60: Lasting PR Advice
with Beth Stewart
What are the most important takeaways that you would love for young musicians or musicians doing their own publicity to think about?
I would say my advice for doing your own publicity, and life, would be pretty much the same. The first is to know yourself, and do what it takes to make that happen. Right? Like nobody pops out of the womb knowing themselves, you have to live some life and do some work to make that happen.
The second would be to do your research. So for example, I have a lot of, a lot of artists reach out and ask for like a coffee date, which is essentially an informational interview. I am so much more likely to say yes when it's obvious that they know exactly who I am, and what I do, and what I'm interested in, as opposed to other classical music publicists. You know, if they say like, “I really admire the work you've done to help elevate queer artists,” like I'm in, I'm reading your email. If it's just, you know, “I wanted to understand what publicity is in the arts” I'm thinking like, “You got 20 people you could write about that you don't need me.” So I think, do your research and so that you can be that specific.
I think maintaining a sense of curiosity is huge. I think that's such a good life skill, particularly right now when sort of, we're in the Groundhog Day scenario, and every day feels the same. Maintaining a sense of curiosity, and learning new things, and having new things input into your brain, will help your artistry and help your life.
And then my last piece of advice would be to never underestimate the value of a handwritten thank you note.