Ruby Tuesday Art Case Study

I’d like to introduce you to Tessa from Ruby Tuesday Art. She joined Chromatical Club on the 6th of May 2020 and eep, talk about RESULTS.

Pah-lease read this case study from top to bottom. I was BLOWN away when I read some of these things because I had no idea all of this was happening behind the scenes. (I’m SO excited for you Tessa).

Tessa makes the most of the club, she’s always popping in, joining the convos, helping out others, absorbing all the info, and asking the questions that will help her move further in the direction she needs, and sheesh the results below speak for themselves.

I hope you enjoy reading her club experience.

Why did you join Chromatical Club?

I have been painting as a hobby/side hustle for MANY years. But, I didn't really decide to 'take it seriously' so to speak until three years ago, while pregnant with my second kiddo.

So, for the first two or so years of 'seriously' running my business, marketing consisted of me posting on Instagram...and that’s about it!

My background is in social work, and so I didn’t have any real marketing experience or know-how.

My focus was mostly on making my art, and marketing it was an afterthought. Over time I realised that if I wanted to grow, I needed to actually promote myself, so I started listening to lots of free podcasts and YouTube channels about marketing, and consuming ALL THE KNOWLEDGE. Imagine a very absorbent sponge, if you remember she Shamwow, that was me, ha! But, after a while I realised that I was taking all of it in and therefore trying to regurgitate/do ALL of it - which was too much and kinda resulted in a bit of a patchwork of not-very-well-executed things.

It was also overwhelming getting bits and pieces of info from everywhere, from lots of people working in a range of fields. I realised that I couldn’t keep consuming ALL the knowledge, and that I needed to work out what was actually relevant to me/take it with a grain of salt, and the same with implementation - what would work for me, my clients and customers, which meant stripping everything back and kinda starting from scratch - not only in terms of my marketing efforts, but also the products and services I actually offered (which was basically everything under the sun).

So, with this line of thinking I realised I needed to find one solid place to get my info (of course I’d still get marketing info from around the place/do research) - but I needed a solid base that I could refer to, get advice and inspo that was relevant to ME and my business - I was also willing to invest actual money for something more relevant and specific, rather than consuming ALL the free content and getting overwhelmed, which is where Chromatical came in.

I’m also a huge fan of Liona Lee Designs and avidly follow her Insta, and one day she posted about some really cool cards with ideas for social media posts, which were made by none other than Trish from Chromatical.

From there I followed Chromatical, started watching ALL Trish’s YouTube videos and just lapping up all her posts. I knew that ‘Chromatical’ was a thing - but I didn’t exactly know what (I’d never really heard of an online membership before) but again, Liona posted something about being in the club and I was SUPER curious.

I was ready to take the next steps with my business, I knew I needed to invest in marketing and I came across Chromatical at the perfect time!

Trish was always sharing absolute gold/so much helpful info on social media and YouTube so I knew that the club was something I needed to be a part of.

What did you hope to achieve from joining?

To be completely honest I had no idea what the club ACTUALLY involved, but I knew I needed to be part of it.

I was ready to invest in my business and myself, I knew I needed to build on my marketing knowledge to actually level-up my biz, and I was hoping for some clarity on what the eff I should be doing next!

As a sole business owner without any biz-friends, it is easy to feel lost and overwhelmed by doing all the things and making all the decisions - so joining the club was as much about gaining info and clarity around marketing as it was about having like-minded people to bounce ideas off/the community aspect!

What were the biggest challenges you hoped the club could help with?

In particular, in the lead-up to joining the club I knew I wanted to create an online course, also COVID was really taking off around then so my in-person workshops were on hold - buuut I had no idea where to start, how to launch (I may not have even known what launching WAS at that point) and I also knew I needed help with planning my content strategically, rather than posting on a whim.

The extent of my content planning was a pretty decent email nurture sequence, and a regular Pinterest schedule - all other content (Insta, blogs, Facebook etc) where all done on a whim with no strategy whatsoever.

How has Chromatical Club helped you?

As soon as I joined the club I came across a replay of one of the regular live Q&A/info session calls - this one was all about creating online courses, with Lisa one of the other club members.

I played this video on my phone, in my pram caddy, and listened to the audio while I took my toddler for a walk in the pram - let’s just say I made that walk take a LONG time, because the video was full of absolute GOLD.

I learnt that I didn’t need fancy equipment, I could film an online course with my phone, I learnt about different hosting platforms and different ways of structuring the course. I was inspired and ready to take action (which I did! I filmed my whole first online course ‘Learn Watercolour Online with Ruby Tuesday Art’ with my phone and a ring-light).

Once my course was made and I had worked out how to host it online, I needed to work out how to launch it - which I actually wasn’t sure what launching WAS but I had heard the term thrown around in podcasts. And once again, perfectly timed, a video was released by Trish all about how she launched her club.

I watched it three times, taking notes and planning how I could apply different elements to launching my course. I created a content plan, I started talking about the course in my Insta stories, I planned emails to send all that good stuff - and the best bit was that I was so organised it wasn’t even stressful!?!

I planned my launch around a month in advance, because I am very impatient and like to get started SOON. This was great though because my content was mapped out ready to go (but in a flexible way, allowing for changes) and I implemented my learnings almost immediately.

The launch video taught me so much about how to prepare, what could work and possibly what to avoid - and most importantly, to do what works for ME!

The results of this launch is to below.

Has the club helped you more than you expected?

I joined the club hoping for access to great info about marketing, and a sense of community - which I definitely got, but Chromatical Club also literally gave me the skills, knowledge and CONFIDENCE to create my course with my phone no less, launch it and earn enough money to buy an actual camera to film bigger and better courses in future.

What results have you achieved since joining the club?

So, I went through the course launch process with hardly any hiccups - it was so easy I was worried I had forgotten something, but nope, it was just seriously great!

I had a goal of 20 participants signing up to my course, but I had to reassess this and up my goal to thirty because I hit my initial goal after one week!!! So, 30 folks joined my course in under a fortnight, and I made over $3000. This was all done with an Insta following of 1.5k, and an email list of 250 people (and a very small/neglected Facebook page).

If I hadn't been in the club, there is no way that my launch would have been so successful - in fact, I still wouldn’t know what ‘launching’ meant or how to do it. I likely would have quietly mentioned the course a few times on social media, briefly in an email to my list and wondered why it was a flop (and assumed it was because I personally sucked).

Do you think you'd be where you are now without the club?

HELL NO!

Without Chromatical Club I would still be wondering why I wasn’t making sales/assuming I was a failure.

The club showed me that that is absolutely not the case, and that with some strategy and know-how you can sell your wares.

I barely changed by products - in fact, if anything I am offering LESS services and products, and am achieving more sales and success than ever before, because of everything I have learned in the club from both Trish and the other members.

How would you put a value on what the club has done for you and your business?

In the past, I have bought marketing bundles which tend to teach everything under the sun, which is great for different options/ideas - buuuut the bundles I have accessed have been too broad, and just really overwhelming, so in the end I would do a half-assed (substitute that with half-hearted if the language is too rude!) attempts at implementation and wonder where I went wrong.

The Chromatical Club is full of as much value (actually way more) than any bundle I ever bought, but it is more specific and relevant, and broken down into categories that are easy to find and implement as you need.

The Club is also amazing for accountability, and there are regular challenges and check-ins to keep the momentum going.

Plus, if you get busy (or you know, life happens) you never feel left behind - you can come and go as you please and always know what’s going down. It’s easy to catch up on anything you missed, or ask a question in the discussion if you need help with something specific (although often someone else has already asked and there’s already a heap of awesome info on your topic anyway!!)

For me the club has paid for itself a million times over (that’s not exact maths - but you get the idea). Honestly, every time I log into the club and read a new post/watch a new video I find myself (LITERALLY) thinking “wow, this is so useful, the club has just paid for itself”. That seriously happens weekly.

What part of the club has surprised you the most?

This is gonna sound cheesy but...the community! I have made so many friends and connections through the club that I would NEVER have made otherwise.

Who would you recommend the club to?

If you’re running your own business and feel like you’re drowning in decision making/trying to market yourself/worrying that you’re not making sales because your work is no good (ahem...this was me) then this club is for YOU!

You’ll be able to ask questions, learn SO much, and realise that your work is ah-mazing, you might just need to make some tweaks to your marketing to show everyone how awesome you and your biz are.

What do you love about Chromatical Club?

I love that the things I learn in the club are learnt not only from Trish (who is amaaaazing) but also the other members who are always sharing so much wisdom, value and support - not just in their posts and comments, but also live Q&As and more.

In the club there are so many people from different biz-backgrounds, including artists (like me!), copywriters, marketers (not just Trish!), designers, business coaches, florists and sooo many more - the amount of experience, knowledge, inspiration and support is honestly just incredible.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Just one thing… joining the club was honestly the BEST business decision I have made to date.

Lastly, can you tell us a little more about your businesses and where we can find you online?

I’m Tess (she/her) AKA Ruby Tuesday Art.

Ruby Tuesday Art is about all things watercolour - I got started ten years ago with my then-toddler’s sh*tty supermarket watercolour paints, and photocopy paper noless (you really can start anywhere, although I don’t recommend using photocopy paper)!

My watercolour workshops, online courses and art kits are all designed to make watercolour easy, fun and relaxing - even if you reckon you 'aren't creative' or you 'can't draw'. Spoiler alert: you are creative enough and you will definitely be able to paint, no drawing required.

I also create stunning custom artwork to give as a thoughtful and super personal gift to a loved one (or to yourself???) or - one of my fav things ever - custom wedding invitations!

My business started as a hobby/creative outlet, because heck, being a mum (and a teen-mum at that) can be STRESSFUL! Since then Ruby Tuesday Art has grown and evolved into the majestic and whimsical biz that it is today, helping folks just like you get confident with watercolour painting, and bringing your creative visions to life - and of course having heaps of fun along the way!

You can find me at:

Website: www.rubytuesdayart.com

Instagram: @rubytuesdayart

YouTube (free tutorials, woooo!): Ruby Tuesday Art