Doing MAJOR happy dances over here.....I am so thrilled to finally offer this e-course again! I offered it once last year and it was a huge hit. I've decided it to offer it again and I'd love for you to join us! I promise, it will knock your sock off and change your life! I will not be offering it again this year.
Flying Lessons: Tips + Tricks To Help Your Creative Business Soar: Registration starts immediately and this five week online class will start Sunday, August 7th. All the details are below:
"Holy Moly, Kelly! Thank you for being so generous and thorough in everything you are covering! I've taken several e-courses and read many e-books, but this is by far the most practical and actually makes me feel like I can do it. Awesome."
"I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful e-course and the fact that it was not just informative, but that you, yourself, Kelly Rae, came shining through, making it all so personal. This is the most amazing, WORTH IT ecourse I have ever taken."
"Holy Camoly. Where in the world could we find all this info in such a short time, from someone who KNOWS? It would have taken me a LIFETIME...thank you so much Kelly Rae!"
"This ecourse has been a catalyst in helping me to see exactly where I want to take my creative business. Before I felt like I was floundering around in uncertainty and fear. Now I really believe that I can make my artsy dreams a reality! You have given me the resources, tools, and knowledge to take my creative business to places I thought were only open to a chosen few."
"Kelly Rae, this is generous.... and I mean GENEROUS amount of info and insight you are showering upon us! Thank you!"
"I am blown away by all the work you have put into this Kelly. WAY BEYOND what I expected."
"I am absolutely floored at the empowerment you are giving me. I don't think I have ever felt as confident as I do now."
"This e-course has been beyond helpful. You've answered every single question that had been circling my brain for months, and now I feel so much better prepared to get my creative biz up and running. Thank you!"
Everyday, I receive emails from creative souls asking for my advice. They want to know how, in a span of just a couple of years, I built an online presence and successful online shop, wrote a best selling book, got published in several magazines, and launched successful gift collections (via licensing deals) that are sold in stores nationwide. They ask advice on how to sell original paintings, how to get traffic to their online sites, how to create and package prints/jewelry/originals, how to create a website and community. They ask about licensing, money, publishing, and press. They ask me how on earth I manage my time, how I face my fears, how I stay organized.
I know exactly where they're coming from. It wasn't that long ago that I was sending similar emails out to artists I admired, people who seemed to have booming creative businesses. Some would answer me, but most didn't. At the time I was crushed - why weren't they responding? Now that I'm crazy busy over here and on the other end of that email exchange, I get it. I'm sure some didn't respond because they were simply too busy to give advice to a complete stranger and I'm sure some didn't respond because they wanted to protect their hard earned information - afterall, nobody told them how to do it when they were starting out, did they? For me, it hasn't been a matter of not wanting to share what I know, it's been a matter of time and the value of that time.
In the end, I deeply believe in finding a way to share our stories, our resources, and how we've made it to where we are now. I also believe that there is tremendous value in what each of us has to offer when it comes to inspiration, concrete advice, and tips when it comes to creating a successful creative business. After months and months of writing, strategizing, and thinking about how I could best share everything I know (and finally answer, in detail, the questions that come my way) I came up with something that I think is pretty darned special: an e-course called Flying Lessons: Tips + Tricks To Help Your Creative Business Soar. 
What I've learned in the last few years is that we can propel ourselves into living our dreams with successful creative businesses with two must haves: inspiration + tips. And that's exactly what Flying Lessons is all about. Inspiration comes from sharing the stories of our creative journeys so that we can begin to dismantle all the misconceptions of what the creative life looks like. It means getting our hearts engaged in the business side of what we do. It means connecting to, and acknowledging, all the layers of our creative lives - our joys, successes, and downfalls.
And then there are hugely important tips - practical information and advice that we all need to be successful. When I started my creative journey, I was surprised at how hard it was to find answers to many of my questions: How do artists sell/price/package their works? How do they build a following and an online presence? How do they create their websites? How do they deal with the fears? And later it was: How do they get published, licensed, and accepted to shows? How do they organize their time? How do they market their work and get all that press? And most importantly: How do they stay engaged with their hearts and inspiration while managing the business side of what they do?
In Flying Lessons, you'll receive the answers to all those practical questions and more. I'll share my own personal stories of what's worked, and what hasn't worked as I built my creative business. And I'll give you concrete information and tips along the way so that you, too, can create your own success whether you're a crafter, a photographer, an artist, a writer, or someone who is still learning!
You'll find musings, encouragement, practical tips and thoughtful guidance on everything from how to create an online presence to how to create a creative community to how to successfully market your business to receiving press to getting published to facing the fears that inevitably come when we push ourselves to do things we've never done before. We'll discuss the ins and out of money, creating a sustainable income from our creative businesses, licensing opportunities, craft shows, teaching opportunities, and how to handle the inevitable gremlins of competition, exhaustion, and overwhelm. And, of course, we'll dive into organization strategies that are effective and promote the idea that small steps lead to giant leaps when it comes to creating the success we've always envisioned. Along the way, you'll find inspiring quotes, interviews with successful working artists, and a few excerpts from my best selling book, Taking Flight.
* I'll be posting nearly everyday for five weeks to the class website. Posts will be informative, inspiring, and full of resources. In addition to my posts, content will also include ongoing Q+A's with me, and interviews with working successful artists.
* Class will be formatted and conducted on private blog (password protected) with comments open to promote discussion and questions. The idea is to promote topic focused discussion within the comments, but also to promote community amongst participants (so important and fun!).
* All participants will receive a gorgeous, interactive, 200+ page pdf of all the content covered. You'll have it for years and years to refer back to.
* A private, life long facebook group with your class peers. This was life changing for last year's participants - the ongoing support and discussions with people who understand where you're at and what you're doing is priceless and hugely valuable.
* Weeks one and two will focus on creating an effective online presence via blogs, websites, social networking, and more. We'll talk specifically about the ins and outs of these resources including how to create, how to improve, and the secret ingredients to using them effectively. We also talk about networking and the importance of creating community and how to build long lasting creative allies. We'll discuss all the fears that we'll inevitably come up against as we push the boundaries of our horizons and how to effectively push through them.
*Weeks three and four will focus on selling strategies (both online and offline). I'll give specific strategies for selling on etsy and other online marketplaces. We'll discuss effective ways of styling, photographing, packaging, and pricing our products and/or services. We'll also focus on a number of effective marketing strategies to get the word out about our businesses, including print media, newsletters, advertising, blogging, and more. We'll also discuss in detail all the ins and out of getting press and getting published. Finally, we'll discuss the actualizing of goals, creating schedules, and time management.
*
Week five will focus on recharging our souls, handling competion as well as overwhelm and burnout. We'll talk about creating other creative ways of income such as teaching, licensing, blog sponsorships, affiliate programs, and more. We'll discuss an overview of money, and when it's time to ask for help (interns, etc). Finally, we'll wrap up what we've learned together and celebrate taking flight into our creative dreams!
Whether you're a beginner, an accomplished artist or crafter, or somewhere in between, this e-course is for anyone who wants to start or grow their creative business.
More specifically:
* Anyone interested in how to create an online presence that will benefit their creative business and increase traffic to their websites and online shops. If you already have a blog/website, great! You'll still learn a lot. This course is also for anyone who doesn't have a blog, website and/or social networking accounts but are eager to jump in with a focus of growing their creative business.
* Anyone interested in how to effectively use social networking (twitter, facebook, flickr, etc) to promote their creative business.
* Anyone with dreams of growing their creative business in order to financially supplement (or possibly replace!) their full/part time jobs.
* Anyone with a creative business dream who needs the practical tools and small steps to make that dream a reality.
* Anyone interested in how to create a variety of income from their creative business, including blog sponsorships, licensing deals, teaching, wholesale accounts, and other means of creative/smart income.
* Anyone needing inspiration and gentle nudges of confirmation that we must listen to the whispers of our lives calling us to begin, to create, and acknowledge the dreams tugging on our hearts.
* Anyone needing practical, concrete tips and information on how to market and promote their blogs/websites/shops in online world with the goal of increasing traffic to their sites.
* Anyone interested in how to create a true blue community of artists, both for personal and creative business growth.
* Anyone needing tried and true tips on how to get press and how to get published in your favorite publications. Have big dreams of writing a book? We'll discuss that too!
* Anyone needing advice on how to push through the fears that are inevitable along the creative journey.
* Anyone needing
effective strategies for time management and ways to organize and implement their creative business goals, one by one.
Class starts on Sunday, August 7th and ends five weeks later on Saturday, Sept 10th. To register, please click here! After you've paid for the class, you will receive an email from me with everything you need to access the class website. All sales final. Thank you!
Q: I would love to sign up but the timing isn't the best for me right now. Will you be offering another one soon after this one ends?
A: This is the ONLY time I will be offering this ecourse this year.
Q: I really want to sign up but I'll be out of town for a week or two during the class. Will the class content still be available after the class is over?
A: The content will stay on the site for two weeks after the class is over so you'll have access to all the content for a total of 7 weeks. You will also receive a 202 page pdf of all the content that you will have forever and ever.
Q: I've never taken an on-line class before. Are the classes LIVE? Do I have to be at my computer at a certain time during the day in order to attend the virtual class?
A: The whole course is entirely self paced, meaning you don't have to be anywhere at any given time to make it to the class. There are no specific times that you need to log in (meaning, nothing will be LIVE at 8pm, 8am, etc.). You can log in whenever you want and have access to the content that I've uploaded thus far. You can log in everyday or every other day or once a week. Either way, the content will be uploaded and waiting for you!
Q: Will there be a pdf offered?
A: Yes! Each student will receive a gorgeous, totally interactive, 202 page pdf that will contain all of the content from the class. This pdf will be your trusty guide forever and ever!
Q: I live abroad. Can I sign up?
A: Yes! That's the beauty of online classes. Anyone can sign up no matter where you live!
Q: Are you nervous? Should I be nervous?
A: I'm more excited than nervous but I definitely have that tad bit of fear that you get when you're pushing yourself to do something a little scary. It's good for us to feel slightly nervous and afraid - it means we're invested and it means we're flexing our courage muscles. My intention for this e-course is for it to be fun, a little scary so that it gives us both a chance to push thru a fear, and super informative and inspiring. I have a feeling this community will inspire, lift up, and support each of us along the way. I can't wait.
Q: I heard that last year's encourse students started a private Facebook Group? Will there be one for this years students?
A: Yes! All students enrolled in this years ecourse will be invited to join a private, life long Facebook Group. Having a community who can relate to what you're doing, and support your creative business growth is absolutely essential. We found that having a Facebook Group was one of the absolute most valuable offerings of the course last year. It remains extremely active and many of the members have grown their businesses significantly because of that ongoing support. It's a great way to keep the conversation going from all that you are learning together in the ecourse. So, yes, a brand new (separate from last years group) Facebook Group will be started specifically for this year's ecourse participants. This is a MAJOR bonus of the ecourse.
Q: I took the ecourse last year but I'm interested in taking it again. Will the content be the same as last year's Flying Lessons E-course?
A: Most of the content will be the same. However, there will be updated content in regards to the time management section for all of you mom's out there juggling motherhood and creative business - I've learned many things on this front as a new mom and I will be sharing what I've learned. There will also be many content updates throughout each week based on what I've learned in the last year since the first ecourse ran, specifically when it comes to websites, hosting, e-shops, newsletters, licensing, and more.
Q: I bought one or several of your ebooks. Is the content you covered in the ebooks the same as the ecourse? Will I get anything out of the ecourse if I already bought one of the ebooks?
A: Yes, the content in my ebooks is the same content that is covered in the ecourse. The only difference (and it's a big one!) is the community you get with the ecourse that you don't get with the ebooks. The ecourse, and it's life long private facebook group, is by far one of the most absolutely valuable aspects about this ecourse. Long after the ecourse is over, the community that has formed among the participants will continue to support one another via the private group. Last year's Facebook Group continues today and remains extremely active, and its members are thriving in their creative businesses.
Q Can I get a discount if I already bought one of the ebooks or if I took the ecourse last year?
A: If you were a student in last year's Flying Lessons e-course OR if you've purchased
The Whole Shabang ebook at full price (not on sale), then we'd be delighted to offer you a 50% discount for the ecourse. Simply send us an email with this request, providing proof that you paid for last year's ecourse or for The Whole Shabang ebook, and we'll get you started!
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to offer this course again and share everything I know, everything I've learned along the way, and to also learn from you! Questions? I'm here to help - please send your questions to kellyraeroberts[at]gmail.com!
Yee-Haww! Let's get this party started!
To me, art has been the unexpected discovery of finding my passion. When I finally put paint onto paper, my heart and life exploded with a joy I hadn’t known before.
