PUBLIC RELATIONS
Editorial coverage of your event is free advertising. Maker Faire is genuinely interested, and you will likely get generous coverage of your event with minimal effort.
Press Releases
The industry standard for communicating with newspapers, blogs, television, magazines and radio is to craft a press release for whatever message or news you are wanting them to cover. Opportunities include:
Remember the 5 rules of crafting a press release: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY.
You are welcome to copy and customize this sample Call for Makers press release.
Media Contact Information
Assemble or borrow contact information for relevant media outlets. Keep and grow your lists over time, and categorize them by media type. Some types have different requirements, lead times and interests: e.g. news departments don’t really want your calendar announcement. Print magazines need at least 2 months advance notice; entertainment weeklies closer to one month.
HINT: As the media market shrinks, it’s more important than ever to build relationships with reporters. Minimize blasting releases and instead pitch writers individually for coverage. You’ll get a better response in this competitive market if you demonstrate that you know who you are approaching and what they like to cover. Still send the press release, but start it with a personal note that introduces the content in your release. Also—your release is more likely to be read if it’s included as email text (as opposed to an attachment).
Talking to Media
Identify your media liaison—who is best at explaining your Faire is, what makes it unique, and why it’s going to be great? (You’ll need to provide contact information for this person in your press release.) If no one is a “natural,” write “talking points” to prepare spokespersons for talking with media. Anticipate the questions and write out the answers; practice saying them until they feel natural.
HINT: A week before your Faire, prepare a list of a range of makers and their contact information for sharing with reporters. Save it as a draft in your email. This way you when the newspaper reporter calls you in the middle of load-in, you have something valuable to share to get them started.
APPEARING AT OTHER EVENTS
Having a visible presence at Famers’ markets, street fairs, and other community events are great ways of getting the word out about your event.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Everyone has a digital camera these days; crowd-source your documentation task. Promote a Flickr tag (e.g. “ebmakerfaire2010”) in advance. You can also message attendees and volunteers after the event to share pictures via email or post to the Facebook page.
Do make an effort to recruit (or hire, if you have the budget) a professional photographer to document your Faire as well. Great images make marketing year #2 that much easier.
HINT: After the opening rush has subsided, someone from the Leadership Team should make a point of visiting every booth at the Faire. If that person is not a good photographer, arrange in advance to have one tag along. Making that time to stop and appreciate what you’ve assembled, meet each Maker face-to-face, and deliberately document every exhibit is extremely gratifying.
VIDEOS AND RICH MEDIA
Makers make great moving images! Rockets, robots, glass, bikes, kids are all compelling blog content. Invariably someone in your Team’s network dabbles in multimedia of some kind—offer them your audience and a chance to do their stuff. You can post them on YouTube, Vimeo, SlideShare and embed them in your website. Some ideas:
Working with Maker Faire
Maker Faire is invested in the success of your Mini Maker Faire. Maker Faire wants your event to be successful, to build Maker community, to share the DIY mentality, to engage and stimulate your school, town or region. That is why Maker Faire has spent the energy to write this Playbook, why they will help promote your event, and why they have “open-sourced” Maker Faire and encouraged the Mini Maker Faire movement to flourish.
PROMOTION AND SUPPORT FROM MAKER MEDIA
Below are some specific ways to engage with Maker Media; contact minimakerfaire@oreilly.com for more information.
Promotion of Event
MakerFaire.com will list your Mini Maker Faire on its website under a section or widget called “Find a Faire Near You.” Please write minimakerfaire@oreilly.com if once you have been licensed you don’t see your event in this calendar.
Makezine.com also will publish blog posts about your event, your Call for Makers, some featured makers, and your post-event imagery/videos. Please review the webinar we produced with Gareth Branwyn, editor of makezine.com, for writing tips and instructions.
Maker Faire General Support
You can always write minimakerfaire@oreilly.com with questions. Please be aware that it may take a bit of time to get back to you. And please refer to this Playbook as well as the Producers’ Google Group for answers to as many questions as you can.
Mini Maker Faire Producers’ Google Group
The purpose of the Mini Maker Faire Producers’ Google Group is to help each other, to generate discussion, and to share resources and ideas. If you haven’t yet been added to our Google discussion group for Mini Maker Faire producers and would like to be, please go to https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups&hl=en#!forum/mini-maker-faire-producers
and request to be added.