Nobody buys art because they need it. They buy it because of connection.
Matt Tommey of created to thrive mentoring
That is the basis of Matt Tommey’s marketing approach which I’ve been learning and applying since I joined the Created to Thrive mentoring program last September.
Now this sounds like a sales pitch, so let’s back up. I am not an affiliate, nor offered anything, by telling you about this program. This post is for the curious, those who are wondering what I’ve stepped into and where I’m growing.
So how’d I get roped into Created to Thrive?
I already knew and learned so much from Matt Tommey’s work. This wasn’t some salespitch from a stranger. I’d been part of his Facebook group for years. I’d heard him speak at conferences. I recommended a couple of his books back in 2016. I took his free Artist’s Rise Up online class. I’d learned and grown as an artist countless times from his work.
There were a couple type of connections I was looking for last year:
- More connections with artists that are further along in their business than me.
- More connections with artists who are Christians working in the general marketplace.
This mentoring program offered an opportunity for community in both of those areas.
There’s lots of training out in the world to help me grow as a Christian artist.
There’s lots of training out in the world to help me grow in my artistic skill.
There’s lots of training out in the world to grow my business and marketing skills.
A short weekend training in any of those categories is normally what… a few hundred dollars at best, easily up to a thousand dollars…right?
Enter, the best deal ever.
All of those categories, wrapped into a yearly mentorship program, from a trusted professional I already glean from, for a price I’d normally pay for much less training.
What I’ve gleaned from the mentoring program so far.
Since I joined Created to Thrive, I’ve:
- worked on better telling my creative story
- revamped my website with SEO
- found direction in growing as a Christian artist even though I’m not writing Christian books
And that’s just scratching the surface of the program. There are also opportunities for live Q&A, mastermind groups with other artists, and so much more. The program offers five modules full of training – cultivating your heart & mind, your art, your brand, your business, and your life – to remind me I’m a full person that needs some semblance of balance 😛
It came along when I didn’t expect it.
I say I was looking for training opportunities and for connection. But I should clarify, that was more passive waiting and praying for those opportunities to show up. I didn’t have a specific idea of how to get to there from where I was.
So if this blogpost just blindsided you with a new shiny idea you didn’t know you were looking for, don’t discard it right away.
If you’re looking for Christian artist community and training:
Look into the Created to Thrive mentoring program. Sign up for the free Artist’s Rise Up online class he is offering right now (the same one that got me hooked hehe). Try it out. Ask me questions. Count the cost of doing it, but also count the cost of not doing it.
This program offered all that I was looking for, which I’d originally thought would only be answered by about 20 new things on my plate. Instead I got 1 thing, a program that has so much training I can’t keep up, with growth opportunities for years to come.
Okay, now I’m curious: What training do you recommend for growing as an artist? How has it helped you along the way?
Interested in the Created to Thrive mentoring? Sound like a fit for you? Ask questions below, and maybe I’ll see ya in the group soon 🙂
This is an interesting and useful post. I had not thought of myself as an artist. I saw book writing as a creative skill more like architecture than art. But obviously there’s art in novel writing and in architecture.
I knew I needed help, so I joined a Christian authors’ group in 2016–where I met you, Amy. I read about six books about publishing and self-publishing that spring while I was waiting for my editor to get back to me. That gave me enough to decide on publishing on Amazon, which I haven’t regretted.
Now I’m learning how to advertise on Amazon–about 3 years late and after spending over a thousand dollars on advertising that didn’t work.
I look forward to hearing what you find with Amazon ads! One day I’ll be having to figure that out too 😁
Hi Amy,
Thanks for your thoughts on Matt Tommey’s mentoring work. I am trying to decide if I should join the Created to Thrive Experience course. I am a Christian and a visual artist(painter, mixed media) with an art education degree and teaching experience. The program sounds great and I love what Matt says about being in the presence of God. The thing is I wear so many hats in my life and to invest the time I want to make sure it’s worth it. Are there thousands of people involved? will I be heard? Am I just wasting money once again? I’d love to hear your opinion. Thanks again. Blessings, LisaMaria
http://www.lisamariamayaart.com
Hi Lisa! I haven’t taken the experience course, but I can say that every resource of Matt Tommey’s has been worth my investment, whether that be classes, books, videos, the mentoring program, etc.
The mentoring program has around 1200 people I think, who can all go at their own pace, whether that’s daily work or monthly or somewhere in between. All of Matt’s past classes are recorded so there’s a wealth of knowledge, and Matt makes time for every question at the weekly live q&a so there’s opportunity for feedback on where you’re individually at. More than that, the 1200 others are a great resource as we collaborate and bounce ideas off each other in the facebook group and in the monthly Mastermind smallgroup calls.
Let me know if you have other questions!