The Mission Paradox Blog

Perfect Timing

Today is January 20th.  In the US it's a big day in politics.

So would today be a good day for me to share with you my ten tips to perfect arts marketing?  

Probably not.

Not only because the ten tips don't really exist but because my timing is wrong.  You aren't thinking about arts marketing today.  Tomorrow maybe, but not today.

And I could try to convince you to be interested in arts marketing today but that would be a waste of time and energy.

So here's what I want you to think about (not now, but on Monday).

In what ways are you wasting your marketing time?

Are you talking to people who have a demonstrated history of not history, like people who never open your emails?

Are you advertising in places or at times when people aren't ready to listen?

Just remember that the right message at the wrong time = The wrong message.

Timing is everything.

FYI, I've noticed a surge in readers from Canda lately.  No idea why, but HI CANDA!

Forever Curious

As the world becomes more complex the drive for certainty becomes more and more intense.

In the arts world this drive is defined by a constant need to know what's going to happen next.

How many tickets are we going to sell?

How many views is this video going to receive?

Certainty.  Tell me what's going to happen next.  And ideally, tell me that tomorrow is going to bring more than today.

That understandable desire, if you succumb to it, can create a tremendous amount of risk aversion.  It can lead to the conclusion that the best way to keep tomorrow consistent is to do the same thing over and over today.

The alternative is to be curious.  The alternative is try and approach any day, good or bad, with a desire to increase your understanding.  The magic of marketing, particularly arts marketing, is that you can always become smarter.  You can always improve your process.  You can always increase your wisdom.

But it all starts with being curious.  It starts with shaking off the highs and the lows and continuously ask "why".

I can't tell you how your year in the arts is going to go.  I can't tell you how many tickets you will sell. 

But I can tell you that at the end of this year your skill level, intelligence, marketing process and wisdom can dramatically increase.

Pursue that and the money will follow.