Carolina Arts & You
Carolina Arts
is a for-profit operation. It does not receive any government
funding. Our sole source of income is through advertising support
which comes mainly from commercial art galleries. We operate on
a shoestring with a staff of only two people. We cover the visual
arts and the visual arts only in selected parts of North and South
Carolina. The paper is published monthly usually coming out the
first week of the month and it takes 4 to 5 days to deliver the
paper in the two-state area. Some copies of the paper are mailed
to remote areas where hand delivery is not cost effective. Because
the paper is available free in many coastal tourist areas the
paper ends up everywhere. Many important contacts have been made
by someone on vacation picking up the paper and learning about
something wonderful going on in the Carolinas. We cover areas
where we receive support and those that are close to those areas.
The paper's size varies according to the amount of advertising
we receive each month.
Inclusion in the paper is dependent on the fact that you offer
the paper to the public in your facility. That's all we and our
supporters ask. Those who don't do so are taken out and never
included in our paper or website in any way. If you don't think
we're serious about that point just try us.
As far as the content of the paper goes we try to cover the non-profit
and commercial sectors equally, as best we can. The focus of the
paper is based on exhibits. Articles are taken on a first in first
in the paper basis. Facilities that had articles in the last issue
are put aside for articles from other facilities and will only
make it in again if room permits. If at times it looks like we
are favoring our advertisers - you are correct. Without them there
would be no paper. Because we are only a staff of two and we spend
most of our time on the production of the paper and its delivery,
we don't have time to generate articles. We depend on those people
who are presenting exhibits to know best what they would like
the public to know about them.
If you need help on writing a press release we have provided an
excellent example on our web site found at (www.CarolinaArts.com),
then click on the "Feature Articles" section, then "Dec.
1999", and then look for the article on "How to Write
a Press Release...".
Our deadline for articles is the 12th of the month prior to the
next issue (example = Dec. 12th for the Jan. issue). Sending articles
earlier than the deadline is a smart idea. Each month we receive
2 to 3 times as much content for the paper than there is room
for. You figure it out! It is also a good idea to figure out what
are your most important exhibits of the year and target their
inclusion, as everything you send us will not make it into the
paper.
We have created a companion website (www.CarolinaArts.com) for
the paper where most of the rest of the info we receive will go.
The website also offers opportunities which the printed paper
cannot. The cost of the website and its size gives us an opportunity
to cover things in more detail. It also can show color images
of artwork. We have created several Special Features about exhibits,
such as covering outdoor sculpture exhibits, including text from
catalogs, and showing images from a faculty exhibit. Normally
what we can't do in the printed version of the paper usually can
be done on the website. Take a look at it and you will get an
idea of what opportunities it offers you.
We encourage people to send prints, slides and catalogs with their
press releases. We might get to use them in the paper and on the
website - and we might not too. But if we don't have them we can't
use them. Saying they are available on request won't work - we
won't bother since you didn't. We will "eventually"
return all materials requested to be returned or file everything
we get in our extensive file system - we don't throw much away.
Although we are a visual arts newspaper the quality of the B&W
photos in the paper leaves much to be desired, so we don't print
many photos. They also take up a lot of room and we'd rather fit
more text in. Cover images and articles are chosen at the last
minute from all materials we have and it is done on a basis to
give all at least some of the spotlight from time to time.
As we have said before, advertising is important to the paper's
survival, now in its 20th year. We do receive some advertising
from non-profit institutions. Our paper offers the most cost effective
way for an institution to promote an exhibit or their institution
in a two-state area and beyond. We can not compete with local
papers in your area. We offer an inexpensive way to promote events
outside your area and beyond, building up name recognition and
showing the types of exhibits you present. A free listing buried
in eight pages of our exhibits listings won't cause most people
to drive a hundred miles to see an exhibit. At times you will
have to make a bigger effort to invite them to make that trip.
Non-profit institutions receive a 25% discount off our regularly
low advertising rates. We love advertising that comes copy-ready,
but when that is not possible we can offer some assistance in
helping create ads. We do at least 70% of the ads you see in the
paper, but we have design limitations and we need time to get
them right.
One final point about advertising. Advertising does not buy you
automatic inclusion of content in the paper. Some newspapers operate
on a you buy an ad, you get an article basis. We don't and can't
operate that way. If we did you would be reading about nothing
but commercial gallery exhibits - they provide the bulk of our
support. We have some advertisers who have been with us every
month for 13 years and they have had at best 3-4 articles about
them and we have institutions who have never advertised with us
and they have had dozens of articles in the paper. Advertising
not only helps you, but it helps the paper exist and it helps
the entire visual art community in the Carolinas - it's something
you should be doing, whether you think you can afford it or not.
And, it always doesn't have to be a big splash. I constantly tell
people it is better to do smaller ads over a longer period of
time than big splashes every once in a while.
If there are any other questions that I haven't answered here
feel free to call us, e-mail, or write us about anything. We're
trying to do the best we can and we can only do it in partnership
with you. Some of the best things in the paper or on the website
have come from someone's suggestion - not all are possible, but
it doesn't hurt to ask.
I hope this answers some of your questions. If not, please call,
843/825-3408.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O.
Drawer 427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: info@carolinaarts.com
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.