Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Promise me (and yourself) that this year you will: 1. Make more art - If you produce two plays a year, this year produce two plays and six workshops. If you write one book a year, this year …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:30AMWednesday, December 26, 2012
Two or three times a year I like to work directly with individual artists and organizations from all over the world. The process has the incredibly creative name of Paradox Marketing Coachin…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:09AMFriday, December 21, 2012
We do not have a shortage of flash. We don't have a shortage of people willing to do silly, loud, ridiculous things to get attention. We create tumblrs full of people's misguided, but often …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 08:59AMMonday, December 17, 2012
It's 1:00am in Vegas. I'm at the View Bar inside the Aria. When you think about it, most bars are the same. Sure some have better decor, the one here was quite nice, but all bars basically h…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:36AMWednesday, December 12, 2012
Note: This post was originally sent out via my email newsletter, so consider this another preview of what the newsletter offers. You should subscribe. Click here to do so. One of the grand p…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:30AMFriday, November 30, 2012
Here's the core marketing problem both in the arts and damn near any other field: How do you get people to chose you when the number of options approach infinity? That's what technology and …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:45AMMonday, November 26, 2012
The agenda for most arts marketing is very clear. The agenda is to get someone to buy a ticket, come to the exhibition, donate, volunteer, etc. My theory is that the best way to achieve that…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:30AMMonday, November 19, 2012
I learned these at the poker table: 1. Pay attention - Most of the mistakes that happen at the poker table happen for a very simple set of reasons. You got bored. You got distracted. Importa…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:10AMWednesday, November 14, 2012
We have become very good at marketing. We have a grasp on social media, some more than others. We know how to buy ads. We know how to maintain websites. We know how to do promotion via email…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:06AMMonday, November 12, 2012
We have enough stuff. Enough TV, enough plays, enough museums. No one is clamoring for one more thing. What we need is more meaningful experiences. There is always room for that. Always. We …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:12AMFriday, November 9, 2012
In most of the arts world, but particularly in my world of the nonprofit arts, there is an understandable desire to bring in a new, more diverse, audience. The events of the past few days ha…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:30AMMonday, November 5, 2012
If you learn anything this political season, learn this. To win, you've got to please somebody. The good news is that you get to choose that somebody. You get to choose the group of people t…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:44AMWednesday, October 31, 2012
The people you want around you are the people motivated by doing the next big thing, not keeping the status quo. Those are the people who will help make your artistic dreams a reality. The c…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:10AMMonday, October 29, 2012
There is a point where the marketing no longer matters. In my little world of theatre, my experience has been that once the show is reviewed by the press the impact of direct marketing is re…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:42AMWednesday, October 24, 2012
Marketing is storytelling. Price is a pivotal part of the story. In some cases, price is really the only part of the story. The airline industry learned this the hard way. Customer service w…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 08:45AMMonday, October 22, 2012
The always awesome Thomas Cott has sent out this recent roundup on a consistent issue in the arts, dynamic pricing. If you have followed this blog over the years, you know that I'm not a fan…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:13AMFriday, October 19, 2012
Millions upon millions of people will NEVER experience your art. Never. Ever. It doesn't matter how skilled you are at your craft or how fantastic your marketing is. The people who will neve…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:25AMTuesday, October 16, 2012
You might recall a video with a certain politican. In the video the politican said some things about 47% of the country and it landed him in some trouble. But this isn't about the answer. It…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:00AMFriday, October 12, 2012
Let's consider these three statements: 1. I want to make art - The combination of technology and low barriers to entry has made the ability to create art more accessible to everyone. That in…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:10AMWednesday, October 10, 2012
Part 1 is here: I would argue that there is really one reason to spend money on marketing. You spend money on marketing to leverage an organizational or artistic strength. Stop. Read the sen…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:42AMMonday, October 8, 2012
I want to give you a look at some of the information I send out to people who get my email newsletter. Hopefully you'll like it and decide to sign up by clicking this link. -----------------…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:30AMFriday, September 14, 2012
Art is "must do" sort of thing. People donate to nonprofits arts orgs, or Kickstarter campaigns, because they feel like it is something they have to do. If it's a "maybe" sort of thing, then…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:51AMWednesday, September 12, 2012
There is a group of 125 people in the theatre. The space only holds 250 so they are a significant group. Many of them are wearing red hats. The red hats are a symbol of their club. They wear…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:30AMMonday, September 10, 2012
If you are struggling connecting art to audience it's probably because of one of the following: 1. Your strategy is incorrect and needs to be adjusted. You have a misunderstanding of who you…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:10AMWednesday, September 5, 2012
People don't attend live art . . . except for the millions that do, around the country, every year. People don't purchase subscriptions to theatre, dance, classical music, etc . . . except f…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:10AMMonday, September 3, 2012
My friend calls it the "Everything Sucks" club. The flip side to this epic rise in the abiliity to communicate and spread a message is that it becomes incredibly easy to tear things down or …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:40AMFriday, August 31, 2012
We will never know exactly why people make art a part of their lives. Sure, we can ask the question. Sure, they can answer the question. But we will never REALLY know. People attend art for …
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 11:01AMWednesday, August 29, 2012
Before I did this, I was a lawyer. A life in the law teaches you things, some good, some not so good. One very useful thing that the law taught me was this: There is always opposition. It do…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:19AMMonday, August 27, 2012
When you are trying to get people behind your idea they are probably (internally) asking themselves two questions: 1. Is this idea worth pursuing? 2. Can this person or team deliver the idea…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:50AMFriday, August 24, 2012
Art gets people excited. Business doesn't. Business concepts like strategy, marketing, etc. are essential elements to the artistic process but they are not the point. You're at the Board mee…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 09:30AMWednesday, August 22, 2012
The trick to sustaining an artist career - or really a career in any field - is to balance risk and survival. To get ahead you have to take risks, but the risks can't be so big that they end…
SOURCE: Mission Paradox at 10:58AM 
