Writer, TV Producer/Director, Digital Creator.
(Discovery Channel, HGTV, The CBC, Elle Canada, The Toronto Star, and US Weekly.)
Although I'm an award-winning journalist who has shot stories around the world, nothing gives me more joy than taking photos in my local stomping ground, βThe Rougeβ and turning them into illustrative art. I love sharing stories and images with my community along with free and paid resources to help others break the chains of the 9-to-5 hamster wheel to achieve a life they love.
Check out my previous posts but keep in mind that only subscribers get access to my occasional gifts which aren't posted below - so sign up to receive my daily newsletter!
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Still bonus hunting? my thoughts on BC Stack + read Dan's message to me...
Published 13 days agoΒ β’Β 19 min read
β Hi Reader, β So the countdown is on for BC Stack which is ending in a few hours. β I'll be honest. The zillion posts about BC Stack in my inbox over the last week has been kinda wild. Do I really need more than one email within a couple hours from the same person telling me today is the last day? I've already got more than three emails from just one person today. Wow. π€£ β Multiply that by all the jockeying to add bonus upon bonus in the hopes of luring you into their web to make a sale? Well, it's kinda icky if you ask me. β That's the ugly side of BC Stack. And really, when there's people offering CrAzEeeeeee bonuses worth up to a thousand dollars? π β Well, yes, that's a little crazy. I agree. But not for the reasons they're stating. β It's crazy to think that offering a bunch of coloring packs or PLR that will literally sit on your hard drive is of value. Of course, if these products aren't like any of the other PLR you may have accumulated over the years - and you'll actually use it - then it's a wise choice. As long as you use it.β β Even if someone were to offer you 10,000 worth of bonuses, is it worth it if you're not going to use it or take action? β There's $7k worth of value in the 65 courses inside BC Stack that ends after today, but if there aren't a couple that light you up and get you excited? There's no value in that and I wouldn't recommend buying it. β Of course, if there's a bonus so amazing it's worth it just for that? Go for it. And I've heard of people buying more than one copy of BC Stack just to get access to a few contributor's bonuses. β So if the bonus is more interesting than the bundle, that's fair. β A few years ago, I bought BC Stack from one contributor - and I went to the many workshops they offered as a bonus. The workshops were useful, but I didn't do anything with that information though. I just wasted four weekends accumulating info I never did anything with. π€£ β So remember - while you bundle shop (because let's face it, most people are still waiting to decide) if you're tempted by the sheer amount offered in a bonus - ask yourself if this is something you need right now, something you'll actually use - but will it help you take action and move your business forward? β That's the key right there. β If you do have an audience and want to share, it's not too late to sign up as an affiliate as 80% of sales come on the last day. You might not think it's worth it, but even if you know one person who could benefit from this bundle, friends, family members, it might be worth spreading the word.
And if you're worried about trying to compete with other people promoting BC Stack. Don't.
Last year Dan told me the following: ββ "Don't worry about other people's bonuses. There are so many bonuses out there I don't care about at all. $400 in XXXXXX is not useful to me for instance. β You can compete for sure. Bigger is not always better."β β Remember that. Bigger is not always better. β That said, if you're still not sure, cruise on over to the page and check out the content to see everything you'll get. β And if you've decided you're going to be picking up the bundle, I wouldn't wait until the absolute bitter end to buy. There's a lot of people with the same idea so the site could go down or something could glitch.
β¨ BONUS 1: If you buy BC Stack using my link, I'll give you a $49 coupon to use in my shop - making your bundle free. I've added a couple of things but new additions (including trainings and courses) coming soon!
β¨β¨ BONUS 2: I'm also offering a half day of Voxer. (2 hours - Valued at $150) β β¨β¨β¨ BONUS 3: I'm also going to offer two follow up email sessions instead of one - so that's an incredible added bonus in and of itself as you'll be able to get feedback and advice on anything you need eyes on after our session! (If you prefer to just do straight email coaching instead of Voxer, I'll bump up the email sessions to 4 instead of 2.) β β¨β¨β¨β¨ BONUS 4: As an added bonus, I'm going to give you access to my brand new course Pages Palooza. This course teaches you how to create simple, stunning sales pages and tripwires. No website, no hosting, and absolutely no WordPress required. Perfect for non-techy creators who want fast, beautiful results without the overwhelm.
I built the sales page for it using an entirely free tool. It was easy and if you're not tech savvy like me, then you'll want to learn how to do this quick and simple - and best of all - FREE. β Also, if I do get that bump offer up and you've purchased BC Stack through me (this year or last) don't add this to the cart as I'll be giving you access when it's ready.
β¨β¨β¨β¨ BONUS 5: I offered this as a time sensitive bonus, but since I was having deliverability issues, I took the time limit off and doubled the coupon value in my shop to $100! β If you bought from me last year, I sent you an email but if you didn't receive it, please send me a reply.
β
NEW: SALE ON COURSE CREATION
Christina has a flash sale on Minimum Lovable Courses where she shares her exact step-by-step course creation process with you.
If you've been thinking of creating a course (or want to improve your production setup), Christina Petersonβs Minimum Lovable Courses is packed with strategies, templates and shortcuts to help you launch fast and build courses students love! β Right now, itβs just $97 with the code FLASHSALELOVABLE. (Save $100!) β Best of all, sheβs also including a BONUS Q&A day and a promo of your course to her full list of 7500 subscribers!
β¨BONUS - If you purchase Christina's course, get $50 in Lara Loot to use in my shop.
β βENDS TOMORROW: WORK SMARTERβ β My friend Nadia over at Miss Fancyplans has a brand new course available for pre-order called PLR Workflow Studio which is only on sale for two more days. β This course teaches you to create customized workflows tailored to fit YOUR NEEDS which will help to create consistent success with PLR, from each stage. Whether you create PLR and sell it, or are a PLR customer who likes to customize, everything is laid out with step by step instructions. β You'll get tested workflow templates that take your processes out of your brain to save time and stress.
Right now, save $100 and grab this for $27 (reg. $127) with coupon code WORKFLOW until 8 June. The course will be completed by June 21st.
β¨BONUS - If you purchase Nadia's brand new course, get $20 back in Lara Loot.
β
NEW: SUMO DAY IS BACK
Starting tomorrow, June 9th Sumo Day, AppSumoβs biggest sale of the season, is back and there's some amazing lifetime tools to be had. Plus they're also offering an extra 10% off all of their Sumo Day deals. β This is AppSumo's biggest sale where they bring back crowd favorite tools, launch brand new products, and offer a site-wide discount for the entire event.
And even better, this Sumo Day, they're giving five lucky winners lifetime access to one of these powerhouse tools: ChatGPT Plus, Zapier, YouTube Premium, Gamma, or Beehiiv! β I've included all the ones that I think are worth a look below, but found a few others that I forgot to add last time: β β’ BreezeDoc - A super affordable alternative to Docusign, BreezeDoc is the simplest solution for contractors, freelancers, and small businesses to execute documents quickly and easily.
β’ PhotoGPT AI - Create realistic, studio-quality AI headshots from selfiesβno expensive photoshoots required. β Be sure you take a look at SheetAny! This is for anyone fed up with high fees on Shopify/Etsy or don't know how to use Wordpress. This one is a winner! β This is very much the same type of software that the tool I've been using since last Fall (Spreadsimple) runs on. However, that platform has been off Appsumo for quite some time now, so you can only pay monthly. SheetAny is a one-time lifetime price starting at $39! And the templates look so much more versatile than Spreadsimple! β Basically, if you have software like Thrivecart, you know you can't easily showcase all your products in one place. This gives you the option to do that as you can see on my Shop page. You can also use this software to build affiliate pages, a course hub - anything you can think of! β I bought this lightning fast and am still playing with it, so I urge you to check it out and do the same. β βCheck out Sheetany here. β There's also another amazing deal on Appsumo right now called Encharge which gives you lifetime access to an email service provider that links with Thrivecart (see you later Zapier!) which is only available for a couple more days. β This is one of those "unicorn deals" that haunts people when they realized they missed it, so grab this one while you can because there's lots of buzz on this one.
There's three tiers you can choose from. My recommendation? If you think you'll be growing your list in the next couple of years, get the highest tier you can afford. You can always downgrade (or refund after you've tried it.) β βCheck out Encharge here.
Here are some others I highly recommend which are time tested and available during the sale! β β’ TidyCal - This is an incredible way to manage your calendar easily with integrations, custom email reminders, auto-created meeting URLs, and more. You can create both free and paid booking options with custom booking pages that sync to your calendar.
β’ Switchy - If you don't want to pay monthly fees for Pretty Links, make sure you grab Switchy for the one-time price of only $39! Shorten, customize, and track your links to boost social media engagement, plus create advanced bio links for social media.
β’ FlipBooklets: Convert your PDFs into beautiful PDF FlipBooks in seconds -- simply upload & publish.
β’ Headway - This is a very cool app that offers thousands of actionable insights and tips. It gives you a summary of 15-minute reads of the best books and ideas in a nutshell based on your goals & needs to solve your specific goals. It will also make sure you're always armed with the best book ideas, bite-sized learning for fun and easy growth, and essential knowledge to crush your goals. β Over β12 million usersβ are currently using Headway and receive the following:
Nonfiction bestsellers summarized in 15-minute reads
Collections of reads to solve your specific goals
Thousands of actionable insights and tips
Audio versions of summaries from professional voice actors
This promotion will only be available from June 8th until June 12th at 4 pm CST or June 12th at 12 pm CST if you're a Plus member. β My tip? If you like the way something sounds and there's a super high taco rating, grab it! All their deals are covered by a 60 day money back guarantee, so scoop up everything you want now - try for 2 months and if it doesn't work for you, you can easily return. No questions asked. β Just make sure you put a reminder in your calendar as 60 days sneaks up fast!
NEW: A BOOK LOVER'S DREAMβ β Sue is back with the Ultimate Booklovers Design Bundle. This pack is bursting with beautiful, editable Canva + PowerPoint templates for:
Book club planner Reading planner Planner Covers 50 Book Lover Questions 30 Day Bookstagram Content Plan #hashtag lists Bookish Ice-Breaker Games: Would You Rather Bookish Bingo Ready-to-use Bookstagram mockups and backgrounds PLUS 38 gorgeous watercolor PNGs β Right now, get it for $20 (save $7) until June 10th @11.59 pm PST
β¨BONUS - If you purchase Sue's bundle, get $10 back in Lara Loot.
β
NEW: LEARN HOW TO CREATE FREE PATTERNSβ β If you've been wanting to learn how to create your own seamless patterns, Carrie Bach has a new course out called Seamless Patterns in Photopea. β This new course walks you step-by-step through creating six different types of patterns (plus variations) in Photopea, a FREE Photoshop alternative.
You'll learn to create:
Striped Patterns
Polka Dot Patterns
Checkerboard Patterns
Gingham Patterns
Chevron Patterns
Plaid Patterns - including one that really looks like fabric!
And if you're feeling a bit intimidated by that plaid pattern above, Carrie has made sure you'll be building your skills step-by-step, leveling up with each new pattern type until even the plaid isn't really all that complicated.
This course will regularly be $27, but you can get it through June 15th for just $10.
NEW: CREATE MAGICAL MILESTONESβ β Jan Small is back with the Baby Milestone Card Design Kit. β Baby milestone cards are popular evergreen sellers on Etsy. Parents and grandparent love them and they make great baby shower gifts too.
The cards sell well as printed or POD products as well as digital downloads.
The Baby Milestone Card design kit includes:
A prompt generator to create cute numbered images (we carried out lots of fun experiments to get this one right!)
Another prompt generator to create beautiful textured baby paper for backgrounds
Canva templates to quickly create your cards
A ready-made set of 15 milestone cards - 1 week to 1 year
Full instructions for getting the best results including how to make your own matching sets
The prompt generators run on the free Google sheets app and the prompts work for any AI image generator including the free ones.
You can easily create your prompts using drop downs from the data input sheet and add your own ideas or use any of the included suggestions for great results.
Use the images commercially β even in templates, PLR, or MRR products (but note that the generator tool and its data are for personal use only)
Just $12.95 during launch (regular price $27) (no coupon code required)
β¨ BONUS - If you purchase Jan's kit or her bump/upsells, get 40% back in Lara Loot to spend with no expiry.
β
ENDS SOON: UNIQUE NICHEβ β Mitzy's has a brand new course out called Cost-of-Living Crisis Printables which has some super fun, unique ideas which are also highly relevant to summer, for example, yard sale printables!
Starting today, this brand new training course with over-the-shoulder videos shows the easiest way to create a full solution kit of printable products and right now, you can grab it for $29. β The sale runs until June 9th at 11.59pm Eastern. After that the price will rise to $87.
β¨BONUS - If you purchase Mitzy's brand new course or any of her upsells, get 40% back of your purchase in Lara Loot. I've added a few new things to the shop with more to come soon. You can also save your bonuses for a future purchase as they do not expire.β β βImportant: When checking out, make sure you see my name "laramai" at the bottom of the checkout page where it says powered by Warrior Plus when you hover over the little person icon. For this purchase, please send me your receipt.
β
β βENDS MONDAY: MOCK TIL YOU DROPβ β If youβve ever scrambled to throw together graphics during a big sale, Mary Jo has got your back! β βMockup Mania includes 150 gorgeous Canva mockups (50 square, 50 Instagram, 50 Pinterest) designed specifically for digital product sellers. β Theyβre bright, bold, and ready to help you promote:
Flash sales
Birthday or shop anniversary promos
Black Friday + Cyber Monday
Clearance events
Seasonal offers
And so much more!
Right now get it for launch Price: $14 (Reg. $37) until Monday, June 9th. No coupon needed.
β¨ BONUS: Buy Mary Jo's mockups and get $10 back in Lara Loot.
β
NEW: JUNE DROPSβ β And while you're there, Mary Jo has just released her brand new drops for June in her Template Supply Club. β Hereβs whatβs included:
β Summer Balance & Boundaries Workbook Templateβ β Work-Life Balance Planner Templateβ β 31 Days of Instagram Posts (Canva & Google Doc)β β Square Balance & Boundaries Mockups
β ANDβ¦ when someone signs up this month, theyβll also get bonus access to Mayβs Summer Success content, including the Summertime Planner, Journal, Vacation Planner, Summer Sale Mockups, and Bonus Listing Power Pack! β Everything is editable in Canvaβperfect for digital product sellers, coaches, bloggers, and creators. β And good news! In addition to monthly ($12) or 3 months ($30), MaryJo has just added a yearly option for $90 a year. That's a savings of 4 months!
β¨ BONUS: Choose any membership option and get a one-time bonus of 50% of your purchase back in Lara Loot.
β
JOURNAL TO STRENGTHβ β My dear friend Γ sa from SkΓΆldmΓΆ AB has just released a brand new product called The Resilience Bundle. Perfect for people who are tired of pushing themselves and want to rebuild gently, from within. β π§ Whatβs included:
7-Day Resilience Challengeβ Gentle daily prompts to reset emotional foundations
Resilience Workbookβ Deep-dive writing exercises for hard seasons
β¨BONUS - If you purchase Asa's bundle, get 40% back of your purchase in Lara Loot. For this purchase, please send me your receipt.
β
JOURNAL IN JUNE CHALLENGE
Angela Wills is hosting a challenge for the month of June which is all about self-discovery, creativity, and clarity. β βJournal All June is a 30-day journaling challenge that helps people explore their thoughts, find clarity, and unlock creativity.
This challenge is all about taking a few minutes every day to reflect and write β no fancy rules, no pressure, just the magic of daily journaling.
β¨ Hereβs what makes it special:
Daily prompts and inspiration to keep everyone going
A supportive community to share reflections and wins
Personal growth and insights waiting to be discovered!
It's $10 to join the challenge. You'll post a photo or screenshot of your journal each day (no personal info need to be shared).
With daily journaling prompts and a supportive community, youβll uncover new insights and create a consistent writing habit that brings calm and focus to your day.
AMAZING DEAL! $7 SOULFUL TRIALβ β Ruth Poundwhite is running a $7 trial on her Soulful Sales Society membership which includes her brand new upcoming Get It Done Week!
If writing sales emails makes you want to crawl under a blanket instead of hit βsend,β for the price of a (not so) fancy coffee, you can join Ruthβs membership for a full month, and get access to the next live challenge, AI-Powered Sales Emails.
Perfect for introverted or low-energy entrepreneurs who want to sell with more ease, using AI as a strategic shortcut that still feels like you.
In just 30 minutes a day, youβll train ChatGPT as your strategic sales partner, to understand your voice and co-create a soulful sales asset you can use again and again.
By the end of the week, youβll have:
βοΈ Easy and authentic sales emails written in your voice βοΈ A reusable ChatGPT prompt flow (or customGPT) for now & future βοΈ Confidence using AI as a co-creator, NOT a cold, pushy robot βοΈ A way to write less while still sounding more like you β βοΈ Bonus: Your offer promoted to Ruthβs full list if you finish! (HUGE!) β I've been a founding member for a couple of years now and highly recommend it for shy introverts that need help shifting their mindset.
β¨ BONUS - If you sign up for Ruth's Soulful Sales Society Membership, you'll immediately receive my Stars & Moon Paper Pack with commercial rights which can be found via your Thrivecart dashboard. If you already have this paper pack, you can choose another one from my shop. β If you know you love Ruth and want to grab the annual, I'll gift you two full Day of Voxers.
β
FAIRY FUN! β βKatherine's is back with her newest kit in her Limitless Design Kits Monthly Membership β This month, it's the Fairytale Design Kit! β Step into a world of wonder with this new Fairytale Design Kit! This kit is a whimsical collection of enchanting elements, designed to bring the charm and mystery of a fairytale adventure to life. Create your own happily-ever-after with these classic children's storybook motifs. Every element has been designed to make your projects as enchanting and timeless as the stories themselves! β With all the latest concerns over copyright, usage rights, and outsourcing art from questionable sources, a few members have asked if she makes the graphics in her kits. The answer is YES, she personally illustrates/draws/paints the graphics. β All of her personal hand-drawn or painted illustrations and high-resolution elements can be used to create PLR, digital products, physical products, and TEMPLATES (to name a few) which is MUCH MORE than any typical commercial use license.
Along with the individual elements, she's also included a few different types of graphics to help you create scenes. β These design kits are only available for one month inside the membership so you have until the 14th to pick these up. Katherine will then be offering them for sale at the current regular price of $97. β You'll automatically receive $482 worth of bonuses that come with MRR rights, meaning you can turn these kits around and not only sell them commercially, but as PLR without restrictions! β MRR or master resell rights means you can sell these items commercially to others who can also sell them commercially. Normally, with PLR, you can sell them to others for personal use only. β This means you can use these products to create your very own PLR. It's also perfect if you've been wanting to get into a bundle but don't have a creative bone in your body and aren't sure what you would be able to offer with PLR rights - now you'll be able to thanks to Katherine's gorgeous resources. β Best of all, you can use these elements without fear of infringing on someone's license, which is much more generous than a standard commercial use license, and use them for to create PLR digital products, physical products, and templates (to name a few)
- and yes, even stickers!
Check out everything you get on the sales page. This kit will be available at the discounted price of $27 until May 14th.
β¨BONUS - If you purchase Katherine's kit, I'll give you give you 50% of your purchase back in Lara Loot which you can use on my shop page with no expiry.
β
β
β
β βThings I'm crushing hard on this week:
π MY WEEKβ Summer came early this week. It's been sweltering hot and I went on my first walk volunteering with my seniors! It feels good to be back and get in tune with nature once more. Since you've read this far, you deserve a treat! Get my Summer Boats pack for only $5. (Reg $27!) This deal is good until my next newsletter comes out so be quick!
π COURSE CREATION - SHHHH!β I'm in creation mode for a brand new course I'm working on as a secret bonus to anyone who buys BC Stack through my link. If you're reading this, congrats! π€£ I used to hate the way I sounded in videos but since I started using Descript to edit all those filler words, I'm loving the final product. βCheck out Descript hereβ β β
π€ΉββοΈ GET MY COACHING DEAL!β For the first time since 2022, I've opened up 1:1 sessions again. This time, I'm offering it via Voxer and I'm offering it for 50% off for a limited time. I've also added a second half day option! βSpark your creativity hereβ β
π LAST DAY! BC STACKβ The coolest bundle that only drops once a year is back for a short time. And this year the focus of the bundle is all about scale. There's 65 amazing products + plus my course - and a heap of awesome bonuses from me! βScale your biz with BC Stackβ
MY FAVE AI TOOLβ Sure, ChatGPT might be everyone's go-to tool, but I've been having a ton of fun with Merlin. This gives you access to exclusive models such as OpenAI o3, GPT40, Claude 3.7 Sonnet - AND advanced image generation. Plus you also get unlimited access to their Chrome Extension feature. βCheck out Merlin hereβ β β
π₯³ My AFFILIATE PAGE IS LIVE!!! β I finally created a page for my favorite life and biz tools. I'll be adding descriptions and bonuses soon as well as a" current offer" section but I'm so happy to have finally created my offers resource page! Check it out here. And if you're interested in creating a page like this, make sure you check out the tool I used here.
*TC Bonus: If you purchase Thrivecart using my link, receive $200 back in Lara Loot. π» Other purchases made through my links qualify for bonuses! βDrop me a lineβ for more info.
β
β My name is Lara and I'm the owner of Tales From the Rouge - inspired by a magical enclave in the Rouge Valley in the east end of Toronto, Canada. I'm a writer/television producer and a wife and mom who loves photography, nature, and my ever-expanding collection of antique typewriters. I'm inspired by nature on a daily basis and draw inspiration from my surroundings which trickles down to my creations. β You are receiving this newsletter after signing up for one of my paper packs in a free or paid bundle or giveaway. I hope you'll stay and enjoy my newsletter containing useful health and wellness tips, fun stories along with awesome promos and gifts! However, if you donβt want to stick around, just hit that unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. I do hope you hang out for a bit to see what the fuss is all about! β Please be aware that if you unsubscribe from this email you will no longer receive updates on bonuses, courses, or waitlists that you might have signed up for. Please use caution when unsubscribing.β β βDisclaimer:
I often recommend products and services that I use or that have been recommended to me by people I trust. In many cases these recommendations are accompanied by an affiliate link, which provides me with a referral commission if you click through and make a purchase.
The information presented here is for educational purposes only. Before taking any action that may affect your health, finances, or well-being, please check with your own doctor, health-care provider, financial and business advisers. Always do your own due diligence.
Lara Champion
Tales From the Rouge
Writer, TV Producer/Director, Digital Creator.
(Discovery Channel, HGTV, The CBC, Elle Canada, The Toronto Star, and US Weekly.)
Although I'm an award-winning journalist who has shot stories around the world, nothing gives me more joy than taking photos in my local stomping ground, βThe Rougeβ and turning them into illustrative art. I love sharing stories and images with my community along with free and paid resources to help others break the chains of the 9-to-5 hamster wheel to achieve a life they love.
Check out my previous posts but keep in mind that only subscribers get access to my occasional gifts which aren't posted below - so sign up to receive my daily newsletter!
Hi Reader,I hope you're having a lovely Sunday! With my brain fog and being easily distracted, I tend to forget a LOT of things but today, this really took the cake.Today is Father's Day and I only realized at 3 pm after sitting in my office the whole morning doing work (well, trying to anyway.) π€£ My husband has been puttering around, doing things around the house, watching the baseball game, while I'm working on my newsletter and my son is in his room, door shut, playing video games.Happy...
Hi Reader,Thanks to everyone who wrote me and let me know they're actually receiving my email.I'm still stumped as to why my friend never got my email and I'm wondering how it got lost in the ether completely.I did notice a post in Liz Wilcox's group where her emails were going into her subscribers spam inboxes so I don't think it's just me that is having the issue - especially since Liz is the unofficial queen of email.The results of my poll were interesting too. 40% said they would happily...
Hi Reader,I wrote a pretty funny story on Sunday about a wedding I went to on the weekend. The thing is, one of my readers (now a dear friend) wrote me to ask me if I could add something to my newsletter. The thing was...I already had. She didn't get my email that day and she looked in all her folders.I have been having a lot of issues lately so if you ARE getting my emails, could you just hit reply and let me know you received it? Just make sure you erase all the contents in the email first...