I have been using LinkedIn for a while now and find it really useful. And the thing I really love about it is its randomness. You never know who will link to you, answer your question or give you good advice. Over the last few months I have met some amazing people who have helped in the writing of articles, in research for papers and generally given good advice or tips on just about every subject.

Before I had a car I spent lots of time on public transport and loved the fact that intresting people could cross my path at any moment. And they did. So much so, that my stories usually beginning with “guess what, you never know who I met today”, was followed by eyes rolling to heaven or “Mary you’re such a randomer!”

Now that these types of opportunities are not as frequent as before, LinkedIn provides the same type of buzz and connection for me, albeit on a professional level.

Actors always talk about the possibilities, the possibility of having a relationship with another character , the possibility of being open to feelings, and emotions with another person you have to get to know in a very short space of time. Most crucially for actors, their emotions and their performances must contain a truthfulness that we the audience believe and can relate to.

I often think of LinkedIn in this way. For it to be a success you must be open to the possibilities of meeting people from all over the world, for having beliefs or opinions similar or different to your own. They may not like what you have the say or maybe they will on occasion.

Being open is not easy at first, putting your work and your opinion on display. But if you push against it and put yourself out there you will be amazed who you might meet and what they may do for your business.

Image thanks to Erica_Marshall

Comment [2] | Arts | 09/09/09 02:48 PM

Spoiltchild has been busy working with RTE over the last few months to develop a new platform to showcase documentaries online. We are very pleased to announce the launch of the new Doc on One website showcasing over 200 documentaries from the RTE archives. You can download, search by category, review and listen to documentary podcasts. Users can even send suggestions for future documentaries to the RTE team. If like me, you are interested in a wide variety of subjects; events, history and culture, log on and enjoy 40 minutes of pure listening pleasure. Documentary lovers bookmark this site now! http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/index.html

You can follow Doc on One updates on Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned as there will be over 400 documentaries added to the site by the end of the month. So plenty of entertainment and education for everyone.

The Doc on One team is passionate about their work and bringing documentaries to larger audiences via the web. Spoiltchild is happy to be part of the team that facilitated such a worthwhile endeavour. We are very proud of the site in helping to create a buzz and promote such a fantastic artform. We wish continued success to the Doc on One team.

Thanks to Damien and all those on Twitter who reviewed Doc on One and gave it the thumbs up.

Mary

| Arts | 02/07/09 04:48 PM

A few months ago I undertook a survey of email marketing trends among Arts Organisations in Ireland. Thirty organisations were surveyed, taking in a cross section of National Cultural Institutions, Galleries, Arts Centers, Theatres, and organisations that work in Literature, Youth Arts, Music, Architecture, as well as Festivals and Local Authority Arts Departments.

Like small businesses, many Arts organisations have a small team with limited resources. Arts staff organise exhibitions, concerts, events, festivals and activities throughout the year and in doing so require effective ways to engage with the public. With Art budgets slashed last year and the outlook uncertain for 2009, the need for a cost and time effective solution to promote and market these events is crucial. Email marketing certainly provides the answers to these two problems. At its simplest, it really is just a short communication between two people, using the technology you already have.

Here is what I asked:
Q.1 Do you use email marketing (newsletters)?
Q.2 How often?
Q.3 How do you find your subscribers to email?
Q.4 Are you making the best use of email marketing?

The results were fascinating. A 1/3 response rate was achieved overall. All respondents are currently utilising email marketing. 60% communicate monthly, 10% weekly and 30% for each event. 70% felt that they could use this tool more effectively with more time and more knowledge. One respondent had added an RSS feed to their newsletter to automate news delivery. All grow their subscriber list by sign ups at events, promotions or via their websites.

I found this very interesting as Arts Organisations give their patrons every opportunity to sign up for future events and thereby gain permission to use these contact details for further marketing activities.

Overall, this survey demonstrates that arts organisations are actively engaging with email marketing but many struggle to find the time to do so. Another factor is continuing to engage with the reader. This calls for further education to designin marketing strategies that continually connect with the subscriber. Consistently writing engaging, relevant information will bring readers back time and again and even better tell their friends.

My sincere thanks to all who participated.

Image thanks to liz_com1981 (cc)

| Arts | 25/03/09 12:14 PM

I am in the middle of some research for a college project and wondered how many Arts Organisations in Ireland use email marketing regularly, namely newsletters? I know there has been lots of talk about ‘going online’ – advertising and promoting events on the web and encouraging participation by using Twitter and Facebook for example.

Like many other industries the arts have taken quite a drop in funding this year. Many projects have to be rethought in this current climate. Advertising and publication budgets have been cut so online is a great way to reach out and share the great work produced today by artists and organisations across the country.

So in an effort to get a bit more information on who is using email marketing in the sector I have created a small survey (5 questions only). Give it a go and maybe it will help you think about your present marketing activities while giving me some real life data for my research.

Many thanks in advance for taking the survey. I will keep you posted with the results. It should be really interesting.

http://www.polldaddy.com/s/A095C7E4CB3D8C14/

Image thanks to liz_com1981 (cc)

| Arts | 14/02/09 07:12 PM