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The Make-Up Artist Earned $2,500 from her very first Launch. Here's What she Wished She'd Done In a Different Way

Dec 7, 2023

Much like the majority of 18-year-olds living in England, Faye Smith didn't know what profession to pursue.

"My classmates were taking a course at university and aspiring to become an attorney or doctor, or opting for to spend a relaxing gap year in Australia," Smith tells . "But I didn't have no idea of what I would pursue in my career."

There was one thing she knew that was for certain: she wished to learn, work, and travel. To figure out her strengths, she enrolled in some college classes, including theatrical makeup--on the side of a restaurant. "I tried a couple of various subjects to determine which ones I was interested in," she says. "I believed I could do well with artistic subjects ."

The course was a success for her to the point her makeup instructor asked her to join the set of an opera, doing fake tattoos of people. Feeling inspired after this gig She had an idea of working in the theatre or movie industry as makeup artists. "I was aware that I had to study more since this was only an hour-long course," she explains. "I looked up makeup schools on the internet the first one to show out is Blanche McDonald in Vancouver, BC. It was on the opposite part of the world. I decided to go ."

After making the investment to attend makeup school, she was determined to build a business from the experience. A few years later working for a full time job doing the things she is passionate about. she runs Faye Smith Agency, a hair and makeup agency--and Primp & Proper Salon, located within Gastown, Vancouver. In 2021, she launched an additional branch of her agency, Faye Smith Academy: online classes via . Although she was able to have a great course launch, there were several things she wished she did differently:

Skip ahead:

She would have liked to do more study

Smith began her business as an agency slowly; while going to Blanche McDonald, she landed her first freelance position during a wedding. She needed an extra assistant, so she hired an old classmate to help her. "I kept getting more and more bigger bookings and needing additional assistance," she shares.

Her work developed into an agency by 2009, she coordinated client bookings as well as hired musicians, and it increasingly grew as time went by. Since then, she's worked with celebrities and has expanded the agency into Toronto as well as plans to potentially expand into Calgary too. "It just keeps on growing," she says.

In 2015 she took home the most beautiful wedding hairstyles at the Professional BC Wedding Awards. "Winning this award was an absolute shock," she laughs. "I was known more for my hairstyles at the time, and did not consider me to be the top hairdresser. But all of a sudden I was awarded the award, and I was given all of this credibility ."

After gaining momentum the stylist decided to organize an on-site workshop for hair stylists and makeup artists. "12 attendees signed up and we sold it all out." she says.

Her workshops continued to grow. of the workshops that sold out. Then, she received a grant in 2021 and made the decision to transform her classes into an online version. Thanks to the grant money, Smith was able to hire a videographer to help her to film the courses. "I was excited at the idea of reaching an international audience," she says. "With in-person classes I was able to reach locals ."

"I liked the idea that using online courses that you could make something which, yes it might take time to capture, but after the course is completed, it's a product that you could sell on a regular basis," shares Smith.

When she launched her first course in 2021, 16 people bought it--producing around $2,500 in revenue. "It sold really well," she says. "I am sure everyone was extremely excited to learn about this course that which we developed and made our investment back immediately. ."

"I am on the roster of more than 100 artists so I can directly target them," she says. "Plus, I'm big in my industry ."

In order to make the 16 sales, she offered a 50% off promotion; she showed the original price and then showed the amount she was offering it for so that customers felt like they got a good deal. The price was set at $395.

In response to questions about the method she used to convert prospective students to course buyers She replied that it was simple. "Honestly I published about it, and then customers bought it. It was as easy as the ."

The subsequent classes (she now has a total of four) didn't sell nearly as effectively. In hindsight, she says she should have conducted more research before starting the online course. "I don't typically do much study," she admits. "But it's different today because of the proliferation of online products, putting out an online course can be compared to the process of putting something in stores. It's not as simple as putting the product on display and hope that customers are going to buy it; you need to invest time into researching and devising the right plan, taking it seriously. ."

She wished she'd created the strategic plan for marketing

Following the initial successful course launch, she came up with three additional pre-recorded classes to sell on her website. This totals four. The second one was created by a videographer, costing $195. The other two were created by herself and were priced at just $39 because they had smaller in size and cost-intensive to produce.

"The quality was not as high without the videographer," she says. "It's an artful line since the videography is too expensive, but you still need the videos to be good quality. ."

A lot of people contact her to inquire what her next live class would be. If she didn't plan any classes course, she'd direct them towards her online, pre-recorded classes instead. But, turning potential customers into students is "like chewing gum," according to Smith. "I admit that the only kind of advertising I've ever done is on Instagram as well as some email marketing campaigns," she reveals.

She says that if she had time she'd release a free course or webinar as a lead magnet. However, as a new mom of a baby and a newborn, her time is limited. "I am aware that my marketing skills could be better--and marketing things online differs from selling things in person. ."

As marketing platforms her preferred platforms are Instagram, Facebook, and is currently experimenting using TikTok. "My course sales haven't always been as successful as I'd like, but it's also not the number priority for me as well. ."

"I've seen that many people who succeed with online courses have it as an entire time job," she says. "I had hoped that the online courses would be more of a side gig and I then realized that a lot more work has to be put into it instead of just promoting my courses hoping people will buy them ."

She recommends online course creators develop plans for marketing that allow them remain competitive within their field.

"You need to be aware of who and who you're competing against," she says. "Being successful online takes dedication, time and commitment ."

She wished she'd focused on less expensive, short classes

Her audience consists of professional hair and makeup artists. while any gender is welcome however, she claims that most of her online course students are women between the ages of 18 to 40 with the majority of them coming of Canada as well as the US as well as the UK.

Following her first success-filled course launch, her audience has been asking for shorter, cost-effective course offerings. In fact, Smith believes that this is where future online education is headed into 2024 and beyond. "I'm certain that people are a bit anxious about money, and it's not like people have money," she says. "I consider that those less costly programs will sell more in the next few years or ."

In the near future, Smith would like to put greater effort into online courses. Smith claims that she also, is planning to go down the path of providing inexpensive, short-term digital courses. "That's what seems to be asked for," she says. "And I think you have to listen to what people are directly asking you for ."

Her number one advice for students who are looking to step into the field of online learning? Spend the time listening to your students, map out the process you will follow and devise a plan for getting your course into the hands of those that need it the most.

If you're ready to try your hand at creating your own online course, then the moment is now. Sign up for today--for free!