1) I offer a painting course
2) I started making videos and blogging lessons because I found that the CMS used by universities was awful, and I wanted my students to have better resources.
These videos have gained some popularity, and I've reached 30k subs on YouTube , and over 4,000 on a Facebook Page. My podcast gets around a hundred listeners a day, and my videos see an average of 1000 a day.
3) I've been making videos for 13 years. However, just recently a turn in events allowed me access to a storefront "brick and mortar" space. (some friends had an antique shop that went out of business. The space is ridiculously cheap and in a great location so I snatched it up as soon as I knew it would be available. Why? Primarily because I was looking for a studio space, and the storefront is actually just about the same price I would pay for a studio. It's located in Prague, Czech Republic, which sees a ton of tourism (obviously when Covid isn't shutting everything down) . In the past I taught a workshop in the summer and students came from all over Europe to attend. It cost around 700 bucks. I got paid a meager 1200 bucks, and the school makes like 2300 off of me (they don't offer credit, only the space) .
4) In the next 6 months I'd like to get more students willing to do individual lessons, and monetize an online course.
So, I'm basically an adjunct Professor. And if you know anything about adjuncts, they get paid shit. So, having a side hustle is quite important. Ultimately, I'd prefer if my side hustle became my main income, however I really don't know much about business and am looking for resources as to what I need to do to try and actually start making real money. To be honest, I don't even know much about monetizing a course successfully in the age of Patreon and the big Coursera platforms.
I feel like I'm really lucky to be able to have this opportunity present itself.
So, a few questions. What do you think about Facebook/Instagram ads aimed specifically at certain demos in my city? Designed with the intent of getting people to apply to study? What I'd like to have is something closer to an art school as opposed to just me doing lessons, or these painting events like "sip and paints". My students are people who are committed to painting as something more than a hobby, which is also why I'm charging more than twice as much as a typical art studio would. In the future, if I get enough students, I could expand to having a friend who is also an accomplished painter, teach at night. Part of what sets me apart, is that I always paint with my students. This is something you surprisingly don't see much in many art schools, the teacher wanders around and corrects student work, but they aren't actively trying to paint at the same time as you. It creates a different dynamic that past students have said they really appreciated.
So. Prices. Currently a 2 week intensive costs 1200 bucks.
A "quarter" which lasts 6 weeks, costs 900 dollars.
Both are composed of the same number of hours taught.
What's stupid? What am I missing? What should I read, listen to, to get the nuts and bolts of marketing and getting students to apply.
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