Interview with Ruth Staple Project Manager
(Skills Development Programme) at ArtsMatrix

Q: What is ArtsMatrix and what does it do?

ArtsMatrix is the skills and enterprise development agency for the south-west region, and we aim to foster a highly skilled workforce equipped to sustain their living in the creative sector.

Practically this means we deliver training, advice and guidance, and skills development to artists and creatives throughout the region, for example mentoring schemes, seminars and our popular 1-2-1 advice sessions. 

Q: How did you come to work for ArtsMatrix?

Having worked in theatre marketing for many years I worked at South West Arts Marketing, the regional Audience Development agency from 2000 until 2006.  The concept of Audience Development can be difficult for people to understand and I wanted to do something more tangible for artists in the region.  I was attracted to working with ArtsMatrix as the services it delivers have an immediate effect on the people who engage with them, which is both very real and measurable.

Q: What does your role specifically involve?

At present I manage the Skills Development Programme, a funded project to deliver skills and training across the region.  Over the past two years this project has funded us to work with more than 1500 individuals ranging from architects, artists, designers, musicians, and those from the publishing, advertising and performing arts sectors.  I am also privileged to manage the team of highly skilled professional development coordinators who run an office in each county.  They are SFEDI assessed advisors and all run their own creative businesses and are therefore uniquely placed to deliver objective business advice whilst truly understanding the context in which creative people work.

Q: What do you mean by marketing? 

To me marketing is about putting your potential customer at the heart of all you do. If you think about your work and the way you market yourself from their perspective it becomes easy. 

Q: Is there a difference between good marketing and bad marketing?

Yes, but the difference isn’t money.

Long ago I worked for a commercial marketing company with big budgets to play around with, but having very little money in the arts has made me be more focused and to encouraged me to try for in-kind support or even marketing methods that cost nothing except my time.

I think marketing fails when people don’t really consider who they are marketing to and design print and messages that appeal to themselves.

Remember you are not marketing to yourself, and also that you could have a range of customers, including funders, sponsors, the local media, Poetry Can, as well as publishers and audiences members. 

Also, ask someone else to check any marketing materials, preferably someone similar to the audience you are targeting. 

Ask them what the purpose of the letter/brochure/email is, and whether the information within it fulfils this purpose e.g. can you find out when an event is taking place, or where to book tickets, or find the website address.

Q: What should poets be thinking about when it comes to marketing themselves and their work? 

Sadly even the best work needs to be marketed, as how else do people know you are there? - funders, sponsors, agencies, publishers and audience.

It needn’t cost huge amounts of time or money if you make a plan and prioritise who you target. 

Make sure it doesn’t become too onerous or it will block your creative flow, but do set aside a small amount of time to it every week as little and often works much better than none at all.

Consider your customer, put on their shoes and walk around in them, and then consider:

• What do they need to know about you to engage with you?
• What might put them off working with you?
• When do they need to know about what you do? 
• Where are they likely to go looking for information – a bar or café perhaps rather than an arts venue?
• What form would they like the information in – email, print, and a poster?
• How far in advance of an event are they likely to book?

Suddenly you begin to understand what makes them tick and your marketing all falls into place.

 
Q: What’s your best overall advice about marketing?

Don’t panic! 
When you start to plan your marketing be honest with yourself and ask:

How much time per week can I give to this project?

How much money can I spend on this project?

And, how many people will be working on the marketing, and what skills do they have? 

This is the 3Ms – Money, Minutes and (sorry ladies) Men. 

Be realistic, and then make sure that the time money and effort you spent on the project works as effectively as possible.

We could always do better with more money, time or resources, but do the best with the resources that you have. 

Thank you Ruth

To book a 1-2-1 advice session with ArtsMatrix contact
Madeline O’Gorman 0117 915 0190 or Madeline@artsmatrix.org.uk.

Marketing Advice from Poetry Can

Here is some advice about how to market to Festivals, Events Organisers, Poetry Book Publishers and Poetry Magazines from Poetry Can Director Colin Brown.

Please note this is general advice that comes from:

Poetry Can’s own position as a poetry development agency responsible for the programming and organisation of Bristol Poetry Festival, and the support of a wide range of poetry events; from discussions with a number of UK Literature/Poetry Festivals, Events organisers, Poetry Book Publishers and Poetry Magazine Publishers, and from Poetry Can’s  own research.

It is important to note that each Festival, Event and Publisher will have their own programming/submission policies and ways in which they prefer to be approached.

You need to research each Festival, each Event, each Publishing House before you submit your proposal or manuscript.

This may sound like the kind of work you would rather not be doing but it’s essential you develop an understanding of the literary/performance landscape if you are going to market yourself effectively.  

This is what Ruth Staple was emphasising (see above), the primary need to think about who you are approaching and to tailor your approach appropriately.    

Marketing To Festivals

1. First of all you need to understand how each Festival is programmed. Try to find out :

• when the Festival takes place?
• when is it programmed?
• how does the programmer decide the programme?
• is there a theme?
• what kinds of poets/performers/writers etc appear on the Festival programme?
• what are the audiences like?
  
  You may be able find out the answers to these questions by visiting the particular Festival’s website, if not, phone the Festival concerned and ask. 
  
  Look at the previous programme/s for each Festival and ask yourself:
  could I have fitted in to the Festival programme?
  If the answer is obviously “no” then don’t take it any further, but if it’s a “yes” or a “maybe” then it’s worth submitting a proposal.

Submitting a proposal to a Festival

Submit your proposal earlier rather than later in the programming period. Include :

• examples of your work, a book, pamphlet or typed poems or cds/dvds
  
• a photograph
  
• brief details of publications and places you have read/performed
  
• If you know the programmer has not seen you read or perform, or is otherwise unfamiliar with your work include contact details of a promoter who can comment on your reading/performance/writing
  
  Your own contact details.
  
  Say a little about yourself as a poet and how you think you would fit into the Festival’s programme - it’s a good idea to look at the previous year’s programme and ask yourself: where and when I might have read or performed etc.?
  
• what would your reading, performance etc for the particular Festival be like or comprise?
  
•  If you are presenting a show give an outline of the show,  including its format and technical specifications
  
• whom would you like to appear with… who, or what kind of poet/performer would effectively compliment or contrast with you to make an enticing event?
  
• what kind of audience do you think you would attract?   
  
• how might you be described in that Festival’s brochure or on their website?

It does help if you can present your proposal in a professional and attractive looking format. Proposals that are hand-written in green ink will only impress a psychiatrist

Follow up your proposal with a phone call about two weeks later to confirm that it’s been received and to ask what the programmer thinks about your proposal.

For excellent advice about marketing and generally organising (and everything else as well) a Live Literature Show and tour click here: Tales from a Paralalia Tour!

Marketing To Events Organisers

Marketing yourself to Poetry or Literature Events Organisers is much like marketing yourself to Festival organisers. You need to find out:

•  when and where the event/s take place
  
• how the programmer decides the programme?
  
• is there a theme or ethos?
  
• what kinds of poets/performers/writers etc appear at the event/s?
  
• what are the audiences like?

You may be able find out the answers to these questions by visiting the particular Events organiser’s website ( if they have one), if not phone or email the organiser concerned and ask.

Submitting a proposal to an Events Organiser

Contact the organiser and ask if you can submit a proposal and find out when would be the best time to send it. Include :

• examples of your work, a book, pamphlet or typed poems or cds/dvds
  
• a photograph
  
• brief details of publications and places you have read/performed
  
• If you know the programmer has not seen you read or perform, or is otherwise unfamiliar with your work include contact details of a promoter who can comment on your reading/performance/writing
  
• Your own contact details.
  
  Say a little about yourself as a poet and how you think you would fit into the event/s in question
  
  It’s a good idea to look at the kind of events the organiser / venue puts on, as with marketing yourself to a Festival, ask yourself:
  
  where and when I might figure in such an event etc. ?
  
• what would your reading, performance etc for the particular event be like or comprise?
  
• what kind of audience do you think you would attract?   
  
• how might the organisers describe you in their publicity?

Again, present your proposal in a professional and attractive looking format..

Follow up your proposal with a phone call to confirm that it’s been received and to ask what the programmer thinks about your proposal.

MarketingTo Publishers

If you are a totally unpublished poet, the chances are that book publishers of poetry are unlikely to be much interested in publishing your collection.

When it comes to major book publishers of poetry such as: Bloodaxe Books Ltd, Jonathan Cape, Carcanet Press Ltd, Faber and Faber Ltd, and Picador this is especially so.

Book publishers of poetry receive thousands of manuscripts each year and are able only to publish a fraction of these.

How do you make yourself marketable to poetry book publishers?

You have to be ready, and this takes time

Being ready means:

            You enjoy reading good poetry. If you don’t read good poetry you won’t write good poetry. It’s as simple as that.

Being ready means

You are in touch with the world of poetry

You are a member of the Poetry Society and the Poetry Book Society

You have done one or more courses run by the Arvon Foundation

You have a poetry mentor who can read your poetry and give you good, truthful, critical feedback.

You attend a poetry group.

You have read your work in public.

Being ready means:

You have written 50-70 good, publishable poems. 

A good poem is a poem that has captured reality; that scratches the reader’s head with lightning; that invites the reader into a new consciousness.  

A good poem shows a mastery of craft and through that mastery reveals the music in language.

A good poem inspires intelligence, curiosity and energy in the reader’s heart and mind.

A good poem inspires pleasure.

Being ready means:

 
You have a track record of having poems published in several different reputable literary magazines and journals and have entered and had some success in poetry competitions.

This demonstrates that you have committed yourself to putting together a

publishable - collection.


Submitting to Magazines and Poetry Book Publishers

         You have to do your research.

 Never send your poems to a magazine unless you know the kind of work they publish. Don’t submit to a publisher until you’ve read their books.

Each magazine or poetry book is different. You will be more successful if you research the field and send to the magazines and the publishers whose work you can identify with and believe in, and who are likely to be able to identify and believe in you.

 
When you’re ready to submit to a particular magazine or poetry book publisher   you need to read their submissions policy. This can usually be found on the magazine / publisher website.

             Don’t submit by email.

             Do enclose a covering letter that is brief and to the point.

Do enclose a return stamped addressed envelope 
  

            Don’t expect to receive a detailed critique of your work from the    
            magazine or the book publisher.

To book a poetry development surgery with the Director of Poetry Can Colin Brown

Please telephone on (0117) 933 0900 or email: info@poetrycan.co.uk