How Maria Montes Built a Booming Calligraphy Course Business

How Maria Montes Built a Booming Calligraphy Course Business (And How You Can Too!)

Want to sell online courses? See how Maria Montes grew her calligraphy course business and how you can apply her success strategies!

Discover the inspiring journey of Maria Montes, a Catalan-Australian lettering designer, calligrapher, and type educator, who turned her passion for calligraphy into a thriving online education business.

Here’s a quick glimpse of her achievements:

Transitioned from in-person workshops to a global online calligraphy school
Created structured courses that bridge skill gaps and make learning accessible to students worldwide
Built an engaged community of learners through YouTube, Substack, and private one-on-one tuition
Leveraged OnlineCourseHost.com (OCH) to streamline course delivery and enhance the student experience

Curious about how she made it all happen?

Keep reading to find out!

Table of contents

You can also check out all the free guides available at the Course Creator Academy by clicking on the Academy link on the top menu.

Here are other inspiring journeys of course creators:

In the changing world of online education, some creators turn their passion into a successful business. Maria Montes, a Catalan-Australian lettering designer, calligrapher, and type educator, has built a global following with her carefully crafted calligraphy courses.

From Graphic Designer to Calligraphy Educator

Maria’s journey into calligraphy started over two decades ago, but her career initially began in graphic design. She worked as a full-time designer for ten years before rediscovering her love for letterforms.

Her first contact with calligraphy was in 1996.

I’m in love with creativity and letterforms. For the first ten years of my career, I worked as a full-time graphic designer. My first contact with calligraphy was in 1996—that was last century! In 2011, I went back to study typeface design, where I picked up a calligraphy pen and ink, and I haven’t let go since!

"I have been teaching calligraphy independently since 2014. My favorite way to learn is by teaching others. I offer online calligraphy courses, corporate in-house workshops, and private one-on-one tuition.

I currently educate students worldwide in broad-edge pen Roman Capitals, Modern Carolingian, Italic, Neuland, Copperplate, and Script Brush pen calligraphy for beginner and intermediate students. I specialize in script lettering and connected alphabets."

Launching Copperplate Calligraphy Courses

When in-person teaching was no longer an option in 2020, Maria adapted by producing her first educational video, which has now amassed over 230,000 views.

This success encouraged her to transition to online education full-time, allowing her to teach from anywhere in the world.

"During the pandemic, and inspired by Tara Brach’s free YouTube lectures, I released my first educational video, which now has over 230,000 views.

Post-pandemic, my in-person calligraphy education, massively disrupted by two years of strict restrictions in Melbourne, transitioned into a live online education business. This shift opened worldwide opportunities, giving me the freedom to teach from anywhere."

In 2023, Maria noticed that her Copperplate calligraphy courses were very popular, so she launched her first pre-recorded course focused on that style.

She built a complete program that quickly became popular by carefully planning each lesson and filling gaps in student learning. The great response encouraged her to convert all her live courses into self-paced, pre-recorded ones in 2024.

Overcoming Challenges and Perfecting Course Creation

One of Maria’s biggest challenges was recording herself and ensuring clarity in her explanations, as English is not her first language.

"Recording myself and explaining things clearly and concisely was very important to me. English is not my first language, so finding the right words was key. Like everything else, the more time I spent teaching online and the more hours of video I recorded, the more comfortable I felt."

However, through practice and persistence, she refined her teaching style and gained confidence in delivering online lessons.

Her course creation process follows a structured approach:

Designing a syllabus with clear learning outcomes.
Maintaining consistency across courses to create a familiar learning experience.
Creating detailed guidebooks and handouts in PDF.
Recording hands-on lessons in a professional yet relatable manner.
Publishing free content on YouTube to attract new students.
Promoting courses through email newsletters, YouTube, and her website.

Standing Out in a Competitive Market

Maria attributes her success to her multicultural background, personal teaching style, and commitment to continuous learning.

Her motto,

“Progress is the inspiration,”

drives her to create engaging, high-quality courses that go beyond basic instruction.

To market her courses, she initially leveraged Instagram and Substack but found greater success through YouTube, where she shares free educational content.

Additionally, she built her website, Writing Calligraphy, as an educational resource to support her students and attract new learners.

Keeping Students Engaged and Motivated

Maria ensures her students stay motivated by incorporating diverse lesson formats, from hands-on practice to historical context and real-world applications.

"I mix video lengths and content types:

Hands-on practice

Presentations and historical context

My personal work and professional struggles"

She emphasizes progress tracking, encourages real-world projects, and fosters accountability to keep students engaged.

Social media has played a crucial role in Maria’s journey. This is what she said:

“At the beginning of my in-person calligraphy education journey back in 2014, Instagram was a massive help, along with my bi-monthly email newsletters. Since 2020, YouTube has played an important role in reaching new international students.

In 2023, I migrated my newsletters to Substack, and since then, I’ve been communicating with my audience once a month. Nowadays, I feel Instagram isn’t having much of an impact, and I’m considering opening a TikTok account—but I haven’t made a formal decision yet.”

Essential Tools for Course Creation

When it comes to creating her courses, Maria relies on a simple but effective setup.

“A combination of the software Zoom and my document camera.”

Productivity Tips for Managing a Business

Balancing multiple aspects of a business can be challenging, but Maria has developed a system to stay productive.

“I use Toggl to track my time executing different tasks. I focus on one task at a time, as I feel more focused and productive in this way. I put my phone on ‘do not disturb,’ and only check my inbox twice a day. This will sound totally cliché, but consistency can be a superpower.”

Advice for Aspiring Course Creators

For those looking to launch and scale their online courses, Maria shares these key insights:

Love what you do and be clear about your purpose.
Focus on the learning journey, not just the final product.
Build an audience before launching a course.
Dedicate as much time to marketing as to course creation.
Be patient and consistent, success comes with time and iteration.

Favorite Features of the OnlineCourseHost Platform

Maria praises OnlineCourseHost for its ease of use and seamless management.

"The platform is incredibly easy to manage! I love that I can create student groups based on the courses they’ve enrolled in.

Having all the key course information clearly displayed on the hero section of each page is super helpful. Uploading content is seamless, and the interface is intuitive for my students to navigate. Plus, the built-in SEO features are a great bonus!"

Looking Ahead

Maria has big plans for the future, including launching new courses on cursive handwriting and Blackletter calligraphy.

"I’d love to publish a couple of new courses! One will focus on improving cursive handwriting, and the other will dive into Blackletter calligraphy."

She continues to refine her teaching approach while leveraging platforms like YouTube and Substack to connect with her growing audience.

With her dedication, adaptability, and passion for calligraphy, Maria Montes exemplifies what it takes to succeed as an online course creator. Her journey serves as an inspiration for educators looking to turn their expertise into a global learning experience.

Discover Maria’s calligraphy courses at Maria Montes Online and Writing Calligraphy.

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Thanks for reading… and enjoy the course creation process! 😉

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