In the world of the “Blog-o-sphere”, there are a handful (or many handfuls) of fabulous resources in the form of e-books, online courses, membership sites and workshops. Over the many years that I’ve been traveling the freelance artist path, I’ve relied mainly upon physical books, academia and a little school of life experience to build my vast wealth of knowledge.
I was hesitant to enter the e-book world. I am a person who loves textures, the written word and curling up in bed with a good book and the whole e-book thing didn’t sit well with me. But, I came around and last year made my first e-book purchase- Chris Guillebeau’s Art and Money book. I loved it! A decent amount of the information in the book had already crossed my radar in some form and I was implementing some of the techniques prior to reading the book. But to see everything compiled into a digital book with the capabilities of linking me directly to the resources and supporting multimedia was phenomenal!
Over the past year, I’ve purchased only a few e-books or courses and hope to expand my library soon. But trying to maintain the need for knowledge with the need for travel money keeps my spending in check. So, listed below are the resources I love and think you will too! These are affiliate links, so if you love this blog and think these products will help you, please purchase them through the links. I promise none of the products listed here suck in any way- and some of them are life-altering. I use them frequently, sometimes daily and they remain vital elements in my online business. I wouldn’t lead you in the wrong direction!
ART + MONEY
Yea, it rocks. Just go ahead and get the book. It’s filled with tons of info and is particularly useful if you’re new to selling your artwork online.
THE FIRESTARTER SESSIONS
I can not say enough fabulous things about this book (and Danielle’s blog). I did not take this purchase lightly- it wasn’t cheap! At least not in my world. So, I purchased the TRUE STRENGTHS AND THE METRICS OF EASE chapter’s she sells for $20 bucks first. And loved it. I hemmed and hawed, balanced my accounts and splurged on the rest of the book. And WOW! What a great decision. The book is designed with videos for each section and is divided into modules with worksheets. I dug into some personal baggage that I didn’t even know existed! I hope to work with her in person one day- if the power of the e-book reflects her coaching skills (and I’m sure they do) it will be a wonderful investment!
DIVE IN NOW AND LIGHT THAT FIRE UNDER YOUR ASS!
PHOTOSHELTER
All the fabulous slide shows you see on this blog are powered by Photoshelter. I also use the site to power my Art Galleries and connect my clients with their images after a photo shoot. I’ve been using their service for many years and love it! Click on this link and start your Photoshelter fun today! You get a discount too for using this link, fun for all! And their blog is filled with tons of useful information for photographers! Email me if you have any questions about the service!
MY WEB HOST
This site is powered by DreamHost and has been since the beginning. In fact, all of my websites and my client’s sites are powered by DreamHost. I love them. They rock. DreamHost’s user panel is insanely simple and they have a one-touch install for WordPress. Huh? It means setting up a custom WordPress site is SIMPLE! If you’re using GoDaddy, stop. Now. Please. Follow these steps, use my promo code: CSTREET10 and start your new love affair with a wonderful little company.
Go to the home page: http://www.dreamhost.com/
Enters that crystal@streetstudios.net referred you when you sign up.
2. Uses the promo code CSTREET10 when signing up.
3. Click this link and then sign up without entering any promo code or referrer, besides me.
Done!
THE LOOK OF THIS BLOG COMES FROM…
This is blog is now running the Genesis theme from Studio Press. I’ve been using their themes for over 2 years now for my client sites and just love the ease of use and the functionality of the themes. I’m not an HTML guru and these themes are friendly enough that I can figure them out. Can’t recommend them highly enough!
I’ve recently purchased a few new e-books that I’m in the process of reviewing and I’ll post them here once I’m confident that they rock and you’ll love them! Stay tuned!
Let’s Connect!