Crealanta Magazine

Debbie Friis-Pettitt's Method for Teaching 5,000 Learners How To Paint

Apr 10, 2024

Debbie Friis-Pettitt has developed a wildly successful online course company in a niche that is watercolor, with a small palette.

Based in Prescott, Arizona, Friis-Pettitt started her career as a designer of commercial graphics. In addition, she was an artist in pencil and also produced work. After appearing in numerous exhibits, she decided to try a new medium: watercolor.

There was one problem though: she was intimidated by the color. The truth is that she was unable to make it through about six months. "I had a palette of 30 or more colors, and I was unsure of how to determine which colors I should pick," explains Friis-Pettitt. "I didn't know what the chemical properties of color were, that's why, each time I tried to paint myself, the outcome was a mess ."

In the end, she found an artist on the internet who taught the theory of color. "I started my painting with a small palette using just three shades. This helped me learn how to achieve the right harmony, values and blend my own color," she says.

In the following years, she has said that her work has taken off. "My niche of painting with my palette began to explode, and I began receiving more and more clients stating that they had put some of their colors aside, as well" adds Friis-Pettitt.

After that, she began to become famous for her limited palette paintings and often won awards in art exhibits. People began asking to lead workshops on limited palette watercolor painting. They were interested and she began to teach live workshops in the summer of the year in the year 2018. Before she experienced the effects of covid the first time, she switched to the online teaching method with the help of . "The small palette altered the watercolor of a lot of students, including myself," she says. "From that point, I took it to the next step and discarded my opaque color palette and introduced the staining in transparent colour, which the majority of artists recommend students to avoid using it ."

Since launching her online business--Watercolors That Glow!--Friis-Pettitt has taught over 5,000 learners---continually pushing the edges of what she's "supposed" to do, and instead finding her own way via her unique niche instead. This is how she made her mark in a surprisingly crowded business:

Skip ahead:

She signed up for

In order to attract greater numbers of people to take part, she decided that she would like to be able to conduct classes online. "People enjoy online classes," she says. "In fact, I've nearly removed all in-person classes since it's costly for students to travel ."

An artist introduced her . "I discovered that I'm capable of coming up with the solution. It's possible,'" she explains.

and Teachable and Teachable was her preferred two options for online learning, but she decided to go with Teachable because she felt it was simpler to use. "It was very easy to develop courses ," she explains. "There was a few difficulties in learning, and there were a few bumps in the road, but overall I am awed by the way structures ."

" continues to get better and better" she continues. "There's absolutely nothing I can do which will make me switch to another one. They answer all of my inquiries immediately. ."

She created a library of classes

With an online structure set to her liking, she was able to create material to help the students.

The first video she made was tutorials, and later compiled an entire library of video clips which people could buy at-a-cost style.

There are 60 tutorials available, you can choose an option to subscribe that permits users to pay a monthly or annual cost for access to the entire library. "In my beginnings, I did not feel enough to provide an option to subscribe," she says. "It took until after I had gotten nearly 50 courses that I started offering the option of subscription ."

Since launching her membership few months ago, there's now 200 members. The plan is to add more courses so that both learners and subscribers an a la carte basis will always have new content.

While Friis-Pettitt is pleased with her subscriber participation, her aim isn't to keep her members for the longest time possible. "I wish people could be able to learn and quickly, and later, go on to develop their own works," she says.

While all of her courses are recorded so that students can benefit from their preferred locations any time her live-streamed lecture can be found in livestreamed classes that she offers once every six weeks.

She put her money into the best equipment

When she started filming video clips, she recorded the videos using her iPhone. She knew that to create an organization that could last the long haul, she had to get the right equipment. Yet, adapting to technology is a daunting task for anyone And she says it took her two years to arrive at a point where she could dial the right parameters for her recording and filming configuration.

Since the iPhone video recording speeds have increased, she's invested in technology that allow editing and recording simple. She uses a camera called Packshot. It's a Packshot which is perfect for shooting close-up. She then uses an editing program called Camtasia which lets users quickly change between different scenes. "I ensured that I paid a significant amount of money for equipment, but it is well worth it. Now, I have the final setup," she says.

She shows this setup, that consists of a frame in which the camera is positioned from the top and pointed downwards towards the surface which she paints. "This allows me to film while I paint, using a remote control that lets me zoom in. After that, I'm able to use the Camtasia program to modify my film," she says.

"Now I'm able to record an intermediate tutorial within a few days. The bar I put set in front of me was the key to attaining the quality of film I am now able to produce," continues Friis-Pettitt.

Her prices were kept low.

Similar to many other creators, she faced the issue of pricing her course.

While many have advised her to increase the price, she's remained firm on pricing her services in a reasonable amount Her goal is to draw the largest quantity of potential customers.

Her livestream courses are for $65 USD, the a la carte courses cost just 35 USD for each course and memberships start at $14 USD when bought per month or $144 if purchased every year. Plus, she also offers bundles that include a variety of instructional videos that are put together. These bundles range in price from $48 to $84 USD.

To collect payment to collect payment, she uses Payments.

"I am able to attract a higher number of people visiting my site because of my low-cost courses. My opinion is that keeping my prices low has made me more competitive.
Pricing is about keeping your prices reasonable to ensure that customers are willing to test them," continues Friis-Pettitt.

Not only does she keep the cost of her courses low, she offers an as good value at the price she can. "I do not skimp; I offer everyone the chance to read a small book, and I discuss more information than most artists," she says. "That's the reason people come back to me over and over. ."

When you're trying to figure out the best price, she suggests that artists demonstrate their worthiness. For artists who are aspiring to be successful, she suggests that they should be recognized by their community. "It's important that you've gone to art shows and have a few awards under your name because people are more likely to believe they are able to trust what you're saying," she advises.

"You must also possess an area of expertise," she continues. "There may be thousands of artists who are all teaching on the same subject, so that you must stand out ."

The courses she sold were promoted via word-of-mouth

While her courses attract people from all ages, she says that most are over 60.

Her la carte and livestream courses attract more serious artists who want to improve their painting and perhaps even market their art, while her classes are more popular with those who are hobbyists. The audience she targets is nearly exclusively female.

Her classes are promoted via word-of-mouth marketing. she thinks that this can be achieved by anyone who has an outstanding product or service who is very friendly and teaches the course in a different way. "For example, my students post about my courses in other Facebook groups when people inquire about classes on subjects which have a limited selection of classes," she explains.

The feature that sets her courses stand out--and allows her to spread her course's message through word of mouth-- is that she clearly demonstrates each of her errors.

"They can see every aspect," she says. "They see me have to restart my work. They watch me deal with the most serious errors. They observe my thinking processes. There aren't many watercolor artists that do that which is what makes that, it's possible for me to maintain students, and then they head out to share the information through other websites. ."

In addition to word-of-mouth the main way she gets traffic is through the free tutorials that she gives away. The tutorials are free to let people observe what she has to offer and the way she imparts her knowledge. They also act as a way to get people into her courses that are paid for. Her courses are then promoted.

her courses are available through her facebook page (which is home to nearly 9,000 users), Instagram page, her Instagram page, and Pinterest. "Pinterest is an excellent resource for the type of instructional videos that I use to teach. I receive a large number of my students through Pinterest," she shares.

Not only is her Facebook page a forum for discussion about the latest tutorials she's created, it's also a great way to connect with her community. The artist says she has specific rules for joining as well as a specific group for her website and painting with the use of a small palette. People learn from each other inside this group, before going to her website to purchase her classes. "Even while I'm not the biggest fan of Facebook it's the site that people appear to be at ease," she says.

Marketing is for Friis-Pettitt the most difficult aspect of managing her business. "I need to improve my skills," she laughs. "Surprisingly I've never done any marketing. This is strange considering I'm pretty efficient with my site. My marketing strategy is in the opposite direction of ."

Her personal communications are kept private.

Friis-Pettitt's one-woman show. With no staff her focus is on keeping her systems streamlined, automated, and as easy as possible.

She incorporates Zapier and Flow Desk into her site for an efficient functioning. "There's only a little with the tasks I'm working on," she explains. "It's mostly making videos and ensuring I'm active in platforms like Facebook and Twitter." ."

"I am trying to locate a person to collaborate with, who might help, however I haven't located that person as of yet," continues Friis-Pettitt.

If she were to form one of her teams in the near future and hire a team, she would not want to lose the close relationship she's currently in a position to offer her students. "I reply to my own emails, respond to people who post on social media, and assist members of my Facebook community. I immediately respond to every person in the community," she says.

"One characteristic that people love for me is the fact that I'm very friendly and I'm willing to spend time engaging with others. It's not like I'm a robot or have a personal assistant to handle those things," she adds.

She focused the niche of her own

When she was asked regarding what her greatest accomplishment was in her career as a creator online she spoke of the importance of identifying something that interests her. "I've found a niche which lets I'm distinct from the many other artists who use watercolors," she says. "People don't know about these artists, so you have to ask yourself the reasons why people would be watching you against the 300 other people who they've just discovered online. ."

"You must find things that attract people," she continues. "For myself, the palette that I have had to choose from has been vast. The goal is to come up with something that is unique. If you fail to do this, you'll end up in the crowd with everyone else ."

In addition, she states that her choice to make represents a significant shift in the way she approaches teaching. "There's no issue regarding Skillshare or Udemy but these two platforms control the courses, not the authors of the content. What I would say the most I was able to do immediately was to get started immediately to determine the subjects I would like to offer," shares Friis-Pettitt.

She was consistent even during a difficult time.

According to Friis-Pettitt's research, many new online course creators make the assumption that operating an online company will be simple.

"It isn't an easy task It's among my most challenging things that I've ever done throughout my entire life. It's a relief to have found an online platform that could aid me in organizing and arranging my classes in the way I needed," she reveals.

The factor that helped keep her going through the tough times was the passion she has of teaching and her love for art. "Sometimes I'm obliged to put myself to bed and cry," she continues. "Then I get up and dust myself off and tell myself that I've made it to this point, and that I'm in a position to continue ."

"It doesn't happen in a flash, I took 2 years to reach this level," says Friis-Pettitt. "But it's important to keep going. If you think you've got the best product, and great method of teaching, then it's going happen. It won't happen in a hurry. It takes the time ."

In the 2024 forecast, which is based on trends in the world of online creators, Friis Pettitt thinks that a large number of creators are likely to fall to the wayside; now more than ever, having the capability to pinpoint a specific area that is specialized is essential. "The marketplace is already crowded," she says. "Unless you're able to go beyond the normal and are able to stand out and stand out, you're not likely to get noticed. ."

There are several goals for her to accomplish in the upcoming year. One of them is growing the number of subscribers she has She plans on putting together a bunch more tutorials in the next few months, and advertising it throughout the year. She hopes to double her subscribers. "One of the reasons why I've never promoted my subscription much is that I'm not certain that there are enough tutorials available the site. I'm hoping that by the end of this year, I'll have sufficient content to make it a actual ."

Additionally, she plans to create a masterclass lasting three months  the course, which will offer an intimate experience with the group for the creation of a work. At the end of the course, students will possess a thorough comprehension of watercolors, and how to draw using only a few colors on a palette. "I'm anticipating having two masterclasses in the coming year,""" she says with enthusiasm.

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