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How Zealous Art Pivoted To An Online Art School

Jul 6, 2022

When BC was put in lockdown march 2020 Freda Lombard sat and watched the news in her Surrey home and wept. "My husband told me"you must paint'" she shares. "So I painted and was thinking, how many people would must paint, too. ."

Jump ahead:

Lombard hadn't always been a painter; when she moved into Canada after a stint in South Africa in 2009, her husband gifted her her first easel. In the first instant, she was in love with the ways that painting could help her unwind, relax and express her creativity.

Her friends began inviting her to come over and paint with her and soon realized she had a knack for instructing art. After three months of acquiring an easel was organizing regular "paint night" classes at local cafes, restaurants, shops, and even schools. Soon, she opened her own studio, and in her first year of teaching art she generated $100k in sales.

"People wanted to know where did you study Fine arts and business? The truth is, I don't have a fine arts or business degree or business degree, and I don't have any clue what I'm doing. However, when I think about the way that art positively impacts people, I know this is all good enough. ."

After covid-19 stopped her in-person classes, she realized she had to pivot her business to an online model. Although this seemed like an intimidating process initially however, she was optimistic about the idea that teaching online will allow her to connect with greater audiences and help them cope by using the power of the arts.

"I believed that if I could make these classes available to people online, it could help them during the pandemic."

The company now has three offerings under the brand Zealous Art that include a membership program, individual courses, as well as course bundles. This is how she came up with the idea:

Pivoting to an online art school

The way she teaches is about enjoyment and not about fine art. "If you want something that's fine art then I'm not the one for you," she says. "I make an effort not to speak too long about the rules for painting, because I like to make art as I go along. I wish people could enjoy themselves and not get stressed or intimidated by art talk and fancy terminology ."

The company she chose to use was her online course host for Zealous Art since it's a local Vancouver company. "It's easy to use, and I was provided with a step-by-step guide I printed which made it easier for me to complete the course," explains Lombard.

The creation of the "Netflix of paint night"

The first thing she did to promote her art studio online was to offer in-person classes through Facebook multiple days per week for no cost. "People would like to give me cash for my classes, but I just believed that people required to be able to maintain their mental well-being. I was looking to help others," she shares.

In her classes, she'd lead people through a painting from start to end. Inspiring by the speed at which the live classes gained popularity and she chose to launch an online membership service to offer her students the chance to participate in her painting.

"I had 200 members join in a matter of hours, as they wanted to take more classes," she tells us.

She describes her membership program as the "Netflix of paint nights." Students are given the chance to choose and choose between a library of 120 classes and three new classes added every month.

"People enjoy the membership, and the ease to access. This is a place that everyone can use to access and purchase what they need ."

For those who aren't in a position to commit to the membership her website also has individual courses and course bundles. In addition, she frequently promotes special offers; on Easter, she offered 20 recorded Facebook live streams for just $20- and sold over 220. "That was a great small boost in my income," explains _____.

Utilizing live classes to serve as a lead-generation tool

Lombard discusses her live seminars as her main attractor -- and also how she's built her audience.

She also promotes the online Zealous Art classes by creating a Facebook page for each of them. In the weeks leading up to the class, participants are notified when their acquaintances sign up and they get reminders about the date of the event. "That's how my audience grows," she says.

  She doesn't charge for her live workshops because her mission is to make painting accessible. In addition, she is a fan of engaging with others, and her live classes give her the chance to sell her digital products.

Engaging in conversation through Facebook communities. Facebook community

The live classes also give her students the chance to become part of their Zealous Art Facebook group - that has grown from just 1,000 to 15,000 users over the course of the year. "The most significant growth occurred in November 2021. I'm not sure how I could have done it differently," she laughs.

On her Facebook page, students share their paintings as well as interact, and ask questions. It's also where she invites members to sign up to her email list to be notified about live classes, new courses, as well as updates.

Inquiring her viewers: What would you have to spend?

Before she launched her membership program, she asked her Zealous Art Facebook group audience the price they'd be willing to pay for membership. It was done via a poll, and learned that students would be willing to pay anywhere between 10 and $20. They settled for $19 per month for the membership, and $12 for individual classes, which she also sells in bundles that range between $15 - $49.

Her membership generates about $4-5k a month, but some months she'll earn $15k in the event she releases a different bundle of classes.

The plan is to relaunch her membership this July and will increase in price. Her goal is to make an additional $20,000 of sales in the month. The new membership will have more tips and tricks, and she will show her students how they can reuse their artwork into cards, art books gift ideas, or even murals.

"It'll still be like the paint night Netflix videos, however I'd like to include additional promotional material that will give it an added impact."

In order to process payment transactions She uses Payments an option that allows users to take payments and manage payouts, orders and refunds right from the dashboard. On her checkout pages, she uses Order Bumps to encourage upselling for her other digital goods.

Simple and simple

When she films her classes in painting She keeps it minimal as is possible. she uses her iPhone, iPad, tripod and ring lights for recording these classes. "I don't have any special audio equipment or speakers," she says. "I make use of very basic instruments ."

Generally, she spends two to three days recording and editing every video prior to uploading them to . When it comes to creating social media content it is common for her to reuse her content and stresses that all content creators are doing the same to save time. She says she uses both Instagram and Facebook to advertise her courses However, she gains the biggest exposure via Facebook.

Overcoming her fears

Though she had no experience with starting an online course however, she claims she briefly felt intimidated by the tech piece of it. "I was the most scared by the idea of putting myself on display," she shares. "That was the most terrifying part.

"There are a lot of people who are worried with putting their companies on the market because they wish to keep their personal lives separate," she continues. "They feel they need to share everything, but they don't ."

As she struggled to conquer her fears of stepping outside the comfort of home, she focused on the positive feedback and comments that she was receiving from students.

"My knees are still a little shaky prior to teaching in a live class. However, I must be focused on the benefits my classes provide for students in order to push through ."

Feedback's power

The importance of focusing on feedback from students is the main goal in creating online courses, according to Lombard. "I was always worried about receiving negative reviews," she says. "But bad reviews aren't always good. Take all of the feedback you receive from your students. Learn from it and move forward."

She's extremely grateful for her program, which allows her greater time and flexibility. "I'm very grateful to have this membership platform," she says. "Now, I'm ready to move on to the next level ."

Her top advice to those looking to start the first online class? "Just do it," she suggests. "Put yourself on the market and tell how you will assist others ."