{"id":326,"date":"2026-01-06T16:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/?p=326"},"modified":"2026-02-20T15:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:08:18","slug":"why-arts-marketing-feels-harder-than-it-should-and-why-thats-not-your-fault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/why-arts-marketing-feels-harder-than-it-should-and-why-thats-not-your-fault\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s a special kind of exhaustion that comes from hearing, \u201cMarketing is marketing. Just apply best practices.\u201d<\/em>
This sentence is usually spoken by someone who has never tried to sell a contemporary dance piece on a Tuesday night in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, marketing principles are transferable.
No, the context is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts marketing lives in a strange in-between place. You\u2019re not selling a utility. You\u2019re not selling a luxury. You\u2019re selling an experience that doesn\u2019t exist yet<\/strong>, often to people who are already overscheduled, underfunded, and emotionally tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet\u2014here we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The core difference: risk and reward<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When someone buys a toaster, the worst-case scenario is crumbs.
When someone buys a theatre ticket, the risk feels personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts audiences are making a judgement call:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Will this be worth my time?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Will I feel out of place?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Will I regret this more than staying home?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    That\u2019s a higher bar than \u201cfree shipping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why \u201cbest practices\u201d often fall flat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Many mainstream marketing tactics assume:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • consistent demand<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • repeat purchasing cycles<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • clear functional benefits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Arts organizations often have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • irregular buying patterns<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • one-off attendance<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • deeply subjective value<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        So when a board member asks, \u201cWhy don\u2019t we just do what Netflix does?\u201d<\/em> the answer is: because Netflix is solving a completely different problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        What actually works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Effective arts marketing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • reduces uncertainty<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • builds familiarity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • rewards curiosity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • respects intelligence<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          It\u2019s less about persuasion and more about invitation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If your marketing feels like shouting, you\u2019re doing it wrong.
          If it feels like guiding someone toward something they might love\u2014you\u2019re closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          There\u2019s a special kind of exhaustion that comes from hearing, \u201cMarketing is marketing. Just apply best practices.\u201dThis sentence is usually spoken by someone who has never tried to sell a contemporary dance piece on a Tuesday night in February. Yes, marketing principles are transferable.No, the context is not. Arts marketing lives in a strange in-between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[79,98,93,81],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-creative-marketing","tag-low-pressure-marketing","tag-marketing-clarity","tag-sustainable-marketing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":593,"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions\/593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sueedworthy.ca\/marketingmadepractical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}