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The Zealous Art Movement Has Changed To An Online Art School

Jul 7, 2022

The moment BC was put into lockdown in March 2020 Freda Lombard watched the news from her Surrey home, and wept. "My husband told me"you must paint'" she shares. "So I started painting and contemplating, how many others should paint. ."

Jump ahead:

Lombard wasn't always an artist. When she moved to Canada after spending a few months living in South Africa in 2009, her husband gifted her her first easel. From the very first moment, she was fascinated by the ways that art could assist her relax, unwind and let her express her imagination.

Friends began inviting her to join them to paint along with them. She soon realized she was a natural at teaching art. After three months of getting an easel was organizing regular "paint evening" classes in local restaurants, cafes or shops. She even had schools. Soon, she opened her own studio, and in her first year of instructing art, she made 100k dollars in sales.

"People were interested in knowing which college you attended for Business and Fine Arts? The truth is, I don't have any fine arts degree or a business education as I do not have any clue what I'm doing. But, when I think about the ways that arts positively affect people it is all good enough. ."

After covid-19 stopped the in-person courses she offered She realized that she needed shift her company into an online format. Though it seemed to be something that was daunting initially, she was optimistic about the idea that online classes would allow her to connect with larger audiences and aid them with the strength that the arts can bring to them.

"I thought that if I could provide these classes for people who were on the internet, it would assist them during the outbreak."

The company currently has three offerings under the name Zealous Art that comprise a membership plan, individual courses, as well as course bundles. The way she was able to come up with the concept:

     A pivot to an online art school    

Her teaching style is based on enjoyment, not about fine art. "If you are looking for something that is high-quality art, then I'm not the one for you," she says. "I try to not talk too much about rules of painting since I prefer to make artwork as I go. I wish people could have fun and not become anxious or overwhelmed by all the terms like "art" and "fancy ."

The company she chose to utilize was her online host of the course to host her course for Zealous Art since it's a local Vancouver business. "It's easy to use, and it came with a a step-by-step guide I printed that made it easier for me to finish the course" Lombard says. Lombard.

     The creation of the "Netflix of paint night"    

The first thing she did to advertise her studio on the internet was to provide live classes on Facebook several times per week for no cost. "People are looking to pay my classes money but I felt that the people needed to keep their mental well-being. I wanted to assist others," she shares.

In her classes, she'd lead people through the process of painting from beginning to finish. It was inspiring by the speed at that live classes were gaining popularity, she decided to launch an online membership service that gives her students the chance to participate in the painting.

"I have had over 200 people to join within a couple of minutes, because they were eager to attend more lessons," she tells us.

She describes her membership program as the "Netflix of paint night." Participants are able to select and pick from a library of 120 classes as well as three classes that are added every month.

"People enjoy the membership, and the ease to access. It is a platform where everyone is able to access and purchase what they want ."

For those who aren't ready to commit to the membership the website offers individual courses and course bundles. In addition to that, she often promotes promotional offers; on Easter, she offered 20 recorded Facebook live streams for just 20 dollars and sold out of 220. "That was a fantastic little increase in my earnings," she explains.

     Utilizing live classes to be used as a lead generation tool    

Lombard talks about her live seminars , which are her primary draw -- and also how she's built her audience.

The instructor also advertises her online Zealous Art classes, by creating pages on Facebook to each. in the days prior to classes, participants are notified when their acquaintances sign up and they get reminders about when the event will take place. "That's what my community grows," she says.

     There is no cost to teach live since her goal is to help make painting more accessible. In addition, she is a fan of engaging with other people, and her live classes give her the opportunity to sell her digital products.

     Engaging in conversation by using Facebook communities. Facebook community

The live classes also give her students the opportunity to be part of the Zealous Art Facebook group - that's grown from 1,000 to 15,000 users during the past year. "The largest growth was on November 20, 2021. I'm not sure what I would have done to do the same thing differently" she says with a smile.

On her Facebook page, students can share their work as well as interact, and even ask questions. She also invites users to join her email list in order to be informed about live classes and new classes as well as updates.

Asking her readers: What could you spend on?

When she first launched the membership program She sought out from the Zealous Art Facebook group audience what price they'd like to shell out for membership. This was done through a poll, and learned that the students were willing to pay anything between $10 to 20 dollars. They settled for $29 per month for the membershipand for $12 for classes on their own, which are also sold in bundles that range between $15 to $49.

Her membership is worth four to five thousand dollars per month. certain months, she'll earn $15,000 should she decide to release a different package of classes.

The plan is to relaunch her membership in July, and it will be priced higher. Her goal is to make another $20,000 from revenue during the month. This new membership comes with more tips and tricks, as well as a demonstration of her students how they can reuse their artwork into gifts, cards, and art books ideas, or even murals.

"It'll continue to be similar to the paint-night Netflix videos, but I'd like to add other promotional materials that make it more memorable."

For processing payment transactions, she uses Payments as an option which allows customers to process payments, as well as control the process of refunds, payments and payouts on the same Dashboard. In her checkout page she employs Order Bumps to encourage upselling for her other digital goods.

     Simple and straightforward    

When she films her classes in painting She keeps it minimal as is possible. she makes use of her iPhone or iPad, tripod as well as ring lights to record the classes. "I don't own any particular audio equipment or speaker," she says. "I utilize simple audio equipment ."

The majority of the time, she's spending between two and three days filming and editing each video before uploading them to . If she is creating social media content it is common for her to reuse her material and claims that other creators of content are doing similar things to cut down on time. She claims she utilizes both Instagram as well as Facebook to promote her classes. However, she gains the biggest exposure via Facebook.

     Resolving her fears    

While she did not have any experience with starting an online course however, she claims she felt a little intimidated at first by the tech piece of it. "I was scared the most at the thought of putting myself in front of people," she shares. "That was the most terrifying portion.

"There are a lot of people who are worried with placing their businesses on the market due to the fact that they would like to keep their life separate from their professional," she continues. "They feel they need to share everything, but they do not ."

In her struggle to overcome her fears of stepping outside the comforts of home, she focused on the kind of feedback and positive comments that she was receiving from her students.

"My knees are slightly numb prior to teaching in the live classroom. However, I must be focused on the benefits my classes provide for students in order to push through ."

     Feedback's power    

It is crucial to focus on student feedback is one of the major goals in making online courses, as per Lombard. "I was always concerned about negative reviews being received," she says. "But negative reviews don't necessarily mean good. Take all of the feedback you receive from students. Learn from it and move forward."

She's very grateful for the program that gives her more time and flexibility. "I'm extremely grateful for having this membership platform," she says. "Now I'm eager to move on to the next step ."

She has a top tip for those who are looking to begin their initial online class? "Just take it on," she suggests. "Put yourself out there and let people know how you'll assist other people ."

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