November 10th, 2002 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Your November 10th, 2002 every other week YouCanDraw.com Communiqué |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Howdy all, Some corporate decisions In order to make YouCanDraw.com the best possible caricature and upstart drawing program on the net, we've had to make a few decisions this weekend. First and foremost we'll be cutting back on the e-zines several months earlier than previously advertised. They'll most definitely keep coming, just at a slower pace. Instead of four ezines a month, we'll be reducing them to 2 a month: one Communiqué and one Caricature. We initially planned to go to this in March of 2003 but the way things beyond our control have multiplied, added to accelerated administrative tasks, the time to really dig into writing weekly (and drawing) weekly issues has gotten a little overwhelming. But they won't stop! No sir-ee :-) In the past, the single most important part of this program, the part that ties it all together, has been the ezines and feedback that comes through the ezines. This is what you guys have been telling me over and over again from the start. And again we'll continue the ezines - just not published as often. New password interface that gives you a whole year once you sign up We'll also be installing a much more sophisticated password shell around the on-line book, one that's on par with the really easy to use - and powerful systems - you see out there on the net. Regardless of the date you've signed up, you'll be given one year access to the on-line site from the date you enter your own personal username and password. For those of you who've just signed up, this is about 3 months ahead of schedule. We won't be finishing the new password "shell" until sometime after the first of the year (2003) and your 'one year of access clock' won't start clicking until that's completely installed. And what's the pay off for you? We want to spend our time really getting all the lessons up to snuff, make lessons clearer where they're not so clear, add Flash, sound, even video to sections to make them really informative, and written in a way you just have to pull out your drawing paper and dive into your drawing. That's the plan. And to execute this, we need the time to do it. A wealth of info in the Archives Also, if you've just signed up, take some time to scan over the e-zine Archives. Starting with the first ezine in October of 1998 and going strong ever since, there's almost 4 years worth of material there! Averaging 4 zines a month for 4 years (though a large chunk of 1999's were lost in a hard drive crash). You'll see lot's of questions you might have already been answered. (And unlike questions about web marketing, questions about how to draw remain amazingly similar. That process hasn't changed much for thousands of years :-) http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/archives.htm Check out some old e-zines For instance...from November of 1998: the "Artist's Contract" - a modified version of Julia Cameron's contract but reworded specifically for drawing. A great place to begin your commitment: http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/issue420.htm Or see the mini-series discussing the different facial features in the "feature by feature" series-within-a-series. Here's a link to a mini-stop on drawing teeth: http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/26.htm Or the large section on discovering your own "Unique Selling Proposition" - a must for those who want to begin turning their art hobby into an art business: http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/summer02update12jun02.htm Or the two part series on discovering why a member's drawing worked and what steps she could take to make it even better (this link will take you to another page): http://ycdinsiders.digitalchainsaw.com/InsidersArtistLoft/summer02update28may02.htm How you can make a little extra money Lastly, we're building a whole new information site that points to the YCD.com sales page and we'll be adding a computerized affiliate program over the next 4-6 months as well. What's that mean for you? You can make a little money for your referral efforts. (We generally give 25 % of the price of any books affiliates sell right back to the affiliate. That's worked out to be about 4-5 dollars a sale. Not a lot, but it can add up to a nice dinner or book money if you sell just 4,5,6 books a month. If you have a high traffic site already, literally 10 minutes of work can get you a lot more than that. And if the word "selling" scares you off the way it always scares me off when I see it, the actual "selling" part is painless - in fact there's no selling involved. But more on this in coming months. Our mission is to get you and keep you drawing faces and caricatures. Period. So without further ado, we're going to get back to work on that mission right now. (p.s. Again, to restate how often you'll be receiving e-zines: the next caricature should come out in the next 5-7 days and you'll see an ezine, either the caricature version or the communiqué version on a "one every two week" pattern after that. That is, expect to see something every two weeks instead of every week.) Take care and keep on drawing! Warmly, Executive Director Kasbohm & Company Strategic Multimedia home of http://www.YouCanDraw.com (952) 544-0657 1351 Hampshire Ave. So., #127 St. Louis Park, MN 55426 "Once and for all getting you drawing faces and caricatures" mailto:comments@youcandraw.com
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