Katy Hamilton

It’s been a few years now since I’ve had a job that has included the task of gathering and collating information from other people for the purposes of producing publicity. In the past, I have helped write copy for summer school brochures, written and edited descriptions for events guides, and mocked up copy for e-bulletins. I can’t say it’s my favouritest job in the world, but it’s important – if people don’t have a clear, accurate and ideally attractive description of what they’re potentially getting, then they won’t come. Not rocket science really, is it?

And then a few months ago, I took on some part-time work which involves, among other things, doing exactly this job once again. The events guide deadline is looming, and I need copy, biogs and photos for a number of musicians who are down to perform in the next season. So, mindful of the need to get this right, and the need to keep things simple, I drafted an email to send out to them all. It included the date and time of their forthcoming concert, and a list of four things they needed to send, complete with word counts and file sizes. The sentences were short, the wording simple. And so far, one person, and one person only, has actually managed to provide, on first attempt, exactly what I asked for.

I hope, therefore, that the following how-to guide proves useful, to you and anyone you may choose to share it with. Because you should be able to follow these steps in any circumstance, even if you aren’t actually writing directly to me about your next concert. If you are, then obviously it will be very much appreciated.

1. What is the name of the person who wrote to you? Did you read the name of the correspondent at the bottom of their request email? Did they have an email signature? Is their name also part of their email address? If the answer to any one of these questions is ‘yes’, then look at it. And spell it correctly when you write back. Apparently this is extremely difficult for a lot of people, so opening with ‘Dear ___’ and featuring the correct version of their name will automatically be taken as a good start.
2. Are they an idiot? The fact that someone happens to be organising and requesting this kind of information, rather than giving duet concerts with Martha Argerich or training for NASA, does not actually mean that they are a moron. Nor is it an indication that they are ‘only an‘administrator’ with no knowledge of music. Be polite. Don’t patronise. Don’t assume a particular level of knowledge. Just answer the questions. You would be amazed (or perhaps you wouldn’t) how many people seem to think that I know nothing about music because I’m the one asking them for their brochure blurb. Last week I had to write back and tell one of them that they had listed the wrong composer for one of their pieces. Which one of us would you say felt like the bigger idiot after that?
3. Have you done what they asked? Yes, I know seems blindingly obvious, but again, make sure the answer is ‘yes’. Otherwise they’ll have to ask again, and you’ll get annoyed, and they’ll get annoyed, and it will all turn into a massive time-wasting exercise which could have been avoided by just reading their email properly in the first place.
4. Have you done what they asked in the number of words they asked for? There’s a variation of this question which is ‘have you sent through a picture that’s the right size and resolution?’. Both are important. Otherwise, the best case scenario is that you’ll end up in further email ping-pong, and the worst case scenario is that they’ll edit your text without consulting you first and may end up writing something you actually didn’t mean at all. Which you did in fact have control over if you’d, you know… stuck to the word count they set you.
5. Have you checked the email through before hitting ‘send’? Banish the typos, the wrong composers, the too-long biography and their misspelled name. And then send it. Because here’s the thing: if they’re the person who ultimately gets to decide whether you’re asked to give another concert in this series, and you’ve provided the wrong information in an ungracious manner without even taking the time to figure out what your correspondent is called, then the only person who’s going to lose in this arrangement is… you.