If you’re a teacher in a creative discipline looking to sell your knowledge and skills online, you’ve probably heard of Skillshare. While there are many learning platforms out there, Skillshare is one of the most popular. It is an online learning community for creators of all kinds, allowing teachers to upload video lessons, online classes, or projects to help students learn new skills.
But what is Skillshare like for teachers and students – and is it a good choice for a teacher looking to upload their creative courses? Read on for a total overview of what Skillshare has to offer.
What is Skillshare? 💻
Skillshare is an online learning platform with a heavy focus on creative disciplines and community. First launched in April 2011, it has become a key alternative for academic learning. Since its launch, it has gone through many different iterations, adding new features and streamlining its user experience to become more effective.
Today, Skillshare is one of the most popular online learning communities on the internet. With a user base of 8,000 teachers and 600,000 learners studying from 25,000 unique classes, its catalog is diverse. The creative fields featured on Skillshare include music, social media, animation, creative writing, graphic design, photography, film & video, drawing & painting, and marketing.
What Can You Sell on Skillshare?
Signing up to become a teacher on Skillshare allows you to create comprehensive courses that share your knowledge and skills in a creative field. Skillshare accepts teachers from a number of disciplines, separated into:
- Creative (General)
- Business
- Lifestyle
- Technology
Within these categories, Skillshare allows teachers to submit classes that cover a broad range of topics. For example, within Business, some classes focus on the intricacies of marketing, but there are also classes that delve into general productivity and how to use this in business endeavors.
Skillshare requires all teachers to apply. This means being approved by the Skillshare team before you can publish classes as part of the wider teaching community. So while anyone can apply to be an instructor on Skillshare, acceptance is not guaranteed. The platform has extensive class quality guidelines and various ideas about teaching approaches that need to be followed (or at least considered) before a teacher or class is approved.
Selling on Skillshare via Superpeer
Aside from classes, Skillshare has also recently provided a new way to make money on the platform. In March 2024, Skillshare acquired “Superpeer” to integrate this platform’s features into their teaching tools.
Currently, these features are in the beta stage, but Skillshare teachers can easily get started. Below, we’ll take you through what’s on offer and how to get it set up.
1-on-1 sessions
Through Superpeer, Skillshare teachers can offer coaching sessions via 1-on-1 video calls. To offer this, you’ll need to be approved as a teacher on Skillshare, and you’ll also need to be eligible for the payment system, Wise.
Once you’ve checked this out, head to the Superpeer website and sign up for a free account.
This process is very simple, and is similar to setting up a Skillshare account. You’ll need to provide details about what brought you to the platform, and create account details with your name and email address. Add in your country, languages, and preferred currency.
When your account’s all set up, you can connect it to your Skillshare account. Head to Settings on the left-hand menu, and then Integrations. Then select “+Connect Skillshare”. You’ll also need to add your bank details to your Superpeer account, and tweak your profile pages so they’re consistent across both platforms.
You can then add your sessions and clarify your availability. From the left-hand menu, select “1:1 Calls”.
Next, click on “Add Service”, then provide a clear name and description for your session. You can also customize your URL, and specify the pricing and duration of your calls.
For your sessions to appear on Skillshare too, you’ll need to categorize them properly. Make sure you’ve selected a Session Type, Primary Expertise, and at least one Relevant Discipline. Session Types are split into six different categories. These are:
- Personalized Instruction
- Creative Feedback Sessions
- Business Coaching
- Professional Development
- Art Lessons
- Class Support Sessions
Choose the option that best reflects the content you’ll offer in your session. For Primary Expertise, you’ll have lots of different options to choose from, including “Design”, “Film & Video”, and “Photography”.
Once you’ve selected this, you can narrow down by up to two Relevant Disciplines. As in the example below, you can also add a Secondary Expertise if this is relevant to your sessions.
After this, you can also add up to seven Relevant topics that fit your session.
You’ll also need to toggle off two key settings, “Hide service from your Superpeer profile page” and “Only paid subscribers of your channel can book.”
To set your availability, you can select the days you’re available, along with start and end times. There are also options for setting a notice period, and more.
When this is complete, you can toggle on the setting to make your session accessible on Skillshare. Finally, click “Create Service”.
Selling digital products
You can also sell digital products through your linked Superpeer account. Again, this requires setting up, configuring, and linking a Superpeer account to your Skillshare. This could be off-putting if you just want to get started selling right away.
Once you’re set up on the platform and have a digital product ready, you can add your product. Make sure your digital goods meet the Skillshare requirements and conditions first.
From the Superpeer dashboard, select “Digital Products” on the left-hand menu, and then click “Start selling”.
You’ll then need to provide:
- A product title
- Description
- At least one image of your product (minimum of 1200 x 700px and maximum of 5MB)
- At least one file for your digital product. To list on Skillshare, this needs to be uploaded from your device, and can include PDF, docx files, images, audio, and videos.
Next, choose who you want to access your digital product. If you’re intending to sell on Skillshare, make sure you’ve selected “For anyone”.
You’ll also need to add a price in order to sell on Skillshare, as you can’t offer free digital products on the platform. This is another important limitation, as some creators may want to offer freebies as a taster for new followers or customers.
After this, you’ll adjust the visibility settings for your digital product. Make sure “Hide product from your Superpeer profile page” is toggled off.
To toggle on visibility for Skillshare, you’ll need to ensure you’ve met all the conditions for this platform. That includes setting at least one category and subcategory for your product. Once this is completed, you’ll be able to toggle the product to be accessible on Skillshare.
After this, you can publish the product - and share the Skillshare link on your social channels, website, and more.
Whilst Superpeer doesn’t have any monthly fees, you will be charged a 10% platform fee on the full amount you charge for any service, including 1-on-1 calls and other services. You’ll also have processing fees to keep in mind. These costs can soon build up, especially when other ecommerce platforms like Whop charge a much lower fee of 3% per transaction.
How Much Does it Cost to Teach on Skillshare?
The good news is that it does not cost anything to publish a class on Skillshare. Once a teacher and course has been approved by the platform, there is a straight line towards being paid.
So how do teachers get paid on Skillshare? Well, Skillshare is different from other online learning platforms, in that it does not let students pay for classes individually. Instead, students pay Skillshare a monthly subscription of $19.99 to access all classes. Then, roughly 20% of Skillshare's total subscription revenue is allocated back to teachers, meaning around 80% is kept by the platform itself.
The share a teacher gets of this revenue is calculated based on a few key metrics. The first is “minutes watched” – the more users watch your content, the more you will be paid. Students need to watch at least 75 minutes of your class in order for teachers to get paid. The second is “engagement” – which refers to the amount teachers interact with members learning from their content.
How Much Are Teachers Earning With Skillshare?
You might be wondering what the earning potential is when publishing course content on Skillshare.
The average teacher on Skillshare earns between $200 - $3,000 a month. However, Skillshare claims that the top teachers on their platform earn upwards of $100,000 per year.
Applying to Skillshare
You’ll need a Skillshare account before you can apply to become a teacher on the platform. On the “Teach” page, you can click the “Sign Up to Teach” button, and then sign up via email, or continue with Facebook, Google, or Apple.
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll need to choose the language you’ll teach in. There are a limited number of options to choose from, which could be restrictive for some creators.
Next, Skillshare will prompt you to fill out the application. Don’t worry - you won’t have to complete this all in one go. Skillshare saves your responses for 15 days, so you can return at a later time. Click “Get started”.
First, you’ll need to specify what you intend to sell on Skillshare. As mentioned above, Skillshare has now linked up with Superpeer. Through this platform, you can also offer 1-on-1 sessions and digital products, as well as classes. You can select as many as you like, so don’t feel limited to just one option.
Next, you should select which category applies to your class, product, or 1-on-1 session.
The next stage is optional, but can help to support your application. Here you can share a 1 to 2 minute teaching video sample. Skillshare will want to gauge the video and audio quality of your video to ensure it meets their minimum requirements.
After this, you can also add a link to your most active social media profile. To become a teacher on Skillshare, you must ensure your social media accounts do not violate Skillshare’s Community Guidelines.
After this, you can submit your application. If approved, you should receive an email with access to your teacher profile. Alternatively, if further review is needed, Skillshare will provide instructions within a two week period.
Getting Started as a Teacher on Skillshare
Once you have become an approved teacher, Skillshare will invite you to a program for first-time teachers. These programs have been set up to support teachers in creating their first classes for the platform. If you’re new to teaching or need more guidance, these courses offer you help to get started.
From there, you can begin to create your first class for the platform. The process of uploading your class content is made simple with Skillshare’s class draft system. All you need to do is use a desktop community and sign into your Skillshare account. From here, you will be able to click the green Start a Class button in the center of the screen.
Next, you will be asked to choose a category for your class as well as some primary goals for teaching on the platform. Press Continue near the bottom of the screen and load your first class draft.
Now you can begin to upload class content. You can do this all at once or come back later with your draft saved to your account. If you’ve ever uploaded a video to a sharing platform such as YouTube, then Skillshare will look familiar to you. Processing time for videos over 10 minutes (the minimum requirement for course content) can take up to 30 minutes.
Skillshare has a list of content you can upload outside of videos. Some of the most comprehensive courses on the platform include the following:
- Projects
- Transcripts
- Additional resources
- Links to other content
Using the Skillshare dashboard
Teacher Hub
Once you’ve been approved, you can access the Teacher Hub and start creating your classes.
From the Teacher Hub dashboard, you can view and create classes, read help documents, and use the left-hand menu to access student communications, settings, and more.
Student Activity
On the left-hand menu, click on the bell icon for the “Student Activity” tab. Here you can view any notifications from your students. That includes new and updated projects, discussions and replies from your classes, any questions from students, and more.
Classes
Click on the play icon on the left-hand menu to access the “Classes” tab. Next, you can choose between “Create a Class” and “Classes You’re Teaching”.
Create a Class
On the “My Class” page, you have several options for developing your classes. You can upload video lessons here. You’ll need to ensure you’ve reviewed the Class Quality Guidelines before creating your video lessons.
You can add in further information on the “Class Details” tab. You’ll need to think carefully about the information you put in, as students will use it to find your class and learn what it covers.
Some of the details you’ll need to include are:
Class Language: As it sounds, you’ll need to choose the language that you use in your lessons. This is used by Skillshare to translate your classes. There’s a drop down menu with several options, but this is relatively limited. You can only choose from English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Class Title: Here you’ll add a title for your class. This sounds relatively simple, but you’ll need to follow some guidelines for maximum impact. Make sure your title isn’t too vague. Get to the heart of the matter, and show students what they’ll get by taking your class. Who is your course aimed at? What study level does it require? What will students achieve through it?
Class Description: Give a description of your class. Again, Skillshare has some guidelines for what you’ll need to include for an effective description. These include:
- Summary - Provide a short and sweet summary that explains what your class involves.
- Key skills - Clarify what skills or knowledge your students will gain through the class.
- Audience - Specify who your class is aimed towards. For example, it could be tailored to beginners or advanced learners, or it might be aimed at digital entrepreneurs or social media marketers.
- Resources - Here you can let students know what resources, software, and tools they will need to complete the class, e.g. Adobe Photoshop, acrylic paint, etc. If you provide access to any resources, mention this too.
- Value - Don’t sell your class short. Let potential students know about the value they’ll get from taking your class. You can do this in a number of ways. For example, you could highlight how students can use the skills taught in your class in their wider lives.
Project Description: Next, you’ll have a section to describe the project students will participate in as part of your class. Skillshare classes are required to incorporate a project, so you’ll need to plan this carefully.
Your class will have a Project Gallery, where students can upload images of their completed projects. Skillshare also recommends that you upload an example of a successful project to motivate and inspire students.
Ensure that your project description is clear and easy to read, with enough detail to let students know exactly what they need to do.
The next section is for “Discoverability and Findability”. As it sounds, this section is all about getting your class seen by potential students. Here’s what you’ll need to fill in:
Categories: Choose the most relevant categories for your class, so it can be found by students interested in your niche. You can only choose two categories, so think carefully. There are also nested sub-categories, and you can select two of these for each primary category.
Filters & Searchable Attributes: Here you can add details of other elements that are relevant to your class. This helps students to find classes that are suitable for them, and gather any materials they might need.
- Software - Provide details of any software required for your class.
- Materials - Select any materials that students will need to take part in your class.
Classes You’re Teaching
On the “Teaching” page, you’ll be able to view your current classes, along with any drafts. From this page, you can choose to edit and delete classes, or even create a brand new class.
Settings
Click on the settings icon on the left-hand menu to access the Account Settings. Here you can manage the technical aspects of your Skillshare account, with sections including:
- View Profile
- Profile Settings
- Email Address
- Password
- Email Notifications
- Language
- Membership & Payments
For example, on the Profile Settings tab, you can add a username and adjust your privacy settings.
Skillshare Help Center
If you’re ever stuck for what to do next, you can always access the resources on the Skillshare Help Center. This can provide you with details on everything from policies and restrictions to finding in-demand class topics.
To access the Help Center, click on the “i” icon on the left-hand menu.
Skillshare provides a lot of resources to help teachers to get the most out of the platform. This includes guides on the production side of classes, including choosing the right video equipment.
Skillshare also has their own teaching account, “Teach on Skillshare”, which features classes, live sessions, discussions, and more for budding teachers.
Is Skillshare Worth It? Pros & Cons for Teachers
Now that we’ve covered how Skillshare works as a platform for teachers, let’s consider the pros and cons of this platform. While it is a popular platform, it is not without its downsides:
Pros:
Free platform to host courses
First off, Skillshare is a free platform for teachers. Once you are approved, you will be granted all the community tools and a platform to start uploading courses.
No exclusivity
Skillshare doesn’t require you to sign the exclusivity of your teaching to their platform. They allow you to publish content to your own website too, so you will be given a lot of freedom and flexibility.
Popularity
Skillshare has one of the largest user bases of any learning community on the internet. With 12 million registered users, you will have a gigantic audience to access. Contrasted with the comparably small number of teachers (approximately 8000), it means your courses will reach a serious audience!
Teacher community
One of Skillshare’s missions is to create a global community of teachers and students. The community focus of the platform allows you to easily connect with students and other teachers. If you’re a person who wants a lot of support or loves to connect with students taking their course – Skillshare is a fantastic option for you.
Cons :
Approval process
The downside to Skillshare’s platform is its exclusivity. While it’s not impossible to become a teacher on the platform, the approval process means that you will have to adhere to the specific guidelines to become part of the community. As a result, Skillshare might not be the right place for you if your course is unconventional.
Another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes you might not get approved, even if your course is in line with their guidelines. Some reviewers have even stated that they have initially gained approval, only to have their course removed later on.
Growth/exposure
While Skillshare has a lot of tools for new or first-time teachers, it can be difficult to get exposure for your course. Skillshare indexes and displays courses based on their popularity. So, for a course to become popular, it needs to rank well in terms of reviews and engagement.
In many ways, Skillshare is similar to video hosting platforms such as YouTube, with popular teachers getting a lot more attention.
Inconsistent income and low revenue share
We have already outlined Skillshare’s monetization process for teachers, but it’s important to note the downside here. Because a teacher’s income is ranked based on views and engagement, the payment you receive can be inconsistent. If a course doesn’t do well, or your number of students drops, you will receive considerably less money at the end of the month. Plus, Skillshare only gives 20% of its total subscription revenue back to its teachers.
Lack of insights
To pair with the issue of inconsistent income, Skillshare is also lacking in the insights department. Aside from your earnings dashboard where you will find some simple metrics such as total watch minutes and subscriptions, you won’t get any detailed information. This can make it tricky to figure out how to improve and how users are interacting with your course content.
What are Users Saying About Skillshare?
When reviewing any platform, it's also important to consider what other users are saying. Skillshare is listed on Trustpilot and is a verified company with over 1600 reviews. However, these reviews are overwhelmingly bad, leaving Skillshare with a 1.3 out of 5 star rating.
There are plenty of poor reviews from users who have signed up to Skillshare as learners, stating issues with unauthorized payments, poor communication, and poor quality of content. For the sake of this review we focused on creator reviews and found that teachers reported stolen content, strict rules, and again, poor customer service.
A Skillshare Alternative for all Creators: Whop
Skillshare is a popular learning platform for a reason – the exclusive and strict nature of its teaching gives users a streamlined experience. But this causes a lot of restrictions for teachers, especially when it comes to flexibility.
If you are a teacher looking for a more flexible experience with higher earning potential, Whop is the choice for you. Whop is a comprehensive platform that allows creators to sell a range of digital products including courses, eBooks, Telegram or Discord group Memberships, or even access to websites or services. With a dedicated course builder, you can create courses for your students with certificates upon their completion.
Whop also makes marketing your uploaded courses or products easy. You can embed a widget on your existing website or use your social media to make use of different sales options. With a diverse audience of potential customers, Whop Marketplace gives you a chance to be discovered outside of your normal demographic.
Flexibility for creators and teachers is the central design of Whop – you will have a range of options at your disposal. Whether you want to sell courses for a one-off payment, or as part of a wider subscription model, you can give your users options.
Whop also offers an unobtrusive pricing plan, with no monthly fee and just a 3% commission on each sale. So, you keep 97% of the money that you make from your course sales.
If you are a creative teacher looking to sell courses and create a learning community, Whop you can get started for free – so join today!
