BiB Alumni News for January 25, 2018
Information, opportunities, and resources 
for working artists
Artist Resource: New Year, New Plan 

When you make contact with a customer, how do you get their attention? Do you know where to find them? Can you ensure they will return to you?

Most marketing efforts are ad hoc. Social media posts, e-newsletters, newspaper ads, or post cards can be useful advertising tactics, but do you know if you are reaching your potential clientele? Are your strategies driven by a well-considered marketing plan?

Investing the time to create a marketing plan means:
  • making better use of a limited budget. Your money will go farther and your results will be better
  • getting a jump-start on next year and the years that follow, saving time and effort later on
  • making it possible for employees, volunteers, and friends to help
ThriveHive offers many resources to encourage you to think about marketing your business, rather than tossing content into an ad-saturated world. This article addresses several key components of a marketing plan:
  • standing out among your competition
  • finding your customer
  • retaining your customer
When you're ready to take a deeper dive into these strategies, download " Creating the Two-Page Marketing Plan." This booklet helps small business owners and nonprofits design a series of easy-to-implement strategies. Exercises that make you think about the benefits of your product, who your customer is, and how to communicate with them while staying true to your brand will lead you to a custom two-page plan.
Alumni Spotlight: Brendan Taaffe   
 
Brendan Taaffe is making new songs from old bones. "The Bucolics Project" is a collaboration with Guggenheim Award-winning Kentucky poet Maurice Manning. The body of work builds on a research fellowship Brendan completed last year at Berea College in the Appalachian Sound Archives. The resulting song cycle will combine inspiration from Manning's collection of poems, "Bucolics," with field recordings from eastern Kentucky.

"I'm really excited about the ways this brings together so many of my interests," Brendan says. "I feel the result will be pretty special." Read more about Brendan's work as a songleader, performer, and composer on his website.

Featured Artist Opportunity 
 
Northeast Region Arts Connect's Professional Development Series: Are you a teaching artist interested in deepening your practice and connecting with others in the arts community? This series will introduce inclusive teaching methods. Workshops are held February 3, March 7, April 16, and May 5, 2018.  

The sessions will focus on:
  • accessible practices
  • social and emotional student learning
  • arts integration
  • universal design for learning (UDL)
The curriculum includes hands-on arts exploration as well as time to connect with other teaching artists, community arts leaders, and the instructor. All are taught by VSA Vermont teaching artist Alexandra Turner.

Learn more:
connect via the Facebook event
read session descriptions and register online
call VSA Vermont at 802.871.5002
Join the BiB Alumni Network Facebook Group!

Stay in touch with your fellow alumni, share information, ask questions, and trumpet successes.


Questions about the BiB Alumni Network, Vermont Arts Council, or our programs and services for artists? Contact Sarah Mutrux.

Artist and Community Programs Manager
802.828.5425
The Vermont Arts Council is funded, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which requires a 1:1 match from the Vermont State Legislature. Council grants, programs, and statewide arts promotion would not be possible without the critical funding provided by these government agencies.
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Breaking into Business | Vermont Arts Council| 802.828.3291 | info@VermontArtsCouncil.org www.VermontArtsCouncil.org
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