Once I heard that I’d received the 2024 Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Grant I knew that I wanted my artist stories to journal the process from beginning to end.
Last week we had a google meeting about marketing. The talking points were how do we market ourselves, and what tools can Creative Pinellas provide to help the process. Many of us announce our events through websites, email marketing, printing flyers, social media, and word of mouth. Director of Marketing and Communications, Roman Black, mentioned the trifecta which I later found out in an article to be categorized as paid, owned, and earned media.
I’ve always had a hard time putting myself in the limelight. Ask me to write a press release about something else, no problem. I wrote dozens of articles for the company I previously worked for, some of which were published in IAADFS trade newsletters and magazines. I started writing a blog about family adventures to museums and galleries and writing about our experience through my children’s eyes. Many of these articles have been published in the Arts Coast magazine, but ask me to write about myself and I curl up like a caterpillar unwillingly being moved from one plant to another or an armadillo spooked by the heavy sounds of Floridian hikers.
I drag my feet the most when it comes to social media. I see it as knotted hair I’m not looking forward to detangling, or a puzzle that I haven’t quite figured out all the pieces. On one level it feels like we hold ourselves to other standards. I understand it’s a powerful tool but I struggle to keep to the 3 C’s: consistency, calendaring, and content.
I started to use Chat GPT to schedule monthly content calendars, but I know that in order to establish a strong brand and connect with my audience, I will have to shift my mentality. I have to overcome feeling vulnerable or judged, and be mindful that marketing is essentially telling stories.
