Build a creative career for artists & designers

1. Intro: Are you an artist or a graphic designer? And would you like to learn how to build a creative career just like I did. I'm Agile camp. I'm an artist and a graphic designer, and I create watercolor art, fonts and illustrations for products and companies all over the world. I've been selling my artwork and designs online since 2012. And I want to help you by showing you all the steps I took when I was starting my creative career. We'll go over topics like how to organize your business, how to find your style, in which photography gear to use. We will also look into how to share your artwork and designs on social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. So what do you say? Are you ready to start building your creative career than watch the whole class? 2. Make a tasklist: In this class, we will go over the tasks you need to achieve to start your creative career. We will go over how to get organized and break down your creative journey into small tasks. I'm sure you have a million ideas running around in that brain of yours. So I want you to write all of them down so you can organize them. This always helps me to clear my head and helped me prioritize what needs to get done first. As your creative career grows, your list will grow to. If you're like me, you will probably have over a 100 tasks and ideas on that list. I am constantly changing the priorities on my list and some never even get completed. For the class project, I want you to write a list of all the tasks that need to get done. To create a list, you can use whatever you feel most comfortable with. You can use a planner or use digital methods like Excel or Trello. Or you can also use the printable task list that can be found in the download section of this class. Personally, I prefer keeping track of everything digitally so I can reorder my tasks whenever I want to change priorities or add anything to the list. Your task list will grow as we continue on this journey together. But for now, you can write down whatever comes to mind. Write down all the things you need to start your creative career. Also, make a note of which tasks are a high priority and which are a low priority. Ideally, you've placed the ones with a high priority at the top of your list. If you are using a digital method, you could easily rearrange that order. An example, this might be choosing a name for your business, opening an e-mail account and opening an Instagram account. Once you have a list of tasks, each time you sit down to work, even if it's only for an hour, you will know exactly what your next task is and you will be able to focus on that task only. I know that this may seem like a lot of work, but these are the fundamentals of getting organized and making progress in your creative career. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the length of your list, let me tell you this one secret. You will never complete this list. So give yourself a break and don't even try the gracious with yourself. And remember that all good things take time. 3. Create a schedule: In this class, we will go over how to create is scheduled for you to work. Time is a very important factor when it comes to starting your creative career. This might even be the biggest factor when you're first starting out. Creating a schedule is vital and finding the time to grow your business. My motto is to thinking possibilities instead of limitations. To find time to work, you will need to learn how to delegate certain tasks to others. I want you to think of things you can delegate to someone else. How about something small like the weekly groceries? To find time to work, you will also need to learn how to just say No. It's great that you want to volunteer for every school event or every book club. But if you want time to grow your own business, you will need to be able to say yesterday yourself first and learn how to say no to others. Now, I'm not saying you should give up all of your social activities, but you need to realize that you cannot do it all and you cannot run a creative business and view super mom and be the perfect partner and be the perfect friend. So stop trying to be perfect and stop feeling guilty for taking this time to grow your creative career. When I first started my creative career, I had young kids at home and time was the most important factor for me. I had to be flexible and work when the baby napped or on weekends when my husband was home. If you have young kids at home, think of some ways that you can get a few hours to work for yourself. You could go the obvious route and hiring a nanny or ask your parents or friends to look after your kids. But you could also ask your partner to take care of them on the weekends or to take care of the bedtime routine a few nights a week. Another option would be to exchange kids with a good friend or a neighbor. This is an option I really like to use as it keeps my kids occupied during these play dates. And I usually end up having a bit of time to work even though I have all the kids at my home. Now, even if you don't have kids at home, you may still be sure on time because you are a caretaker or you have a demanding day job. Think about how you can free up time even if it's just one hour a day. Ideally, you would have a few hours at a time, but try and take advantage of any spare time you have. And by using your task list, you will be able to focus and accomplish a lot in a small amount of time. For the class project, I want you to think of ways how you can free up time and create a schedule for the hours when you can work. I want you to create a clear overview of which hours you can work each week. If you'd like, you can assign a task to certain day. But I have found that some tasks are hard to put a timeframe on, especially when you're first starting out. A task that you think might take ten minutes to complete, might end up taking you a few hours to finish. I prefer to not give myself a deadline and to work on the task that has the highest priority on my task list and work on it until it is completed. To create your schedule, you can use a planner or an agenda or an app, or you can also use the printable schedule that can be found in the download section of this class. Once you create your schedule, you will know exactly which ours you have to work. Remember, to be flexible and creative in finding ways to free of time. Learn how to say no to the things that are not the most important. And learn how to delegate. Remember that you are not perfect and you cannot do it all. So stop feeling guilty for taking the time for yourself. Remember that this is what you want to achieve. So you will need to create the time to throw your creative career. 4. How I organize my business: Hey, hello, creative. I thought it might be helpful to show you how I organize and plan my creative business. I'm super organized and I love to plan everything and organize my tasks with tools like Google Drive, Excel, and then also dots. And when I'm working on a project with someone else, Trello has been a huge time-saver for me. Now, as you know, I work on my creative business full time. So in this video, also want to share with you what a typical workday looks like for me and how much time I actually spend working. Let me start by showing you how I organize my business. I keep most of my work files on my iMac and then I use Google Drive to backup any current projects I'm working on. And then once a collection is complete or a product is complete, I will upload it to an external hard drive. I also use Google Drive to organize all of my task list and any files and images that I need to share with others or that I liked access to on my mobile. So down here you can see I have all these images that I'm working on at the moment. This is the new collection I just made. And these are promotional images that I wanted to share on Pinterest or on Instagram. And then here I've got some folders. These are shared with others like this one for the bloom creatives membership. This is where I keep all of the files and the scripts and all of the promotional materials. We've also got some images here that I can easily use when creating new classes or new content. Here I've also got a folder with profile images and images that I use regularly, like this one here at sometimes I get questions on Instagram about my filming setup so I can easily pull it from there and then send it to them. I've also got my logo in here and some of my profile images so I can easily grab them when I need them. Then I've also got this file here. It's an Excel file. This is where I keep all of the information that I need to run my business. Now, without this file, I would not be able to do what I do. This is definitely the brain of my business. And let's just go over all of the different tabs that I have here. This first one is the tags one. This file is also accessible on my mobile. So if I'm needing things like these tags for Instagram, then I can just copy them from here and paste them in my Instagram post. I've also got regular tags that I use for my creative markets or my other shops. So I can easily pull these and not have to create new tags every time I'm doing a new collection or creating a new post. For these Instagram tags, I have them categorized. So if I'm posting something that's about illustration, I'll copy this string of tags here. And if I'm doing like a floral illustration, I'll take these tags or watercolors, or just graphic designs or fonts. So I can easily copy these tags and it saves me so much time. Now for this tab here, this is my task tabs. So what you see here is that I have all of my tasks written out that things that I want to do, these are some that I want to do for today, like recording this video, how to organize my time. And then I've also got some administration that I need to work on. Then I've got this list here. These are tasks for later on. So things I need to do later on in the week. And the fun thing about Excel is that you can easily just drag them over and remove them if you're done with it. Or if I want to prioritize this task, I'll just drag it to the top right here. I've also got some monthly or recurring tasks that I leave down here, like backing up or doing the administration. Then I've also got new products that I want to work on or just some ideas for new products. Some things I need to do for my website. And I've also got this handy list for new collection that if I launch a new product, these are some of the things that I need to do to launch the new product. Like making PNGs, making long preview images, adding it to my Facebook shop, adding it to my Creative Market shop, and the list just goes on. But these are just some helpful reminders of all the things that I need to do when I launch a new product. Now for this tab, the Canvas tab, this tab saves me so much time as I get quite a lot of emails or questions via DMZ in my Instagram. And they usually asked me the same thing, like do I create custom work to why create logos? And depending on what they ask, I have some standard replies which I can easily copy and paste so that I don't have to spend a lot of time replying to each and every one individually. Now, here in this tab, I have all of the links that I need to run my creative business. So here I have links for my courses. I have skillshare links. These are all affiliate links by the way. So if I want to share something on Instagram or on Pinterest, I can easily just copy this link here and then paste it. I've also got links for my shop, my Instagram, Pinterest or whatever. All I need to do is copy and paste it. Then I've also got tabs for notes for my courses that I'm working on for my Instagram, been created for my newsletter on my website, and also licensing things that I want to keep track of and the list goes on and on. Now, let's take a look at my schedule. I'm an absolute morning person, which means that I usually have all my e-mails answered before seven o'clock so I can get up with the boys and get ready for school. Now, once the boys were in school, I will work on any new collections, any products, or any new courses that I'm working on at the moment. And then around 12, I'll take a bunch break and after that, I'll work some more. We've got school pickup. I usually like to take the afternoon off to go to the park or grocery shopping or even go for ice cream with the boys. And then by five we've got dinner prep. And then after dinner, I like to create some watercolors or anything that I'm working on illustrating on my iPad. That's what I like to work on, something creative. And then by 730 it's time for the boys bedtime. I might watch a show and then it's my bedtime. So that was a typical day for me. And those were some of the tools that I use on a daily basis to help run my creative business. As you could see, I love using Excel to organize all of my tasks, my notes on my links. And I have found that these tools helped me work quicker and more efficiently. And this way I can get a lot of work done even if I just have an hour to get some stuff done. I hope this helps motivate and inspire you to organize your creative business too. 5. Photography gear: In this class, we will look at some of the basics of photography and which gear to use. Photography is a very important part of running a creative business. As we need to be able to share our creations with our audience. I know that photography can be quite a struggle if taking photos doesn't come naturally. So I want to help by giving you some basic guidelines for photography gear and options for which lighting you can use. These guidelines can not only be applied to photography, but also to filming. Let's start by looking at different options for cameras. These days, mobile cameras are very high-quality, so it doesn't really matter if you use your mobile camera or a DSLR. I have both and I use them both for different reasons. I use my DSLR if I want to film or photograph from above, or if I want to use a sturdy tripod. And I also use my DSLR, is I want to create a nice bulky effect. That's when you had your subject in focus and a blurry background. I used my mobile phone most often because it is the easiest to use and I always have it handy. I use it when I want to take a quick photo of my work in progress or take a video time-lapse of my work. And I also use it to fill my courses. Fulfilling my desk or taking overhead photos like flat lays. I like to use a tripod depending on which camera I'm using. I have different options to choose from. If I'm filming or photographing with my DSLR camera, I use my tripod. I have a tripod with an adjustable middle rod so I can turn it upside down and then film overhead. A ring light is also a great alternative to a tripod. Some ring lights like mine even have the option to mount a mobile and a DSLR. You only downside to using my ring light as the tripod is that I can only use it when filming myself, but not what I wanted to fill my desktop from above as it doesn't reach far enough across my desk. This leads me to another option, which is this flexible mobile holder. I use this one. I want to use my mobile phone to take an overhead photo of my work in progress or if I want to fill my work from above. This mobile holders, very versatile. You can easily clamp it to your desk or your chair. I have one that is 30 at the bottom and flexible at the top so you can adjust the angle or the hike. And you could fill in both vertically and horizontally with it. Now, let's take a look at lighting. The very most important ingredient when it comes to photography is lighting. I always say that this is even more important than the camera you are using, or the number of megapixels your mobile camera has. So what lighting is best? Natural light or artificial light? I absolutely love using natural light and I tried to use it as much as possible, but I live in the Netherlands where it rains all the time. Okay. Maybe not all the time, but a lot. So I definitely need a little help from artificial lighting. Here are some of my tips for different types of lighting. So first of all, we've got natural light. This is my all-time favorite and I'm always on the lookout for the perfect lighting throughout my home. I always set my desk near windows so I can use as much natural light as possible. And when the sun is bright, I like to use sheer curtains so it diffuses the harsh sunlight and creates some pretty shadows as well. Next, we've got a ring light. This is the most compact and easy way to give your workspace and extra boost of light. It is also my favorite option for filming myself as I can use the ring light as lighting, and also as a tripod for my camera. I would advise to get a larger ring light of at least 14 inch. The bigger the light, the more light it will give. I'd also suggest getting a rim light that has an adjustable light so you can not only change the intensity or the amount of light, but also the use. So you can make the light more yellow or blue depending on which you prefer. Soft boxes are another great option for artificial lighting. I used to have these in the past, and I have found that these give a nice soft, evenly spread out lighting, which is great for workspaces. The only downside to soft boxes is that they can be very large and clunky if you have a small studio. And I like to be able to play with shadows and the intensity of light. And I found this light to be a bit flat for the type of photos I'd like to take. Now, if you do not have any artificial lighting, you could also use a reflector. You can buy one. But I like to use what I have like a large white canvas or a large piece of Styrofoam I kept from some packaging. Another great tip is to wear a white t-shirt will naturally reflect the white light onto your workspace. Also keep in mind that when wearing clothes like red or green, it may cast a red or green you onto your workspace. So my tip is to always wear white when filming or photographing your workspace. The background of your photo is also very important. I like to use a neutral white background, so I will usually use my desktop, but I also have some squares of thin plywood which I painted in different colors and textures. So if I want to have a different background, I can easily use that. Or if I want to photograph downstairs or outside, I can easily use those as a background as well. When creating a photo, I like to add small props that tell us a bit about the artwork. A great suggestion is to have a box where you can collect these prompts so you can easily grab them when you want to take a photo. This could be items like tags and clips or botanical elements, leaves, flowers, or plants. And I also like to add materials that I use to create the artwork like brushes or pink. As you could see, there are very many different options for lighting and gear. So depending on the weather and what I want to photograph or film, I would choose which gear I will use. If it's bright out, I'll use natural light only. If it's sunny. I will use a sheer curtain and play around with the shadows. As it's gloomy, rainy outside. I'll use my ring light for some extra light. A basic setup for me would be natural light from the left and then a ring light from the right to give my workspace and extra boost of light. So now that I've showed you these basic guidelines for your photography gear and lighting. It is time to practice. This is the only way you will get better. A good motivation is to take one photo a day for Instagram. Don't overthink it though, and don't spend too much time on it. But instead, take the best photo you can add in time, you will get better. 6. Choosing a business name: Hello creatives. Today I wanted to talk about choosing a name for your business and I want to share my personal experience with you. If you've already chosen a name for your business, then congratulations. You've just achieved the hardest thing of starting your business. Now, I switched my name way too many times and it is so much work to have to change all of the names and e-mails of your websites and your social handles each and every time, I really wouldn't recommend it. So try and choose a name that can grow with you and your creative career, and it will end up saving you a lot of work. Now, I want to share some of the names that I've used throughout my creative career. In 2010, I started a business called Sonny Pi, where I sold diaper cakes with my sister. And around that time, I also started in photography blog with the name photo design Shelley. Shelley is my nickname, so that is why I chose to use it. I also use this business name for freelance design jobs and my webshop for selling social media icons and blog templates. In 2014, I switched the skylight design. This was the name I used for my art and graphic design studio and for my Etsy and Creative Market shop. Now, my last and hopefully my final name change was in April 2024 years I was known as scar that design and I've been toying with the idea of using my real name, angio camp for over a year. I love the name Skyler, But it felt a little for when people called me this. And I want it to be able to use my real name for teaching online courses. I was hesitant to use in my real name because no one ever knows how to pronounce it. And I found my last name to be a little plain and boring. I even had a poll on Instagram where my followers could vote between the scholar design and Andrew L Camp. And most of my followers voted against the name change, but still kept bugging me. So then one day I woke up and decided to just go for it. Within a week, I had changed most of the important websites and I shared my new name on Instagram. The response was pretty overwhelming. It turns out that choosing a name for your business is a hot topic under artists and designers. I had never received so many comments on an Instagram post before. There were so many supportive comments about my name switch, but also dozens of comments from creatives who struggled with the exact same thing. They struggled with choosing a name or they were wanting to change their name. Now, the biggest advantage of using your real name is that I can grow with you as your creative career grows, it is a name that you can keep forever. A downside of using your name could be that it is plain or hard to pronounce. And another downside that I've experienced is that it's harder to keep things separate, like emails and bank accounts if they both have the same name. My tips for choosing a business name, our choose a name that can grow with you and your creative career. My advice is to choose a generic name like your own name. That's not too specific. If you're not too fond of your own name, you could use your second name or the name of your favorite flower, like for example, Angela Rose. Add a tagline to your name to specify your business. If you want to use a word like studio or design, then add it to your tagline. That way you can register your name and only change your tagline if you ever feel the need to do so. For example, and gel camp our InDesign. Also, before you choose a business name, check the URL and social availability. This is really important as you do not want to choose the perfect name for your business and then find out that the URL is not available or the handles already being used on Instagram or Facebook. These are some of the things that I've found out the hard way. Now that I've finally settled on using my own name, I feel like I've come into myself as an artist and as a teacher. I don't think I'll ever feel the urge to change my name again. And I feel like I'm going to stick with this one forever. Like I mentioned in the beginning, choosing a name as one of the hardest steps in starting your creative career. So give it some time, but don't overthink it. You could always run any ideas by your friends and family. And in the end, whichever name you choose, people learn to know you buy it so you can never really go wrong. 7. Finding your style: Finding your style is something that all creative struggle with, including myself. If finding your style seems like a daunting task, don't beat yourself up about it. And keep in mind that all creatives there, it is a process. It is about finding yourself and the type of creations that you want to make. It is also about finding those creations and creatives that you admire and want to build on. It is about being patient and realizing that the key to finding your style is within you. You are the only person in the world to make their creations that reflect who you are. To find your style, you'll want to start by observing the world around you. Find inspiration by looking at the creations of artists and designers you admire. Go to a library or go online, ask yourself what it is you find attractive? Is there a certain thing that speaks to you? Or are you inspired by nature? Grab your camera, or in my case, I will also grabbed my bike and go outside. See what inspires you and take pictures you can use later on for your artwork or designs. Ask yourself what it is that appeals to you? Do you like florals, geometrics, or creating doodles? Is there a certain color scheme that you are attracted to do like bold colors or soft romantic colors. Write down all your ideas so you can use these as a theme for your next product or collection. If you do not already have a Pinterest account, I highly recommend doing so. Pinterest is not only a good way to find and save inspiration, but it is also one of my favorite ways to share my work with the world. You can pin the creations that you love. They could be creations that you find aesthetically pleasing or that seem like great products to sell or ideally be both. Give yourself the goal of pending at least 30 images. After that, take a look at your board. If you have pinned is very close to what you are currently creating. It is probably because you have a pretty well-defined style, both in terms of aesthetics and product choice. If what you have pinned is a bit far from your creations, that's okay too. It shows the gap between where you are today and where you aspire to be. It is up to you to then decide to evolve your current style of creating. Now that you have an idea of the style that speaks to you, it's time to start experimenting. This is the fun part of finding your style. Experiment with different styles and techniques. Try out new mediums and try out different color palettes to see what feels good and natural to you. Go beyond your comfort zone. As you might be positively surprised by the results. Once you're done experimenting and you have found a style that feels good, it over and over. This is the only way to get good at something and to master your craft. Observe the creations that you've made with a critical eye, but not expecting perfection. You will sooner than you think, develop your own style. Finding your style is a process that takes years and years. And if you feel that you've found your style, it was still change and evolve. There is no such thing as a perfect style as it will grow with you throughout the years. So don't wait to find your perfect style to share your creations with the world. 8. My creative journey: Hello, creative. Today I want to share something very personal with you. I'm gonna share the story of my creative journey and how I grew into the person that I am today. My name is Angelica. I was born in 1980 and I live in the Netherlands with my husband and our two young boys. I grew up in a big family of working kids and our home was always busy and vibrant. My mom, who is an artist, was always creating art project for us when we're little. And she taught me all of the basic art skills on watercolor is shading and lettering. As a young girl, I was always drawing and sketching, but that quickly changed when I became a teenager and came and do that awkward phase of my life when I had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up in the year 2 thousand, I enrolled in graphic design school. I was 20 years old at the time, and design school instantly felt like home. This is what I was missing in my life. And I knew that this is what I wanted to do with my talent. In 2005, I got a full-time job at a publisher. This job, Toby, all there was to know about printing, designing magazines, creating logos, branding, and designing websites. I worked at the publisher full-time, but when my first son was born in 2009, I cut back to working two days a week. So this man, I was home with a newborn baby most of the days. And to be honest, I was bored out of my mind. My creative soul needed something to fill the days and I hadn't drawn or painted since I was a young girl, really, really longed for a creative outlet. Having a newborn at home, it triggered me to buy my first DSLR. I read the manual from front to back and read all of the blogs I could get my hands on. At first, I took photos of my son, but then I branched out to nature and also food photography. I started a blog to share my photography, and I also started writing photography tutorials. Now, this log isn't online anymore, so you don't even have to go looking for it? I don't even remember the name of it. I think I switched names three or four times back then. This was the days when blogging was hot and happening. And I wanted to monetize my blog too. But blogged didn't even get approved for Google AdSense and it never made a dime. I tried so many things throughout the years. One day I wanted to be a food photographer and then the next I was thinking about being a wedding photographer. But being a photographer didn't really feel like me and I knew that this wasn't my true calling. In 2010, I created my first online shop with my sister. We made diaper cakes for newborns and we sold a couple of them, but it never really took off. We also had the brilliant idea to branch out and host workshops for it. But only one person signed up for it. And back then, I had no idea about marketing or promoting. And at the time it felt like a total failure. But now I know that these were the first steps in becoming the business owner that I am today. In 2012, I started my very first webshop selling social media icons and blog templates. And I took all the small custom graphic design jobs. I made a nice amount of side earnings, but it was nowhere near enough to quit my day job. I thought I was still working out the publisher part-time, so I didn't feel any pressure to have to pay the bills. But after nearly ten years of working at the office, it was time for a change. My heart wasn't in it anymore. And even though I had no idea what I was going to do, I knew I needed to quit that job. I had no backup plan at the time, but I went ahead with it, quit my job and got a part-time job cleaning and cooking to be able to pay the bills. But even though the bills are being taken care of, I still had a creative side of me that was yearning for an outlet. So at that time, I discovered hand lettering and I started creating quotes. It was also around this time that I started working on my very first font. This was something I'd been wanting to make for years, but I really didn't know how font design was quite new at the time and there was almost no tutorials on the subject. So I spent months of frustration trying to complete my very first one. But after a few months, I finally completed my first bond. And I've also created lots of hand lettered quotes. And in January 2016, I opened up my Etsy shop. I filled my shop with printable quotes at that one font that I created, and I actually started making daily sales. Now at this time, Creative Market was also a new marketplace. It was the place to sell your dance. So that's where I apply. I applied for a shop. I uploaded my one thought that I had, and I also started making sales and my Creative Market shop, it became an instant success. In the years to come. I worked as hard as I could and I created as many fonts as I could. Now to some, this may seem like an overnight success, but they do not see all of the years of trying and failing, all the years of practicing and I photography and trying to figure out what I wanted to do. After few short months as able to quit my cleaning job and work on my creative business full-time. Throughout the years, I've grown into becoming a full-time artist, graphic designer, and a teacher. I've branched out into watercolor art, illustrations, pattern design, and also teaching tutorials and courses. My business has grown beyond my imagination, bloomed into a successful, thriving business. Being able to create each and every day, puts a smile on my face. And being able to share my work with the world and help other creatives like you do. This is what brings me so much joy. 9. Branding: Branding your creative business is essential to stand out as a creative, good branding will show your style and give a unique and cohesive field throughout your website, your social media, and your products. In this class, we will explore the different elements of your running, like your logo, a color palette, fonts, and photography style. By the end of this class, you will have a much better understanding of how to brand your creative business. When you think of your branding, you will most likely think of a logo. That's because a logo is one of the most important components of your brand name. It's important to have a logo that not only reflects your style and represents your business, but it's also appealing to your potential clients. If you do not have a logo yet, don't worry, you can easily create a professional logo without a graphic design degree. The key is to start simple. Your logo could even be your name written out in a signature style. You could use a handwritten font or use your own handwriting and then digitize it, add a tagline or a beautiful illustration and you're ready to go. Another tip is to purchase a pre-made logo on Creative Market. All you have to do is add your business name and tagline and you will have a beautiful and professional logo within minutes. Once you have a logo, you can add it to all your social media platforms. At a great tip is to also add your logo to your email signature with a link to your website or your Instagram page. To give your read a cohesive feel, you should select the color palette that you can use throughout your brand name. It should be made of colors that reflect your business and personality and that also go well together. Pinterest is a great place to find gorgeous color swatches and combinations. I would advise you to choose between three to five colors. This can consist of a light neutral color, a darker neutral color, and then one or more accent colors right down the color codes for future reference. So you can use them for all of your branding. Using these colors for your logo, your website, and even throughout your photography, will ensure that your brand looks consistent throughout your online presence. Choosing the right fonts for your brand is a great way to show your personality. You could choose one FADH or a pair of bonds. Makes sure to choose fonts that strike the right balance between style and readability. I personally like mixing a minimal font like a sarah with a fun handwritten one. If you choose to use a handwritten font, you could use it for your logo. You can use it to create quotes width or Instagram, or place it on top of images and then use it for your website. This way, you can create a cohesive look throughout all of your branding. When looking for fonts to use, take a look at Google fonts. They offer a lot of beautiful free fonts that you could use as plain texts for your website. If you're looking for more unique creative type of font, I would suggest browsing Creative Market or some affordable farms. Photography is another very important part of your branding. You will need photos of you and your work to promote your creations on your website and on social media. You'll want to have photos that are similar in their use of colors, their backgrounds, and their prompts, and also in style and lighting. Couldn't be photos of you, your creations, your process, your workspace, and other things that make your business unique. To find out which thoughtful photography suits you and your brand. Take a look at Pinterest or other artists on Instagram that you admire. You can hire a photographer to take photos of you and your work. But if you're feeling up to it, you can do it yourself. You don't need to be a professional photographer to make or just pictures. A simple smartphone will do. In my experience, all you need to pay attention to is composition and light. Be consistent in your photography. Use the same background for photographing your artwork, and then use the colors you chose for your brand name and pick props that fit that color palette. You'll see that there's no right or wrong way to photograph. But the overall harmony in terms of colors, style. That's what gives it the cohesive look. For the class project. I would like you to work on all of the branding elements highlighted above and bring them together on one page. Feel free to use the branding template below, and then use a program like Photoshop to add your logo, the fonts of your choice, your color palette, and also examples of a photography style you're running is your chance to show what your brand is about and to make potential clients fall in love with it. It does require a bit of work, but the results will be worth it. This I can promise. If you have doubts about some branding decisions, ask your friends or even your audience. I've done this many times in the past. And my favorite way to ask for feedback is by creating a simple poll on Instagram. This way you can get a feel of which style your audience likes best. And it's also a great way to create engagement on your Instagram account. Once you're happy with your branding, own it implemented throughout all your social media and online platforms to make your brand cohesive and show the world what your creative business is all about. 10. Finding your ideal client: In this class, you will learn how to identify your ideal client. Having a precise idea of who your ideal client is will help you not only create new products for them, but also help you figure out the best way to market and sell products to them. To identify your ideal client, we're going to do some old fashioned brainstorming. Think about the people around you. This could be women, men, or children, the moms at school drop-off, or even your girlfriends. Think of the type of person that would be attracted to you and your work. Ask yourself which of them will want to buy your products or would be interested in what you have to offer. Once you picture someone tried to think of the reasons why you thought of that person. Could it be because of their style, their age, or their needs? Answering these questions will give you the first sense of your client niche, that you should be focusing your attention on. A great way to find your ideal client is to look at the people that are following you on social media. These are people that are already interested in you and your creations. Take a look at who's following you on Instagram or Facebook, and take some time to understand who these followers are. Identify the ones that are engaged with your posts the most via likes or comments and go to their profiles to learn more about them. If you start to see similarities between profiles, chances are you're getting closer to finding who your ideal client is. Looking at. Your analytics will give you valuable information about your visitors. Think of all these social media accounts that you already have and where you can find their analytics and insights. If you have a website, you can sign up for Google Analytics. And on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram, you'll need a business account or page to see your audience insights. Viewing your analytics will give you information about your visitors demographics, like location, their age, and their gender. Some sites also offer you gold nuggets of information like when they are most active on social media or what topics they're interested in and what device they use, like mobile or computer. Pay special attention to repeat visitors or two visitors who spent a long time on your site. They might be potential clients, so learn as much as possible about them. You're in the early stages of your creative business. This tip is for you. You might not have a large following on social media or you might not have a website yet. The good news is that you can still learn about your ideal client. All you have to do is identify the ideal clients of creative business owners that offer similar products to the ones you are currently selling or one to sell in the future. Take a look at their website, their social media profiles, their newsletters. As this is where you will find the clues you are looking for. Finding your ideal client can be hard to narrow down. When I first started out, I wanted everyone to be my ideal client. I wanted to target both men and women of all ages. That's a very broad range. And this definitely reflected in my marketing, as always, all over the place when creating my branding and making new products. It wasn't until later on that I realized I should narrow down my ideal client and focus on that group only. That's when I had a clear idea for new products and how to brand them and who to offer them to. An example of my ideal client is females, 20 to 40 years old, part-time artists or designers, stay-at-home moms that have creative hobbies like watercolors, are crafting and that are located in the US, Australia, and Europe. For the class project, I would like you to create an avatar of your ideal client. To create your avatar, you can write down key characteristics such as gender, age, location, interests, or hobbies. Feel free to use the printable Client worksheets that can be found in the download section of this class. Finding your ideal client can be a little tricky at first, but you'll get better at identifying them and looking for patterns. Knowing your ideal client will make it easier to speak their language, to create newsletters for them and connect with them on Instagram. And of course, make new products for them. Be very specific when creating an avatar of your ideal client. Do not try to sell to everybody. Instead, identify your ideal client niche and focus on them from experience. I can say that this will give your creative career or brilliant headstart. 11. Share your work: Sharing your work will be the first step of your marketing strategy. Now, there's a scary word, Don't worry, we'll get into that later on when we're ready. But you'll want to start sharing yourself and your work so you can connect with your audience at an early stage. Sharing your work might be scary and you may feel vulnerable as you've not yet found your style, but it's the journey you want to share. You want to tell the story of you as a creative and how you create your work. Sharing your work on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook will help you connect with like-minded creatives. Personally, I love Instagram and it doesn't feel like work at all. Making genuine connections with other creatives gives a sense of belonging and creates a space where you can share ideas, get feedback, and even ask for help when you are stuck. Sharing your work will also help to attract your audience and connect with your ideal client. Remember that if you don't share your work, no one will ever see it or even know it exists. So don't be shy and let the world know who you are and what you create. On social media, you will naturally connect with other creatives. And you might think that these are not the right people to attract when running a creative business, but connecting with other creatives is also key to building your audience. They too might be potential clients. Not all creatives has the same skill set and you might be offering something They are looking for. Sharing your work and your process without being salesy is my strategy to attracting clients. If people love your work, they will come to you. Social media should not feel like another task on your list. In fact, I never even add it to my task list. It should come naturally and not feel like you have to create content for it. Share whatever you're working on. Pay attention to the light in your studio. Take a quick photo or a video and don't overthink it. Your followers want to see what you're working on and really don't care if you take the perfect photo or have the perfect gallery feed. Tell your story by not only sharing your final work, but share each step along the way and how you got there. Share your struggles and your thoughts of the process. Share the inspiration behind the artwork or design. Show which materials you are using. And last but not least, when you have shared the whole process, you can share your final artwork or design and tell your audience where it is available. Sharing photos of your work is the best way to share and tell your story. And if you're feeling up to it, try taking a short video of your work, whether creating a photo or a video, you'll want to have good lighting. This is my number one tip for creating good photos. There's no need for a fancy camera or a fancy setup. Just use natural light. Now, how often should you share on social media? The answer to that question will be different for everyone. But my advice is to start slow. Share however often you feel comfortable with, but be consistent. If sharing four times a week feels comfortable to you, then do that. If two times a week feels better than stick with that. Personally, I like to share around three posts a week on Instagram. Post one story a day to some of you. This may sound like a lot, but I love sharing what I do. So it comes naturally to me. And if I ever feel like I need a break, I'll do so for a few days or even a whole week. Be creative when sharing your work, remember to tell your story and not only post your final work, here are some guidelines to help you out. Number one, inspiration, share the inspiration behind your artwork or design. Are you creating a floral pattern? Share the photo that you use as a reference. Are you creating a logo design? Share a mood board with the colors and the images you use as inspiration to create the logo. Number two, materials, what materials are you using for your artwork or your designs? People are curious to know what you're using. So share this information. If you're using watercolors, share a photo of your watercolor tubes and mentioned in the caption, the names and the brand of your watercolor. If you're creating a logo on your computer, then share a photo of your screen and mentioned which software you're using and the caption. Number three, your workspace. Show us the messy in-between of when you're in the midst of your work, shows your hands-on work covered in paint. Or if you create designs on the computer, share a photo of you at your desk. Number four, the process. Share your process and behind the scenes of your creative work. I like to use videos for this as you can easily create a time-lapse with your mobile camera. If you're painting, for example, an art piece, or if you create wedding invites that you can record your screen and show the process of how you created that design. Number five, you, people want to know the artist and the designer behind the creative work they see. I'd like to share a photo of myself around once a month. If you don't feel comfortable sharing your face that start with your hands or share a photo of you while working at your desk. I would also advise you to add a profile photo of you and not of your logo. People want to know who they are following. Number six, final work. Last but not least, when you're done telling your story, you can share your final artwork or design. Let the world know it is finished and where it is available to buy. I know that you're selling your work can feel uncomfortable, but you have to let people know it is available for purchase or people won't even know it's pursue. Sharing your work and telling your story through social media is the best way to connect and build your audience. Show people to story of you as an artist and designer. And if people love your work, I promise they will come to you, share the process and behind the scenes of what you were doing. And you will not feel the pressure to having to create content. Put all of these tips to use. And I know you will fall in love with social media too. 12. Instagram: Hello, creative. This is angio camp with a class on how to grow your Instagram account. So how do you actually grow your Instagram account? Wouldn't we all like to know this? I joined Instagram back in 2014 and I had an account where I shared my photography. And throughout the years, it grew into an art and design account. Like everyone else. I started that account with 0 followers. And over the years I grew my account to over 10 thousand followers. So how did I do this? I wish I could give you the magic formula, but I really don't have one. I slowly grew my account organically and steadily by being consistent, posting content on a regular basis and connecting with others in a meaningful way. One thing that helped me out a lot when I first started was that I joined photography and art challenges. And this helped me to get featured and gain followers. It has been quite the journey and I could create a whole course on this topic, but let me share some of the basic things that I've learned along the way that I've worked for me. Show the person behind the brand. People want to see you. The creative person behind the brand. Share pictures of you and your daily lives so your audience can develop a personal connection with your brand and get to know you. I definitely struggled with this in my early years of Instagram. And when I first started my account, I was very shy and didn't even want to use a photo of myself as my profile picture. It took me several years to be confident enough to share the person behind the brand. I have found that showing the process is the most important part of Instagram. If you show your process, people will be intrigued and want the final product before you even finish. Do not only share the end result of your work, but show your audience how you made it and which materials used and what problems you had to overcome. Once you're comfortable sharing behind the scenes of your work, who may also want to think about sharing bits of your personal life. I use Instagram stories to share my bike rides, my cooking, or any activities with my boys. These stories usually get the most responses from my followers who couldn't relate as they are also creative moms with kids at home. When sharing your life and your work, you'll want to be authentic and genuine. Don't try to be someone else. Just be yourself. Embrace your strengths and your flaws. Your audience will want to get to know the real you and all of you. So don't only share the perfect pictures, but also share your struggles and your journey. You'll find that others will relate to this and you will be able to connect over this. Post consistently. Now, how often should you share on Instagram? The answer to that question will be different for everyone. But my advice is to start slow. Share however often you feel comfortable with, but be consistent. Sharing four times a week feels comfortable to you, then do that. If two times a week feels better than stick with that. Personally, I like to share around two or three posts a week on Instagram, and I tried to post at least one story a day. This may sound like a lot, but if I ever need a break, I don't pressure myself and take some time off. When posting to Instagram, you'll want to add value to your posts by sharing your knowledge or your expertise. Your Instagram followers are eager to learn from you. So make sure to share what you are experienced than you can do this in your captions or make a short video to share tutorials and tips that you have. Or you can simply start by sharing the materials that you use and talking about your process. People are genuinely interested in this and will want to come back to your account if you give them helpful and interesting information. Connecting and engaging with people is a big part of growing your Instagram account. You might have spent weeks or months creating the most gorgeous Instagram account, but no one is seeing it and it will all be for nothing. You'll need to let people know that you have a beautiful account and that it's worth following by connecting and engaging with them. Find other accounts that could be potential followers by going through hashtags that are relevant to you, or by looking at the accounts of artists or designers that have similar followers. Take a few minutes each day to like and leave genuine comments on post of others. By doing this, you will help grow your following. And don't forget to also engage with the followers that you already have. Always respond to comments on your own posts and always be kind and helpful when responding to others. And be sure to take the time to answer your direct messages. Engaging with others is a boost for your Instagram. The more engagement you get. And I'm not only talking about the amount of likes, but also the amount of comments, shares, and saves on your post. This will tell Instagram your post this popular at Interesting. So they will push it out and show it to more people. Use all of the features instagram has to offer, like posting videos, IGTV videos, and reveals. The more features you use, the more people you will reach and engagement you will get, which in turn will get Instagram to boost your content. Also use Instagram stories. I try and post at least one story a day. Personally, I love seeing the short videos and progress shots and other people's stories. So why not post those two stories are also good and quick way to engage with your audience. Use things like pools or questions to interact with your followers. Hashtags are a hot topic on Instagram. I am a firm believer in using them. You only have a limited amount of hashtags you can add to oppose. So use them wisely. I like to add around 25 to 30 hashtags for each post. And I have found that it really doesn't make a difference whether you post them in your or in your first comment. When using hashtags, don't use the generic hashtags like art or watercolor. These have millions of posts, so yours will get lost in the crowd. Instead, use hashtags that have less posts. So you're more likely to be seen by others that are looking through that hashtag. My sweet spot is using hashtags that have between 10500 thousand posts. For each hashtag that I want to use. I'll research it and check the amount of posts it has to see if it does not have too little or too many posts. I also check all of my hashtags to see if they are not banned. Some hashtags have been spammed with inappropriate content and then Instagram blocks, those hashtags. Hashtags can be banned temporarily or indefinitely. If you want to check a hashtag to see if it's bad, just type out your hashtag in the search bar. And if it's bad, you will see a notice at the top. So this goes without saying, but you don't want to use hashtags that are bad as this may get your account shadow band, which means your account will be blocked by Instagram. And this could be temporarily or indefinitely. Once I've done my research on a hashtag and I know it's safety is it? I will add it to an Excel list where I sort them by category in sets of three tags. So if I'm posting an image of, for example, a watercolor floral, I can easily call it B, this set of hashtags and then paste it in my post. I'm always looking for new hashtags to use. And I will update this list every few months and check if none of them are banned. If you need help to plan your content in advance, you can use an app like plan allele or buffer. And I like to use the free version of the preview app on my mobile phone. I don't use it to schedule Instagram, they're Buckley from this app, but I use it to store and arrange any images that I want to share on Instagram later on. The great thing about the preview app is that you can upload all of your images. Down here you can see all of the images that have already been posted on Instagram. You can see this by the little Instagram icon at the bottom right of the photo. Up here are images of photos haven't been posted yet. When I take photos of work or selfies, I usually take more than one photo and I only end up posting one to Instagram. So I'll save the other ones in this preview app and then post them months from now or even a year later. This way, I always have something to pose without having the stress of having to take the perfect picture. I also have a placeholder for the quotes that I wanted to post. So I'd like to spread these out throughout my other images and videos. The best thing about this app is set. You can rearrange the order and you can preview what your feed will look like. I might switch some images around and then switch this one with that one. And then I create the perfect balance in my feed. Joining our challenges is another really great way to grow your Instagram. By joining art challenges, you couldn't get featured by larger accounts. This is how I grew my Instagram account. I participated in these challenges where they usually have a certain theme to which you could create content and then use a certain hashtag so you will have a chance to win and be featured on their page. If your work gets featured, you're likely to gain new followers. Joining these challenges will help you connect with like-minded artists and creatives. So be sure to comment and like and check out the other creatives accounts as well. These are challenges will also help boost your creativity and give you new ideas of things to create or post on Instagram. My final tip for you is to try and have some fun. Instagram shouldn't be a chore, and it just feel like a fun way to share your story. The only way it will feel like a tour is when you stress out about having to create content for it. Let me tell you a little secret. Your followers, they don't want to see perfectly polished artworks or designs. Of course, they love seeing the end results, but they'd rather see what you're up to each day and how you came to that result, pulls the kind of content that you want to see from other people that you follow. Let me end on this note that I think it's much harder to grow your Instagram account these days, but the best way to do it is to grow organically and slowly. Also, it took me five years to get to 10 thousand followers. So try and have some fun along the way and give it some time. 13. Pinterest: Hello creative. This isn't gel with a class on Pinterest and specifically on using it for your business. Let me start by saying that I love Pinterest and I was using Pinterest back when you need it to be invited to be able to join. I first used it for saving recipes and ideas for outfits and jewelry, but now I use and love it for my business too. Let's take a look at some of the basics that this powerful platform has to offer. And let's start by looking at what Pinterest is and why you want to use it for your business. Pinterest is a site where people can find inspiration and ideas in the form of images and videos. These are called pins. You can save these pins to your personal boards so you can reference them later on. Pins can link back to your website, which is why Pinterest is such a great tool for driving traffic to your website and also generating sales for your products. Now let's take a look at my boards. I've created boards for different categories that I like to pin two that are also relevant to the products that I have and that are also relevant to my business. I have a board for watercolors, then also one for graphic design, but then also specific ones for fonts, for illustrations, for my logos, and then also for patterns that I make. So for example, let's take a look at the fonts board. Here you can see this is one of my fonts that I've shared. And these as well, fluorine, Tina and golden. But the thing is, I will not only pin my own products and images, but also those from other artists and designers. For example, this one here is by another designer, and this one as well. This way each board is a mix of my own images and those of others. So I'm not only promoting my own products and it will keep my boards interesting. On Pinterest, you can follow people and they can follow you back. But the secret to Pinterest is that it's not all about the number of followers that you have. It is about how often your pins are engaged with. This includes views, saves, and how many people click on your link, your monthly views. That is what you want to be focusing on and not the number of followers that you have. Let me share an example. When you create a new pin, it will not only be shown to your followers, it will also be shown two accounts that have shown an interest in similar content. This is what makes up your home feed. It is a combination of content that you might be interested in and also from people that you follow. This way, if you post good content with attractive images or interesting videos, you can get your pins seen by a wide audience and not just your followers. Let's take a look at the type of content you could create from Pinterest. Take a look at your home feed and see what catches your eye. For images. You can see that vertical, longer images take up more space. So someone that is scrolling through their feed will be more likely to notice it. Then an horizontal image. Pinterest tells us that the ideal size for images is a thousand pixels wide by 1500 pixels high. Another thing you will notice right away is videos. My secret weapon on Pinterest is uploading videos. This is how I grew to millions of views a month. Videos are eye-catching and a great way to show your process. Or you could even make a short promo video of your product. When making videos, I like to keep mine short. Around one minute is long enough. This is an example of a time-lapse I made, uh, one of my watercolor is, and as you can see, it has nearly a million views and 8 thousand saves. So that is 8 thousand people who have refund it to their board. You can upload an image or a video by clicking Create pen. For this example, I'm uploading an image, but you can also upload a video. For the titles, you'll want to use keywords that will help your pins get found in search. Keep your descriptions short. Pinterest is a visual platform and personally, I don't even read descriptions from others, so I'll use mine to add a short description including some keywords. And I will also add a few hashtags. Using hashtags is a bit of a tricky subject as Pinterest is not really clear on which guidelines you should follow. For years, they encouraged us not to use hashtags. And then in 2017, they said it is okay to start using them. I've tested both using hashtags and not using them. And I haven't really noticed a difference. But when I do use them, I'll add three to five hashtags and then place them at the end of my description. Add a link at the bottom. And if you have an affiliate link to your products, then don't forget to add them here to the board to pin two. Then click Publish. Let's take a look at our analytics. You'll need a business account for this, but it's free. So why not use it? I'm going to go to analytics and then overview. And then here on the left side you can set your filters. I'm just going to change mine to last 30 days. And down here to the left, you can set some more filters, but I'm just going to leave that as is. And then here on the right you can see the total impressions. So that's the amount of time your pins have been seen by people. Then you've got your audience, which is the total amount of people that have seen or engaged with your pins. And then we've got the number of engagements, which is the number of times that people have engaged with your pins, including saving or liking them. Then here in the graph, you can see your impressions from the last 30 days. You can also choose a different filter, like engagements or your total audience. And as you can see, the numbers will go up and down, which is totally normal behavior for Pinterest. And it will depend on how often you pin and the engagements your pins have. Now scroll down to see your top boards. My top board is the watercolor board with nearly 3 million impressions. And then my illustrations, ford comes in second, and then my graphic design board. And you can also scroll through to see all the other boards in order of popularity. Now, if you scroll down some more, you can see your top pins. This is my favorite bit. So here you can see that most of my top pins, their videos. And then here you will see the total impressions that your top pins have had for the last 30 days. And then if you click on one, you will see the total views that it has had in its lifetime. This video has had a total of 1.6 million views and 12 thousand saves. That's pretty impressive if you asked me. So if you're really serious about using Pinterest for your business, I would definitely invest some time in making videos. To schedule my images. To Pinterest, I use a paid app called to wind. I wouldn't recommend using any random app for scheduling to Pinterest, but Tailwind isn't official partner of Pinterest, so it is safe to use them into wind. You can create a schedule where they will choose the best times to pin automatically for you. They also have an amazing feature called Smart loop, which automatically rapists or content after a certain amount of time. So to wind will post to Pinterest for you and then chooses the best times to pin. This saves me so much time as I do not have to do this manually and to win is constantly pinning and repenting my products on Pinterest, even when I'm asleep. In Tailwind, you will first upload your images to your drafts and then add all of the information. And when you fill out all of the information, you can type out one of your boards. So these are the exact same boards that I have on Pinterest. And for this one, I will choose Graphic Design and choose that one. And then you can either add it to your schedule and then it'll appear here, or you can add it to your smart loop. And this will make sure that this pin will be regularly pin to Pinterest and not just once if you schedule it. Setting up your Pinterest account and especially to wind can be a bit complex. 1 first setting everything up. So I will leave the link to the Pinterest help center below, and also the link to Tailwind, which has some really great video tutorials for helping you get set up. Like I said in the beginning, I love Pinterest and I can spend hours scrolling and pinning images for inspiration. On the other hand, it is also a great tool to use for my business. But like everything else in your business, it does take time to create and plan content for it, but it is so worth it in driving traffic to your website and your shop. It is one of my favorite platforms for sharing my creations and products with the world. 14. Basics of marketing: Hello, This is Angela will the class on marketing. Does the word marketing stress you out? Is this something you'd rather not think about and skip altogether? I know exactly how you feel because I felt that way too. But let's take a look at what it actually means to market yourself at how we can make it a bit easier and fun for you to start off. Marketing is just a fancy word for promoting yourself and your work to the right audience. Having a working website with beautiful products, it won't instantly lead to sales. So you'll have to spread the word and let people know your work is available. That's what marketing is really all about. All you have to do is share your work to the right people and the rest will follow. In this class, I will share my tips based on what has worked for me. Number one, define your message. First of all, ask yourself, what is your brand about? What do you have to offer? These are some important questions to ask yourself before promoting your site and your products. The answers will help you define yourself as either an artist or designer and help you send a clear message to your audience. In one or two sentences, try and describe what it is that you do. And describe it as you would to a friend or a family member. It's harder than you think, isn't it? I struggled with this for quite awhile when I first started out. And it doesn't help that I have so many different passions and wasn't sure whether to describe myself as an artist or a filmmaker or a graphic designer. Once I was able to narrow it down and I started focusing on the products that I love creating, like watercolors and fonts. I was able to send a clear message of what it is that I do and what I have to offer. I now describe myself as an artist and a graphic designer that creates botanic watercolor art and fonts. Number two, cell from the heart. Marketing shouldn't feel like you're pushing your products onto people. If you truly believe in your work and believe in the added value your products will have on your clients and your audience, then you're going to do them a service by promoting your products. You shouldn't feel guilty for promoting the qualities of your products. Instead, be proud and confident. Know that not everyone has your qualities and talent and that there are others out there that are looking for your products. Number three, reach your ideal client. Take a moment to think about who your ideal client is. Think about their gender, their age, their interests, and ask yourself, where can I reach them? Where can I find them? Can I find them in Facebook groups or maybe on Instagram? And let's not forget about the forums of Creative Market or Etsy or other crafting or artists sites. Those forums are full of other designers and artists that might be potential clients. And you might have products that they are interested in. Once you have identified where your ideal client hangs out, take some time each week or even every day, if you have the time to interact and engage with them on the forums or on social media. Be helpful and kind with your comments. This will help you grow your audience. Number for social media. Once you figure out where your ideal client hangs out on social media, you can focus on those platforms. My advice is to choose one or two platforms for marketing. Choose your favorite platforms and make the most of those. Personally, I like Instagram and Pinterest as these platforms fit my products and my audience very well. But you might love Facebook, Twitter, Behance, Dribble, or LinkedIn. What matters most is not what platforms you focus on, but your ability to use them in their full potential. These platforms constantly evolve and launch new features. So make sure to stay in the loop and use all of their features. Number five, newsletters. Newsletters are the most intimate connection you could have with your audience as you can reach them directly in their inbox. We have another class on the topic, but it is a powerful tool for marketing your products. So I also want to mention it here. Take the time to grow your subscriber list and stay in touch with your audience on a regular basis to let them know whenever you have updates, tips, or new products. Number six, organic marketing. A great way to market yourself is organically. This means that you're not paying for ads, but you're creating genuine connections with your audience through, for example, social media or newsletters or forums. Best way to do this is by dedicating your time to your business. The more time you put into it, the more results you will see. Even if you have ten minutes waiting for an appointment or a few minutes while waiting in line, go on Pinterest or post something on Instagram or whatever else you can do in that short time. Think about the fact that each step you take to get yourself out there is one more step towards being seen which might lead to potential sill. Did you know that most of the collaborations or licensing deals that I've done in the past are by others contacting me. It's because they saw my work on my website and on social media and they loved my styles. So they approached me to ask if I want to work with their brand. And this is all due to me being consistent and sharing my work online. It's as simple as that. Number seven, paid marketing. If you've tried all the organic ways and connecting and reaching your audience, you might want to dip your toes in the world of paid marketing, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, they make it really easy to create paid advertisements. And if you specify your audience, you will be able to reach a lot more people than you most likely will on your own. Marketing. It doesn't have to be scary. In fact, you're probably already doing it by sharing your work on Instagram. Those are the first steps of promoting your work. And as you grow your business, you can also grow your marketing strategies. Like I always say, start small and grow from there. Start with sharing your work online and connecting with others. And take the next step like creating newsletters or using paid advertising when you are ready, when marketing and promoting your work, you will have to be in it for the long haul. Most artists and designers, they don't have a successful business overnight. So don't give up and keep on trying until you find what works for you. 15. Newsletters: Newsletters are the most intricate connection you can have with your audience. As you can reach them directly in their inbox. Creating a newsletter is your chance to grow your audience in an intimate and engaging way. Emails are by far the best way to market, and they have the highest engagement and conversion rates when compared to social media. This means you are more likely to generate sales from sending emails, then you are from posting on social media. In this class, we will go over which platform to use for sending newsletters and how to create a newsletter that is beautiful, insightful, and convert subscribers to customers. Before you can start sending newsletters, you'll need subscribers. The easiest way to do this is by adding a newsletter sign-up form to your website. Depending on where you host your website, you might already have the ability to grow a list, but if your site does not have a newsletter feature, then you will have to use a plug-in or a third-party app. Now, how do you know which platform is right for you? I suggest these three platforms, MailChimp, convert kit and flow desk. Let's review them one by one. Mailchimp is a well-established platform that offers beautiful templates that can be easily edited. Thanks, do a drag and drop option. It has a free plan and offers great Analytics to track the performance of your campaigns. Mailchimp offers a lot of features which will take some getting used to, but you can find great tutorials online to help you find your way and navigate their platform. Convert kit is another widely used platform in the creative industry. It is especially great for setting up automations in order to convert subscribers into customers. They also have a free plan you can use, and they provide e-mail templates that you can edit to fit your branding. Some tend to find convert kit less intuitive than other platforms, so make sure to try their interface before committing. Slow disk is the newest platform of these three, and they do not offer advanced analytics and automation capabilities like Mailchimp and convert. Good do. However, it is an excellent platform if you are looking for core, just template and user friendliness. Everything about flow desk is about helping you send out beautiful emails and an easy way. As you could see, all three platforms have their positives and negatives. And this is why it is important to find out what matters to you most and your brand. Compare pricing plans and features that you want. And then you will be able to choose the right platform for you. Let's take a look at how to create a newsletter that is beautiful, insightful, and helps convert subscribers into customers. Before you can get people to buy from you, you need to build a connection with them. Welcome sequence, which is a series of emails that are sent subscribe to your newsletter, is a great way to build a connection with your subscribers. Over the course of a few weeks, you can send a series of newsletters where you talk about who you are, what you do, and what you have to offer them. Provide value. Your subscribers should gain something by reading your emails. You'll want your emails to be interesting and fun for them to read. So this could be a tip or tutorial or even an occasional freebie. Think about what would be fun, unhelpful to receive for your readers. The very first thing people see when they receive an e-mail is the subject line. Make your subject engaging an active. If, for example, you are having a sale, instead of saying twenty-five percent off in my shop, you could make it more personal and intriguing by saying, I have a gift for you. Also take a look at the subject lines that you see in your inbox. Which of them stand out to you and make you want to open the email. These are subjects that you will want to use for your own newsletters, as it will get people to open the e-mail instead of sending it straight to the bin. Keep it short and sweet. Emails don't have to be very long. In fact, a short email with beautiful images, clear message can prove to be the most successful strategy. People don't have time to read and they will scan your newsletter. So use headers and bold text to highlight important parts of your email. Add a call to action. For each email you send, I would advise to add one call-to-action. Keep it simple. Why not create several e-mails if you have more than one thing to promote. This way, your reader will know exactly what is expected of them. If you add one call to action, this will make them either one to read that blog post or check out that new product that you're promoting. Believe that your products will add value to your clients life. Let your readers know why it should matter to them. Will it save them time? Will it make their website more beautiful? People will pay for convenience. So let them know how your product will make their lives easier. And don't forget to add a link to your product. Let people know where your products are available. As soon as subscribers open your e-mail, they should know that they are firm. You consistently show the colors, the logos, and the style that are specific to your brand. Always add a way for your subscribers to contact or connect with you. Add your social media links and leave a call to action at the bottom of your email. Check your analytics. Don't ignore the data. By checking analytics about your e-mail campaigns, you can learn how long people spend reading your emails. Compare the opening rate of previous emails and get to know the demographics of your most passionate readers. If you link your webshop to it, you can even track your sales. Not sure what to send your readers. I have made a list for you with content ideas for your newsletters. You can create a newsletter with work in progress photos or a sneak peek of something new to come. You can create a newsletter with your creative story until about how you get started. Or any sales you are hosting. You can add customer reviews, or you can create a newsletter with your favorite materials or the favorite apps that you use for social media or for running your business. And the list goes on and on. Starting a newsletter is a lengthy process. I know that all too well, but if done well, it can be extremely rewarding. It is the most personal connection you can have with your audience by choosing the right platform, sending regular emails, and using all the tips that were mentioned in this class, your readers will be able to connect with your brand and who want to stay a part of your journey for years to come. 16. How I quit my job: Hey there, I thought it might be helpful to share the story of how I started my creative business and quit my day job. I always love hearing how other people start out and I want to do the same for you. I also want to be transparent with you and show you what I earned. It might early years. And when I finally took the plunge to work as a full-time creative. Now, let's start at the beginning. I started my creative career right after Graphic Design School, working full-time at a publisher's office, earning around 30 thousand a year. Now, this job taught me all there was to know about printing, designing magazines, creating logos, branding, and designing websites. Now, when my first son was born, I cut back in hours and I started working part-time, which also meant that my paycheck was cut to around 15 thousand a year. But you know what, this job did not fulfill my creative side and I wanted to create for my own. It was a nice steady paycheck and it was kinda scary to give that up. So after nearly ten years of working at the publisher's office, I quit and took on a part-time job cleaning to still pay the bills. While working part-time, I started finding a way to sell my own designs. I opened my first online shop in 2012, selling social media icons for $5 a set. Now, in that first year, I made a total of $400. Those for a sales were amazing, but it made me want to create or more selling icons for $5. You know, it wasn't really sustainable or very scalable as a business. So I branched out to creating web shop and blog beans and also taking on small custom design jobs. In the years to come, I made around two thousand, three thousand year, which is nice for paying groceries on the electric bill, but nowhere near enough to quit my day job. But then I had an idea for something new. I wanted to create a font. This was something I've been sitting on for awhile and something I was putting off because I had little kids at home. My time was scarce and I had no clue where to start. You know, back then, there were almost no tutorials on YouTube on how to create a font. There wasn't any Skillshare or Udemy where you could follow a class and learn all you needed to know and a few hours. But still, I did it with two little boys at home. I sat on the couch with my laptop and I just started I installed the font software and started reading the manual from front-to-back. Each day for four months. I worked on that font day after day, each bear hour I had, I worked on that font until what's completed. Now, my big break came in 2016 when I listed that font for sale in my Etsy and Creative Market shop that year. I made 80 thousand and no, that's not a typo. 80 thousand in one year just by creating that bond. That's insane. If you asked me, that amount was even bigger than my wildest dreams. And after a few short months, I was able to quit my day job and work on my creative business full-time. My shops became a big success and in the years to come, I worked as hard as I possibly could to fill up my shops with fonts, hand lettered quotes, and other digital products. To some, this may have seemed like an overnight success, but they do not see all of the years of trying and failing. Now, since my first year as a full-time creative, I have worked incredibly hard and grow my business to consistently earn six figures each year. I feel truly blessed to have been able to turn my passion into a thriving business. These days. I can't wait to wake up in the morning so I can get my day started. I love going through my e-mails first thing in the morning and seeing my inbox filled with sales and notifications and lovely reviews. Now, of course, I'll also have emails with questions, customer support or contracts or collapse that I have to go over. But running a full-time business will be hard work and it won't come easy. Now, I wanted to share my story with you as I want to inspire and motivate you, but also show you that it was not an overnight success. And I worked really, really hard to get where I am today. Setting up your own business is hard work. You'll work harder than you ever have worked in your life. But if you're passionate about what you do, it really won't feel like work and putting in the hours and growing your business will come naturally. 17. Bloom Creatives art courses: Would you like to learn how to grow florals and paint with watercolors than the bloom craze is the place for you. I will be your Art teacher, Angele Kamp, and I will teach you all the basic Art skills of drawing and painting with watercolors. I will guide you through each RPs step-by-step, and we'll create beautiful florals and botanicals together. Are you ready to start creating? Then join your bloom Creatives today?