The Extraordinary Tourist
getpaidtodraw.com - Your Questions Answered.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Is it a scam? Is the sales message too good to be true? Can you really sit back, relax and get paid thousands of dollars in residual payments?
If you've discovered the site getpaidtodraw.com and have been looking for someone who has bought this product before taking that leap then this review will peel back the glossy sales message and give you the answers. Prior to buying this product I came across much distrust and misinformation about getpaidtodraw.com by people who hadn't purchased it. There was a real need for information so I decided to take the leap and make the purchase specifically so I could write this informed review. Note that I am not, in any way, a getpaidtodraw.com affiliate.
For this review I will be focusing on the getpaidtodraw system which includes; the ebook, instructional videos and database along with access to the systems author Jules Camber (who replies to emails as 'Jamie, President of Champ Entertainment, Inc and Beats365, LLC'). I'll touch on the bonus features towards the latter part of the review. Settle in, this is going to be in depth but I know you'll thank me for it later.
Let's start by getting my opening questions out of the way.
Is it a scam? Absolutely not. This product brings together a great deal of valuable information and a number of different options for earning income through art online that could save you months of research. Some of the opportunities you may not even be aware of. Hence your research may never lead you to them.
Is the sales message too good to be true? In my opinion, yes but not because it is dishonest in any way. Some of the claims are overstated whilst others will take a lot of work to achieve. If you think the money will be rolling in from day one, you'll be disappointed but if you work at it, the potential is there. I'll talk more about this later.
Can you really sit back, relax and get paid thousands of dollars in residual payments? With the information getpaidtodraw.com supplies, it is certainly possible. However it will take a lot of work, uploading a lot of images to many sites. Perhaps if you upload as much work as you can for the first 30 days after your purchase the potential is there to sit back and relax later. You won't be doing much relaxing prior to that though.
So what is getpaidtodraw.com and who should buy it?
Put simply, getpaidtodraw.com is an introduction to a career as freelance commercial artist or photographer (or an introduction to online affiliate marketing if you take advantage of some of the bonus features). It presents you with an introduction to drawing and the art industry along with an introduction to various online opportunities for either uploading your art for residual income or for making yourself available to companies for freelance art,design and photography work.
It's best suited to people who already have some artistic or photographic ability but need some direction in finding opportunities to earn money. If you're an experienced artist, already working freelance, you may find useful additional opportunities but you may also find you already are utilizing many of them.
If you can't draw but can take a decent photo then many of the opportunities will be suited to you.
If you're looking for something that will teach you to draw as well then this system will give you some pointers but you won't be serious competition to a professional artist any time soon.
If you've read the sales pitch and highlighted the points about learning how to sell your paintings on ebay for thousands of dollars as an attractive feature you will be extremely disappointed.
How does getpaidtodraw.com work?
Once you have access to the members area you begin by reading the 50 page, 23 chapter, getpaidtodraw ebook. Obviously I'm not going to disclose all the information presented however this is the core component of the getpaidtodraw system so I will make a few comments.
The ebook is most useful as an introduction to all the various opportunities that the getpaidtodraw system puts forward. It does not go into any opportunity in any great detail but as a quick overview it does the job.
The section of the ebook that teaches you how to draw needs to be read in conjunction with the four 'How to draw' videos included in the members area. To be perfectly blunt I found this entire section (which is over one third of the ebook) along with the videos highly inadequate. If this is the standard of drawing that will earn thousands then by all means give it a try. There probably is a market for awkward, child like drawings but you'll have more opportunities if you take the time to learn how to draw properly. There are any number of great how to draw books and free online guides.
If you have any drawing talent whatsoever, after reading the ebook's introduction, skip straight to chapter 13, 'The business' (even the ebook recommends you skip the how to draw sections if you can already draw). Chapter 13 onwards will serve as a useful introduction to all the various opportunities but does not cover any in detail.
For example, the section that talks about ebay gives you a basic overview on how ebay works and how to list your item but does not give any tips at all on how to sell your paintings for thousands of dollars. In fact you'll get more information about how to sell on ebay from the ebay website its self or by reading my own tips for selling your art on ebay than you will from getpaidtodraw.
I'm using the ebay section as an example because I know many artists struggling to get good prices for their art on ebay who might focus on getpaidtodraw's overstated claim. There is no magic formula for selling art on ebay. You must work hard to build a market in order to get the high prices.
The focus of the getpaidtodraw sales message is earning an income from submitting artwork to various web sites however that isn't the focus of the ebook in terms of opportunities. The areas of the art and design industry it covers include a considerable number that sound like regular jobs in this particular field. In other words it's you promoting yourself as a freelance artist to companies whether they be online or not. Noting that it does give you a couple of online marketplaces for finding freelance work.
If you're just starting out the ebook will give you many choices for what direction to take. If you're already working freelance you may not find it as useful but there may be one or two things there that you haven't yet discovered.
Once you've read the ebook and watched the four 'how to draw' videos there are two more videos to watch. One will tell you how to make a web site. The other will tell you how to sign up with clickbank.com, Google Adsense and Google Adwords. You'll need these if you want to get into the affiliate marketing side of earning income online however they have very little to do with getting paid to draw (and more to do with becoming a getpaidtodraw.com affiliate).
Note that there are also four extra bonus videos in the members area, again relating to affiliate marketing and Pay Per Click selling.
Next up is the getpaidtodraw.com database. This is probably the most useful section of the site and includes sites that will pay for your drawings as well as details for many advertising agencies (all USA based). The advantage here is that Jules (or is that Jamie) lists sites that he recommends. One assumes that these are the sites that produced the outstanding income results in his sales pitch, therefore you can get started right away submitting to them.
Whether you will have the same good fortune is another thing entirely. I've looked at the top two sites recommended and I have to say, it is a competitive market where your images will have to stand out against thousands of images. In fact the process is not dissimilar to trying to make your art stand out if you sell paintings on ebay. The difference being that by submitting to these web sites your work can be purchased over and over again - potentially many times in a single day (that's what residual income is all about).
Note that I'm deliberately not mentioning the names of any sites because I don't want to devalue the getpaidtodraw product by giving you the information for free. This review is intended as a guide of what to expect after all.
The final piece of the getpaidtodraw system is access to it's author Jamie. Before writing this review I did contact Jamie to comment on some of my thoughts about his product. He was very prompt in sending his replies - usually by next day.
We didn't get off to a great start as he at first accused me of not reading the ebook (note to anyone with an ebook... if someone purchased your ebook then it's highly likely they will read it first before contacting you. On the other hand if your ebook was free then there is every chance it will have been placed in a folder somewhere for 'later'. I have at least ten or more free ebooks waiting for my attention).
However, once I made it clear that I had read it, he was more forthcoming with responding to my concerns. I won't go over those concerns as most of them I've highlighted above in areas where I think the product is lacking but this is what Jamie had to say regarding customer feedback he's received:
"We here at GPTD receive great member testimonials. Alot of them are very happy to have learned these tactics existed, and love the customer service, because when an artist emails us, I personally help them "calibrate" their presentation. We receive alot of positive testimonials from members, but skepticism from visitors (Who are non-members.)"
Jamie also said this in relation to sales of the getpaidtodraw system:
"From the numbers on the back end, and the customer satisfaction polls at our retailer, the numbers are very good. It is not a top selling product because it is not in a major niche, but customer satisfaction is extremely high. It has to do with the fact that it is not just an ebook, but a pretty good one and has a complete database and videos..."
My purpose in highlighting these two quotes from Jamie is to show that, from his point of view at least, the majority of people buying his product are happy with their purchase. It also demonstrates Jamie's willingness to respond to emails should you have questions.
To finish up, I'll briefly mention some of the bonus materials you receive with your purchase.
Bonus 1: The Profit Arsenal - 7 ebook course. To be honest, I'm not sure if I even received this? More ebooks on affiliate marketing I think? If I did download them, they're probably in a folder somewhere.
Bonus 2: The complete graphics champ ecourse and system. These are a series 12 short videos, available in the members area, teaching you various aspects of using Photoshop (a staple piece of software for digital artists everywhere). From what I understand from Jamie these videos are rotated each month, which gives you reason to come back for more.
Bonus 3: Real Personal Support via Email & Total Guidance. Jamie does encourage you to contact him all through out the members section for advice on your drawings and photos. As I've shown above his response time is pretty good.
SUPER BONUS 4: Exclusive "Machine Gun Marketing Pocket Guide". If you're into Pay Per Click marketing (if you're into affiliate marketing then the answer is 'yes') then this guide will teach you how to get the most from your Google Ad Words campaigns.
To sum up this lengthy review I'm going to give my personal opinion and experience as a customer to date.
I purchased the getpaidtodraw.com system about 3 weeks ago and to date have not made a cent. Not because it doesn't work but because I've been slow off the mark putting it into practice. (I already earn a good proportion of my income from freelance design and ebay so getpaidtodraw is getting no credit for that). My point being, that you're more likely to look and think it's all too hard. I did and I'm familiar with many of the concepts presented.
However, I paid for it so I'm going to persevere.
My interest is in the key selling point of uploading images to web sites for residual income earnings. For the two top sites in the getpaidtodraw database it is not quite as simple as upload your art, then sit back and watch the money roll in. These sites have guidelines and approval processes to contend with. Both require a scanned copy of either a passport or drivers license to verify your identity (if you have an issue with privacy then this isn't for you).
If you're a photographer then jpeg images are fine but if you're an illustrator, vector graphics are more desirable on the two top sites (if you don't know what a vector graphic is then you'll need to get hold of a copy of Adobe Illustrator or software that supports Adobe Illustrator eps format, and learn!). Hence it's much easier to get started if you're a photographer with getpaidtodraw's system.
I have hundreds of sketches I could submit but none are vector graphics and I'm still trying to get hold of software that will save vector graphics in the required Adobe Illustrator 3, eps format.
Some of you that have looked at the claimed income earning potential on the getpaidtodraw.com site will be saying this looks like a get rich quick scheme even though it states right off the bat it's not. I can tell you from my own experience that some of the figures quoted such as $3400 for a logo is not that unusual in the design industry. If you think they sound a lot then you haven't worked as a designer.
Logo's in particular can earn a considerable amount of money simply because they are reproduced across an entire organizations promotional material and will represent that organization for many years. If you were designing a logo for a brand like Coca-Cola would you want to be paid for just the time it took to design the logo with out any compensation for how often that logo was used to help sell a product? What if the logo was used world wide and all you were paid was $200 for your time to design it? Would you charge $200 the next time Coca-Cola asked you to design a logo?
Now we're getting off topic.
To conclude, getpaidtodraw.com is not a get rich quick scheme. It does overstate it's sales pitch, especially with this line "You will not need to work after you upload photos!" My advice: don't quit your day job just yet - better wait and see how much your photos earn first!).
However, if you use the resources and the ebook information as an introduction to further research , with a lot of work, it could lead to a high paying career as a freelance, commercial artist. From my own personal experience of working as a freelance artist/designer, even on my meager hourly rate, when it pays, it pays well. Better than working in a cubical. That's why I do it.
Getpaidtodraw.com is not a scam but it isn't easy money either. How much you earn will depend on how much effort you're prepared to put in. What this is, is a good head start for a one off price with no more to pay.
Footnote: Since writing this article Jamie has clarified that Jules Camber and himself are two separate people. Jamie is the owner and operator of the web site and runs the marketing. Jules Camber designed the product. Jamie has also worked on parts of the members section, but the main system was put together by Jules. Labels: art, design, money
Flat Light - I wish I'd thought of that!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
 Flat Light (pictured right), an artwork/design by Finn Magee, is one of those, oh so simple design ideas that you look at and think why didn't I think of that?
Essentially it's a picture of a desk lamp that is wired up so it lights up as if it was a real desk lamp. The designer also has a version of this concept featuring a digital clock with the possibility that both versions may become available as a consumer item. Currently Flat Light is in development with U.S. company Artemide.
I can't tell you much more about this but if you head over to my source We Make Money Not Art there is an interview with the designer and you can see the digital clock version.Labels: art, design, ideas
Gonna Get my Picture on the Cover of Rolling Stone.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
 Okay, so it's not Rolling Stone Magazine and it's not really Wired Magazine either but one can dream can't they?
Wired Magazine is to the IT industry what Rolling Stone Magazine is to the music industry. i.e. Wired is the 'cool' technology magazine that is as famous for its page design and overall look as it is for its in depth articles. If you make the cover of Wired then there's a good chance some of its coolness may reflect kindly on you.
Xerox is running a promotion where you too can dream about being on the cover of Wired with their Wired Magazine Cover Creator. Thanks to Nalts at Will Video for Food for posting about this little bit of fun.Labels: computers, design, people, writing
3D Desktop Printers.
Friday, July 13, 2007
I'd heard of the concept of a 3D printer but I never knew they'd become a reality. You may say, "Oh that's old news, they've been around since..." well I don't know when since I've just discovered them.
For the uninitiated a 3D printer works like your average inkjet printer except it sprays microscopic bits of melted plastic in a process that gradually builds a solid, hold in your hand 3D object. That's right not an image on paper of a 3D object but the actual object 'printed' in 3 dimensional form.
The SolidScape T66 3D printer, sits on your desktop and will set you back about US$30,000. Presently it's used for printing designed 3D objects, such as jewelry, from CAD software but the future potential is mind blowing.
Imagine when the price of these things comes right down so that every home could afford one. Imagine shopping in a virtual toy store and then 'printing' out your purchases as physical 3D toys. Cool or what?
Can't wait for the next generation of 3D printers when you'll be able to 'print' out ready to eat, piping hot pizza!Labels: computers, design, toys
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