5 tips for publicising a show at the Edinburgh Fringe

Every year thousands of new, established and veteran theatre companies head to the Edinburgh Fringe to showcase their work. With 3,300 shows this year, press coverage is one of several ways to get your show noticed. Mobius Industries has been managing PR campaigns for comedy, theatre and dance clients at Edinburgh Fringe for the last 10 years. Here, senior account manager Sharon McHendry gives her five tips for navigating the media at the festival.

1. Pressing matters

The press release is your sales tool and the main way to speak to journalists. Include only important information: show name, venue, time, running time (especially important at the Fringe), prices, press contact details, links to the relevant website and social media. A brief biography and credits for the key people are all that's needed. It's best to reserve lengthier credits for the programme.

When writing, think about the language you use. Words that initially sound good often need to be qualified: "accessible" on its own means very little (who aims to make inaccessible theatre?), but accessible to a young audience, a non-theatre audience, a deaf audience all make sense. Other words to watch out for are "engaging" and "quality" – no one aims to make shows that are boring or mediocre. If you find it difficult, describe your company to a friend who has no interest in theatre: you'll quickly cut down on the arts speak. Aim for a document that's in good shape to be used without too much editing or re-writing.

2. Pitch perfect

Getting press for your show requires tenacity and direction so the next step is writing specific pitches to send alongside your press release. A pitch is a targeted paragraph with a specific idea. Journalists at the Fringe are always keen on themes with so many shows to cover. Introduce yourselves to artists with similar themes to your show, share press intelligence, put your heads together on pitches. Many heads are better than one.

It's also all about contacts in PR so use your networks (journalist friends, critics who loved your preview show). You can also pitch your show in the context of what's happening in the news (where relevant of course!) to make it more timely and relevant. For further details on press contacts and general etiquette with the media, the Edinburgh Fringe press office has plenty of resources here.

3. Images, images, images

A picture is worth a thousand words. You're more likely to get a preview if you have good strong images, and a strong image with your List preview will sell far more tickets than words on their own. Ensure you have a good selection of portrait and landscape images (at least three), make sure they have people in and represent your play to the best of your ability and do bear in mind that not all marketing images work for press (for example anything illustrative or heavily text focused might not be suitable). If you can't get production shots straight away – and most can't – mock up a shot against a blank wall, be creative about costume and props, and consider what your show is about. The key is beckoning the audience in to see the work.

4. Treat social media like your social life

The key word here is 'social'. If you sat in a pub talking about yourself and showing people your reviews, you'd quickly find yourself sitting on your own. Engage with other people, tweet about their shows as well as your own, find meaningful things to say rather than being that person in the pub nodding and saying 'yeah, I know'. Do this in reality as well as digitally. Don't sit on social media when you could be out seeing shows and meeting people.

5. Help others and they'll help you

Love makes the world go round. Be nice to people. Recommend shows to them, do cheeky deals to see their show if they'll see yours, be generous to your cast and crew. Whose show are you more likely to recommend, your friend's or the jerk who doesn't give you the time of day? Thank your ushers. Share your crisps with the lighting operators. Give the box office staff cake. And always, always buy your PR a drink (ahem).

For more on Mobius Industries and its 2015 Edinburgh shows, click here