What is your relationship to The New York Times?” My colleague breathlessly asked me. Within eight months, all three of my company’s performances had earned reviews and/or a spot in the coveted Times’ event listings. Even the show in a dive bar. I was just as surprised as my colleague. As for my connection to the Times, apart from a few periodic emails, there really isn’t much of one. If anything, receiving some media attention taught me that building a relationship with the press is the same as building a relationship with anyone else. Let your common sense and artistry be your guides.
For most performers, there are three reasons to seek publicity: to promote an upcoming event, to try to get a performance reviewed, and to pitch a featured article about your work. If you haven’t been reviewed in the past, you will be focusing your efforts on the first two goals for now. Bear in mind that you should tackle press outreach only for your own projects, not for productions that have hired you. You might duplicate efforts or, worse, irritate members of the press and the company that hired you.
The first step is to write a press release. A press release has all the vital information about your event (who, what, where, and how to buy tickets) and is presented in a way that sounds newsworthy. Your goal is to clearly communicate the hard facts along with the elements that make it exciting, while resisting the temptation to sound sensationalist. Even your headline should encapsulate these elements. “The Best Madama Butterfly You’ll See All Year” sounds like a sales pitch and it doesn’t explain why this event will be interesting. “A Site-Specific Madama Butterfly in a New Production by B. F. Pinkerton” will pique the reader’s interest.
Are you new to writing releases? It is not hard to find good examples. Visit the press rooms on the websites of any major presenter—from Lincoln Center to the L.A. Philharmonic—and those of smaller companies that have been attracting publicity to find out how it’s done.
You are trying to make it incredibly easy for journalists to spread the word about you: editors should be able to copy and paste the release into a listing or a preview article, and bloggers should have access to good photos. In addition to being a critical communication tool between you and your public, writing a press release forces you to become articulate about your project in a concise format. Just make sure that anything you create for the broader public—written materials, photos, videos, social media activity—is of high quality and conveys a sense of what you’re selling.
Once you’ve written your release, you have to get it in front of your market. There are numerous free and fee-based online services that will send your press release to various media outlets, but you are better off contacting journalists and editors directly. These publicity services emphasize quantity over quality and rarely are focused enough to reach only your potential audience. That said, don’t overlook online event listings that can publicize your performance directly to your potential audience. For example, I pay a small fee to Gotham Early Music Scene to include my group’s concerts in their online newsletter, one of the most popular ways for New Yorkers to hear about early music events. Your goal is not to saturate the Web with your press release, but to build relationships with individual people who will be your audience members and advocates.
This is actually easier than it sounds. Members of the press want to hear from artists, not Internet publicity machines. If you are doing interesting work and have put together professional-quality materials, the right people will be happy to hear about what you’re doing.
Where do you find the right people? Read the publications you would like to be featured in. Find out what kinds of stories they do: for example, Time Out New York publishes listings and previews, but not reviews. Look at who has reviewed other groups in your area, from major media outlets to bloggers. Read the work of individual journalists, find out their “beat,” and think about what would make them interested in what you’re doing. Once you do, e-mail them your press release, with a personalized greeting and an explanation about why you think they should come see your work.
Finding e-mail addresses might be the toughest part. While most publications provide clear instructions on how to submit event listings, reaching individual press members can take some more digging. But being members of the media, journalists often have blogs (sometimes with an e-mail address published) and other social media presence. You might have mutual friends on Facebook, or find them on Twitter. Friend them and follow them, just don’t bother them with lots of pitches or event invitations. Attract their attention by liking or re-tweeting their posts, and get to know their interests based on their activity. While much communication takes place online nowadays, plenty of print media prefer fax or hard copy contact.
When and how often you contact members of the press will depend on the type of media outlet. Quarterly magazines will need to receive your press release several months in advance, but otherwise you should plan to start broadcasting your message around six weeks before your performance. You can also send out a release with all your events at the beginning of the season, and then follow up closer to the dates. If your event will be reviewed/photographed, make sure a complementary ticket is at the box office under the journalist’s name. Check with your venue about any restrictions about photography during the performance.
Once you’ve put together a clear and compelling press release, targeted relevant journalists, sent out the notice in a timely manner, you should start to draw attention from the press. Just be sure to avoid some common pitfalls.
If you’re going to take the time to reach out to journalists, don’t send them one mass e-mail or add them to your mailing list. Remember that behind every e-mail address or fax number you find is an actual human being who, just like you, is trying to tame the inbox monster. Hearing from you should make their job easier, not clutter up their day. Send out the e-mails individually, clearly stating if you would like to be included in the publication’s listings or if press tickets are available. Be sure to send your press release in the body of your e-mail—not as an attachment. Opening an attachment takes extra time, and journalists will not be inclined to open it if they don’t recognize the sender.
As singers, it is in our blood to put ourselves in the public spotlight. Still, it can be nerve-wracking the first time you try to make new friends—especially with people who could have an effect on your career. But as you become clear about your artistic vision you will find your place in the media. As for my colleague, she may still be establishing herself with the New York Times, but Alex Ross of the New Yorker already gave her a good quote.
