We follow the rule: Be brief, clear and simple. It is the guiding principle in our work with the Culture and Creativity Programme’s Website and is the basis of not only the site’s structure but also the content itself.

We are carrying out a comprehensible international project. Each text on the site is published in two languages, which can be understood by each of the six EaP countries: English and Russian. We also offer texts in the language of the country relevant to the content of the article. Online courses and articles of particular importance were translated into all the languages of the region.

We create useful, utilitarian content. We try to anticipate readers’ needs every single time: what are they working on now and what is relevant to them? Our texts and other products (including online courses) should solve the problems cultural managers face, help to find funding and partners and to successfully fill in applications for international contests, and provide toolkits and guidelines for creating high-quality cultural projects.

We respect our readers’ time. They should understand from the very first paragraph what we’re talking about and why they should continue reading it. We don’t mislead readers with intriguing headlines. We have also opted for short articles instead of long-form. The only exception is when we publish exclusive interviews or expert articles. Such texts can reach 5,000 to 7,000 characters.

We love thematic round-ups because readers love them. 16% the website’s readers visited these kinds of articles. The most successful round-up on the website is the selection of opportunities. And the idea with regular updates of such publications made people keep coming back to the website and follow the news on the list.

We format the text properly. Our texts are structured with headings and subheadings. We use lists whenever possible and make sure to add visuals to large texts so that there’s an image on every two-thirds of the screen. If the text is an interview, we insert quotations in the body of the text. 

We aim for stylistic coherence in all our visuals, from designing press releases and publication to dies and bumpers when editing online courses.

We give a great deal of attention to the images we choose for articles. They set the tone for reading and therefore should be relevant and clear.

We follow traditions. One to four articles appear daily on the website in one of its sections: Strategy, Practice, Tools, Opportunities. And on Mondays, we always update the list of grants, residencies and other opportunities in the cultural sphere. 

We send out an email newsletter twice a month to all subscribers. The newsletter contains the latest cultural news from the countries in the region, thematic selections of articles and new opportunities in the cultural and creative sphere. Since the launch of the website, our contact database has grown by 1,600 addresses. The average open rate is 25% to 30%.