Studios Tour
Paid advertising
- Large ad in HR News Panorama section
- Tour announcements on OPB radio and All Classical FM radio
- Listing in Weekly Animal newsletter and on website x 3 weeks
- Two weeks of display in Seattle Weekly e-newsletter and 10,000 views on their website
- 50,000 display views on Oregonlive.com - the Oregonian's website
- Slider ad on HR Chamber of Commerce website and banner on Events page
Promotion Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!
- Entry on about 100 events listings
- Spiffy blog and Facebook page created and maintained
- Regular blog posts featuring Tour artists
- Open Studios Preview Show and reception at The Pines
- Open Studios Preview Show at Columbia Gorge Hotel
- Stories featuring artists in local newspapers - Thanks Christine Knowles
- HR News Kalediscope page
- TD Chronicle
- WS Enterprise
- Goldendale Sentiniel
- Columbia Center for the Arts e-newsletter announcement
- Poster/flyers printed, distributed and displayed to downtown HR businesses
- Multiple press releases sent to local and regional papers
- Contacts made with local radio stations and Oregon Art Beat
- Banner in Jackson Park
- Contacts made with AM Northwest, KATU and the Oregonian Travel Editor
- Many more volunteer efforts we don't know about!
What you can do to bring guests to your studio
- Send email Tour invitations to all your customers and friends
- You'll receive a template you can use tomorrow
- Send invitations via your Facebook page and blog
- Call your best customers and personally invite them - let them know you'll have a Tour Guide to give them
- Use the Tour signs to help direct visitors to your studio - put one at the closest big intersection where they'll need to turn, for example.
- Send out your postcards if you haven't already
- Remind folks at church or other gatherings that you are one of the tour artists and let them know where to get tickets/guides
- Think about how guests will experience your studio.
- Put up welcome signs on doors you'd like them to use
- Indicate parking areas
- Get rid of (or hide) unnecessary clutter
- Have an artist bio or other information they can read
- Show off any articles written about you or your work
- Don't keep your prices a secret; discrete signage is useful
- Have a helper that can sell work or answer questions when you are talking with others
- Snacks are nice and help keep guest's blood sugar up so they can make decisions - don't need to be fancy
- Remember that you are building relationships as well as selling artwork.
- Smile!
- Have fun!
