February 2022 Blogging Course: Make the Leap

Make the Leap is a guided and interactive course for beginner and experienced bloggers

Fun fact: you probably already knew that “blog” is short for “weblog,” but did you know that the emphasis was on the “we”?

We Blog. Let’s make it happen with our Community Intensive Blogging Spark Program in February 2022. $400 CDN *

I believe that with the vital ingredients of confidence, courage and curiosity, you can build a blog that takes you places, a blog that’s true to the raw and unpolished roots of blogging, and one that makes your life better. 

For many would-be writers, the greatest obstacle to blogging success is perfectionism, shame, and an undervaluing of one’s own voice and ideas—all of which are born from cultural expectations that conspire to keep women small and quiet, struggling to fit our lives and stories into impossibly limited containers that were never designed to hold the reality of our lives. 

So let’s bust out of those tiny boxes and build our own containers—with the support of a community of other writers, because connection has always been essential to what blogging is all about.

Who am I?

I’m Kerry Clare, and I provide online courses and consultation to bloggers (aspiring and otherwise), artists, writers, and entrepreneurs who are seeking direction in creating fun and fulfilling blogs that don’t just fit their lives, but even make life richer.

Because blogging is all about blazing a trail and breaking the rules, my job is to help you resist the tiny/tidy boxes and find your own way toward a sustainable blog that not only showcases your business or creative work, but where you can find the confidence to use your voice and explore new ideas while challenging the toxic tone of online discourse with nuance, thoughtfulness and curiosity (i.e. your own small corner of the internet is going to make the world a better place). 

Follow me on Instagram/ Facebook/ Twitter

Twenty Years of Blogging Experience

I have twenty years experience as a blogger, and have blogging about books and reading since 2007 at my popular literary blog, Pickle Me This.

From 2011-2015, I taught a blogging course at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, and I also teach blogging workshops at literary festivals and training sessions throughout Ontario. And now with this new online program, I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned from nearly twenty years of blogging and from my experience as a blogging instructor to help you create the blog you’ve been dreaming of by empowering you to find and follow your own voice, to pursue your own curious avenues. 

This way you don’t get caught up in those small and limited cookie-cutter templates of what a blog should be, or the way a person ought to exist on the internet, and can build an online space instead that is your own unique creation, as original and wonder-full as you are. 

Getting Started With Make the Leap

What you need to know:

Cost: $400.00 CDN

*Three spaces will be available for $200.00 for students who are already enrolled in the Find Your Blogging Spark Program

You can build a blog that takes you places, a blog that really fits your life and makes it richer. 

Let’s work together to a better world online—and even beyond it. 

Register now!

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What students are saying about my blogging courses: 

“Check out the Blog School offerings. Kerry Clare is a multi talent wonder. Without the weekly deadlines and the incredibly helpful feedback and guidance, I would have continued to only think about fleshing out my web site with a blog. It seemed unwieldy. Now it seems simple. Miraculously, I’ve overcome my fear of technology and figuring out Divi Builder and WordPress.” —Christy Ann Conlin

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“Kerry is a phenomenal instructor who possess a genuine warmth and offers ongoing encouragement. After reading each student’s blog post, she provides a thorough and thoughtful response to motivate and inspire improvements – the little tweaks and finesses to make a blog post “pop”! I found Kerry’s powerful questions most relevant. She helped me work through who my audience is and help me dig deeper to find the strongest voice. I appreciated how, at times, we turned a couple blog posts upside down and in other situations were able to hone in on a single message when my blog posts were too expansive.

In the February 2020 online course, students were of all ages, stages of life and possessed varied interests. This allowed the reading process to be an enjoyable experience. Commenting on the work of others was as much fun as crafting my individual posts.

For anyone seeking to learn from scratch or develop a regular habit of writing blogs, I highly recommend working with Kerry.” —Lisa Bradburn
https://medium.com/@lisabradburnpsychotherapy

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“This was a great course and I gained a lot. Kerry’s feedback and the encouragement from others in the group was so helpful, as were the suggestions and information in the modules Kerry sent us. I would encourage any blogger, new or experienced, to sign up for Kerry’s next course.”

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“Thank you so, so much for this course and all of your care and feeding of the group. It has been a tremendous boost during a relentless month.”

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“I signed up for this course on a whim, after putting off the creation of my blog for months. I thought at the very least, it would force me to buy a domain name and create the website, but I had no idea just how deep it would inspire me to go in my own writing and self-discovery. After just one month my blog is up and running and exactly what I want it to be!” —Lauren DeRoller Derollercoaster.com 

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“I’m sad the workshop is ending. It’s been such an unexpected learning experience. I knew it would be great but it was way beyond what I could have imagined.”

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“If you want to start a blog of your own, or if you’re floundering with your writing, I highly recommend this class!!!  The instructor is pure gold!”

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“I really enjoyed how Kerry tied the art of blogging to other art forms—literature, visual art, etc—and encouraged us to see blogging as part of a larger context. Was engaging and thought-provoking.”

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“This course was exactly what I needed to get going with my blog.”

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“A worthwhile course! I would recommend it to those who want to learn about blogging and all it encompasses.”

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“Excellent! Very enjoyable learning experience.”

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“I think Kerry did an excellent job of encouraging our individual voices and maintaining a respectful and productive learning environment. Loved the class—thanks, Kerry!”

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“I just wanted to pass along how much your workshop and talking with you meant to me. You gave me comfort in so much of what you said…. not being perfect, that your blog can be elastic (not having to narrow down to a ‘niche’), and that as long as you are doing it for joy you will continue…and hone your skills.” —Emily Prout, Arrow It Forward

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“I was looking for a revised definition of blogging that embraced self-expression and authenticity, something that jived with the kernel of an idea that’s been unfolding in my mind for a few months now. Happily, that’s exactly what I got.” –Aisha Ashraf, Member of the Writers Community of Durham Region

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“Thanks again for coming out on Saturday. It was a great session, and I am sure that the team learned a lot from it. I look forward to our blog becoming more “artful”.” -University of Toronto Student Life

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“Seriously, I heard such good things about your workshop, the accolades are still rolling in.” —Susan Scott, The Wild Writers Festival  

Do you already have a blog but want a new approach to it that feels fresh and exciting? Then MAKE THE LEAP is for you!

And if you’re brand new to blogging, the course is a great place to get your start.

Prerequisites:

Curiosity, a sense of fun and wonder, a desire to learn and explore. Oh, and you need a blog. (Don’t have a blog yet? Sign up for a free one at WordPress or Blogger.)

Course Outline:

What’s a blog? What are blogs like? And why a blog at all? 

The details of starting a blog, and finding your focus

More on finding a focus and what to write about

More thinking of what to write about, finding time to write

Finding an audience. “Why would anyone care what I have to say, anyway?”

Stop polishing and publish that post! And how blogging taught me more than Brene Brown ever did

In praise of slow blogging, immediacy, and why monetize means compromise 

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

400.00/ Register for MAKE THE LEAP

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