Author: Cindy Marie Jenkins

Los Angeles – Noodle Boy, a seriously cute character advertising the local Chinese delivery place, is just hanging in his normal evening spot. He enjoys a morning coffee from a nearby poster, savoring in much the same way any coffee drinker will recognize. Then trouble strikes. There’s no way to go further into detail without giving away the whole short film. What can I tell you? It’s a sweet and good time. The artwork is exquisite and story memorable. The more ordinary an object, like the trash bags in “Toy Story 3,” the more captivating when their textures are animated…

This is the ninth in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are quite vital. One area usually given short shrift is building meaningful relationships among groups akin to you. This week I’ll highlight The LA FPI (Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative), who may be interesting to Ms in the Biz readers. I’ll be honest with you. I never thought I’d be the person who joined a group specifically geared towards showing the parity of female [fill in blank] toward others (specifically…

This is the eighth in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are quite vital. This is how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends. Since I come from the world of Nonprofits and often consult for them, I understand their inner workings (sometimes charming dysfunctions). Often an artist will have a piece that deals with some sort of social justice and want to partner with nonprofits, but don’t get past the first email…

This is the seventh in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are quite vital. This is how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends. Although this particular post is geared towards live events, pairing your online or material work with live events must be part of your overall strategy. One of my favorite ways to engage and assist new audiences attending an event is to act as concierge. There is nothing worse than…

This is the sixth in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are quite vital. This is how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends. When I first began this work in 2009, most people boxed it into “marketing,” “social media,” or “waste of time.” I was careful to imprint the word “outreach” into everyone’s mind. You must reach out and invite strangers. As a verb, “outreach” is even defined “to surpass in reach”…

This is the fifth in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are quite vital. This is how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends. Thanks to Diana Kohne Kenny of Art Cricket LA for asking a question on last month’s article. While I mulled over the best answer, it occurred to me that Part 5 of this series should focus on Hashtags. The top question at most of my workshops is usually: What…

This is the fourth in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are quite vital. This is how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends. Before we move on to Part 4 (of at least 15 parts) I’d like to step back and give an idea of timeline. I often am asked to help people who need an audience in less than six weeks. That is not enough time to both find and nurture…

This is the third in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are actually quite vital. This is how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends. Everyone has to actively attract and sustain new people in order to grow their audience. I practically plastered last month’s article with the cautionary tale of making your first (and subsequent) contact with potential audience conversational, not promotional, so this month I will spend some time explaining the…

This is the second in a series of Audience Building articles, where I go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are actually quite vital. These are all methods on how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends. Everyone has to actively attract and sustain new people in order to grow their audience, whether for your personal career, web series, feature film, blog, play, book, business, jewelry store…..you get the idea. Typical Question from Client: “When should I start promoting?” My Answer: “When…

UPDATED 12/12/2014: I changed a reference from Bill Cosby to Tina Fey, so as not to distract from the topic. This is the first in a series of Audience Building articles. I don’t just want to give you a punch list of how to build a devoted fan base; you can easily google some perfectly fine pointers. I will go into depth on the sticking points, the places where I see people take short cuts but are actually quite vital. These are all methods on how to find and build new audiences, not just promoting without annoying your family and friends.…