Eastside Culture Crawl - A Visual Arts, Design, & Crafts Festival

RETURN TO CRAWLING 101 OVERVIEW

The Eastside Culture Crawl Society provides tremendous support for promotion: the website, the printed guide, posters, social media, mailing list, events, and festival press … but getting people to YOUR studio is going to depend on YOUR efforts. Promotion does not have to be costly, but a little time and effort will pay off!

CULTURE CRAWL PROMO MATERIALS

Save The Date Postcards

Postcards can be picked up at the Culture Crawl office starting in the early summer through to the Crawl festival (artists will be emailed when they are ready for pickup).

These are great promo cards to have on hand during the summer for:

Exhibition openings
Art/craft fairs
Your studio to hand out to friends and clients
Distributing around town to local cafes, restaurants, community centers, etc.
Old fashioned mailing

Program Guides and Posters

Programs are a great thing to have on hand in your studio during the festival weekend and also to distribute throughout the city in the week leading up to the Crawl to promote yourself and the event. Examples of easy distribution locations for programs and posters: apartment lobbies, bulletin boards, lunchrooms, coffee shops, local restaurants, community centres, theatres, and any other place where people gather.

ONLINE ARTIST PROFILE

Review our Artist Profile Guide and fill out/update your Culture Crawl online artist profile. Make sure all your info is correct as your listing in the printed program guide is pulled directly from your online artist profile. Make sure to include images of your work! Our website receives a huge amount of traffic leading up to the festival so it is to your benefit to fully fill out your profile.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PROMO OPPORTUNITIES FOR CRAWL ARTISTS

Media Relations Checklist

Submit the Media Relations Checklist to our publicity team for media consideration. You can find the current year’s deadline (usually in September) and submission form on the Information For Artists page.

BRANDING (Creating a recognizable look & feel)

Pick one or two images and be consistent using them in all marketing materials for the show: the guide, in your e-mails, your postcards, on Facebook, etc.
Pick a font or two and stick to them.
If you don’t have a logo, be consistent with the presentation of your name and studio name.
Make it easy for people to link your name to your work.

CREATE YOUR OWN PROMO MATERIALS

Create your own printed promo materials (such as postcards) to hand out leading up to the Crawl and to visitors during the festival weekend.

Clean, easy to read with one image on the card, ideally the one you are using for all your Culture Crawl promotion.
Include your name, link to your website, and phone number.
Include the Culture Crawl dates and times.
Include the address of your studio!
Design them and have them printed well in advance.

USE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK

Promote your participation in the Culture Crawl on your personal and business Facebook, Instagram, and other social media accounts. Read our handy Social Media Guide for tips and suggestions.

EMAIL LIST

Focus on building your email list whenever possible as direct email communication is still the most reliable means of reaching those that have connected with your work. In addition to your larger mailing list, consider personal emails to a subset or core group. Consider setting aside the time to write personal email invitations, especially to those that have collected your work in the past.

Sending Tips

Using a service such as MailChimp allows you to send your message to a large number of people without being constrained by the limits of your personal email. It also allows you to track the success of your mailing, record bounces, and they help keep your mailings out of the spam box.
If using your own email, be SURE to make recipients invisible to each other by putting them in the “bcc” field, not the “cc” or the “to” field. Paying attention to email privacy and best practices will help retain readers.
Use a clear subject header with dates.
Keep emails concise.
Include dates and times
Include your studio address and a link to a map showing the location/directions (and any specific parking/transportation information)
Include a link to Culture Crawl website. Including Culture Crawl graphics will help people associate your event with the bigger program.
Include your name, link to your website, phone number, and other important contact information, and other social media links.
Make sure to spell check.