Skillshare is an online learning platform with 34K+ classes for creative people and entrepreneurs. Its categories include Music, Animation, Creative Writing, UI/UX design Marketing and much more. It offers a free trial on its premium plan that is billed annually at $167.88 (working out at $13.99 a month). Skillshare also offers a plan for teams and Businesses costing $159, per user a year which includes unlimited access to all classes and business features. It’s designed to be adapted for a team or business at every stage, shape and size. Skillshare offers both Scholarships and Financial aid for eligible learners, and a refund is available on annual memberships within 14 days of purchase.

Who Is Skillshare For?

 

 

Skillshare is aimed at creatives who want to develop new skills or improve existing ones. Since its classes focus on topics like illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing and much more naturally it appeals to; creative workers (e.g. designers, chefs, artists, etc.), entrepreneurs (e.g. marketers or SEOs), freelancers or small businesses who all want to take the next step in their creative journey.

 

 

Skillshare Learning Paths

Skillshare Learning Paths is designed to help you achieve your learning goals with hand-picked sequential classes that will deepen your skill set with a set of curated classes that build on one another. The learning paths are available in a range of experience levels from beginner to advanced.

 

 

Skillshare ChromaCourse

Skillshare has recently introduced four-week, immersive small group courses called ChromaCourse. The idea of it is to give of small group of learners access to exclusive content from expert teachers with live Q&As that get personalized feedback on your assignments.

 

 

Anyone can enroll on a Chroma Course, you don’t need to be a Skillshare member. All you need is access to Slack and Zoom, so you can participate in the live sessions. New Chroma Courses are launched each month and if you find the course you would like to join is full, there is the option to join the waiting list. You can purchase a Chroma Course with a debit or credit card, and then you will receive confirmation of purchase in your email.

Skillshare Community

Skillshare is an online learning community that believes in the importance of its members being able to come together to find inspiration, connect with one another and take the next steps into their creative journey.

Groups

Collaboration is a key part of the Skillshare platform. It has tamed up with some Skillshare teachers to bring you Groups. The Groups are broken up into 4 categories Creative, Technology, Business and Lifestyle.

 

 

The Groups are an opportunity for you to connect with other creators, share your work, and take your skills to the next level. By joining a Group, you’ll be able to connect with other Skillshare members in your industry, by asking questions, sharing your work, giving and receiving feedback or simply discuss your interests. If you have a free account you can join groups, but members with a Premium paid account can post in them.

Student Projects

Skillshare members can post the work they have been creating which can then be commented on and liked by other Skillshare members. It’s an ideal way to connect with others and share your work in an inspiring and creative community.

 

 

If you are someone who is looking for an online learning platform with a focus on community and connecting with members then Skillshare is the platform for you.

Localized Languages

Originally, the Skillshare community was primarily English speakers, but it now reaches a much larger global community. So, that is why it now offering its content in four additional languages including German, Spanish, French and Portuguese. It is in the process of localizing its catalog of classes for all these languages.

 

 

Skillshare Language Menu

For its English speaking classes subtitles will accompany the class in the chosen language of the user. Just make sure that you select the right language in the Class Details section of the Class Creator.

Skillshare for Teams

Skillshare isn’t just an online learning platform for individuals, it offers a plan for teams and businesses. This plan is designed for teams or businesses of any size and designed to develop their creative skills.

• Skillshare for teams: A plan that gives users a personalized experience with unlimited access to Skillshare’s 35,000+ classes, ability to watch classes offline and detailed reporting and analytics.

 

 

Skillshare for Teams

Try out Skillshare for Teams here

However, if you are after some sort of formal education (or certificate), Skillshare won’t be a good match as it doesn’t offer certificates, and it doesn’t partner with accredited Universities or Companies. If that is what you are looking for, we suggest checking out Coursera.

How Much Is Skillshare?

Skillshare has a simple pricing model, its plans are all subscription based. Its premium plan for individual learners gives you unlimited access to its 35,000+ classes, which you can watch when and where you want. A team plan is also available for your team or business.

Skillshare Premium

Skillshare Premium designed for individual learners is billed annually. The yearly cost is $167.88 (working out at $13.99 a month). As soon as you sign up for the annual membership you will need to enter your credit/debit or PayPal details, but you won’t be charged until the free trial ends. If you do decide that Skillshare Premium isn’t for you, you can cancel at anytime during your free trial, and you won’t be charged anything.

 

 

The cost of the Skillshare subscription plan is similar to that of the MasterClass platform, if you want to read a comparison on the two platforms, check out our Skillshare vs MasterClass article here.

 

 

Skillshare Premium Free Trial

A Skillshare Premium membership includes:

• Unlimited access to 35K+ classes
• Offline Viewing
• Access to a vibrant community

Skillshare Refund Policy

Skillshare offers refunds on annual Skillshare memberships if you contact them within 14 days after the charge has been processed, just by submitting a request for refund here. Be mindful, that only one refund is available per customer.

In some cases users may have signed up to a 30-day money-back guarantee offer, can request a refund up to 30 days after payment.

Cancel your membership

After you cancel your membership, your Skillshare account will be active for the remaining days of your membership plan. When your membership expires, you’ll lose access to your class videos and any downloadable material. If you change your mind you’re able to reactivate your membership plan at anytime.

Skillshare Teams

Skillshare for Teams is designed for creative learning, developing the skills of your team or business.

• Skillshare for Teams: $159 per user annually

 

 

Skillshare for Teams Pricing

The Skillshare for Teams is billed annually per user and there is no monthly option. The memberships are designed to provide flexibility for your organization. You have the option to add users to your account if your team grows.

Skillshare Scholarships

Skillshare offers different Scholarships ranging from 50% off a membership for College and University students to furloughed workers in the UK. If you meet the requirements, then you are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

 

 

The application process is pretty straightforward, all you need to do is add your name, email and explain why you are applying for the Skillshare Scholarship. You will then be notified via email if you are successful.

For more information about how much Skillshare costs, you can check out our pricing guide.

How To Open A Skillshare Account?

 

 

Open an account with Skillshare

Opening a Skillshare account is very easy to open, you only need to follow these steps:

1. Visit Skillshare.com and click on ‘Sign in’ (top right corner) or ‘Sign Up With Email’
2. Or if you prefer you can Continue with your: Facebook, Google or Apple account
3. You will then be directed to add your payment details
4. Once completed just select Start your free month

 

 

What Classes can I find on Skillshare?

When you click on Browse in the top-left corner you will see that Skillshare has divided its creative classes into 3 main categories Create, Build and Thrive (see image below).

 

 

• Create: Animation, Creative Writing, Film & Video, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Music, Photography, UI/UX Design and Web Development.
• Build: Business Analytics, Freelance & Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Management and Marketing.
• Thrive: Lifestyle and Productivity

Skillshare offers thousands of free classes in all the areas listed above, so it is an ideal way for you to try out its courses. Plus the free trial on the Skillshare Premium plan gives you full access to its library of classes and courses.

How are Skillshare Classes stuctured?

Skillshare classes are not designed around a fixed format. Some of its classes are short and sweet around 10 minutes, whereas others run for longer hours even and can have up to 50 short videos. All its classes have assignments and encourage its learner to share their projects and learning along the way, and it encourages engagement with the Skillshare community.

Skillshare offers a couple of types of classes, the Skillshare Original and other Skillshare classes that are created by individuals. The Skillshare Originals are courses which Skillshare produce, and they normally collaborate with partners like Moz and Havenly. As well as these partners it also likes to work with celebrities or influencers who have a decent following like Marques Brownlee (YouTuber, Pocaster, Tech Head) and Ali Abdaal (Doctor & YouTuber). I actually took one of Ali Abdaal classes you can read about my experience here.

 

Under each class video are some features that help to deepen your learning which include About, Teacher, Class Ratings, Hands-on Class Project and Resources and Transcripts.

About

 

 

The About section gives a summary of the class, what the lessons will cover and most importantly what skills you will learn from taking this class.

Teacher

A small blurb about the teacher teaching the class will tell you about their experience and background. In some cases, you may already be familiar with your teacher, but if not this gives you a well-rounded overview of who they are.

 

 

Class Ratings

The class ratings are a good indication for new users about an insight into the class. You can check out the Expectations of previous users and read comments left by them, this may help your decision-making whether you want to take the class or not.

 

 

Examples Of Popular Skillshare Classes

Let’s checkout some of the most popular classes that users are enjoying at Skillshare, I have highlighted the top classes based on each category.

Animation

 

 

The Beginner’s Guide to After Effects – Taught by Jake Bartlett, a Motion Designer. This class is beginner-friendly and is for anyone interested in the world of motion design and is a comprehensive course covering everything you need to know to start creating animations in Adobe After Effects. It covers topics Panels & Workspaces, Resolution, Frame Rates, Combining Effects and much more. This class has been watched by over 12,000 students with 80% of students who said the course exceeded their expectations.

Blender 3D: Your First 3D Character – Taught by Remington Markham, a Motion and Animation Designer. This class is beginner-friendly, and you will design, model, and texture your own 3D character. This course will cover skills traditionally used in animation, motion design, video game design and some VFX. This class has been watched by over 12,500 students with 80% of positive feedback.

Creative Writing

 

 

Creative Writing: Crafting Personal Essays with Impact – Taught by Roxane Gay, a Writer & Editor. This class is for all levels and is a one-hour masterclass that is an insightful and inspiring look at how to transform your story into a powerful personal essay. You will learn how to craft your personal voice and write to connect with people. This class has been enjoyed by close to 30,000 students with 70% of students who said this course exceeded their expectations.

Writing for Self-Discovery: 6 Journaling Prompts for Gratitude and Growth – Taught by Yasmine Cheyenne, a Writer, Speaker, Self-Healing Advocate. This class is for all levels and is made up of 12 video lessons. You will discover the power of journaling to cultivate confidence, mindfulness and growth by transforming your life in just 10 minutes a day. You’ll gain tools and frameworks through six meditative writing prompts. This class has been enjoyed by over 22,500 students with 80% of positive feedback.

Film & Video

 

 

Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro for Beginners – Taught by Jordy Vandeput, a Filmmaker and Youtuber. This class is beginner-friendly where you will learn how to take your creative ideas into amazing videos with Adobe Premiere Pro. You will learn a solid basis of Premiere Pro which allows you to perform basic edits, create custom graphics and texts, mix audio from speech, music, sound effects and much more. This class has been watched by over 71,000 students with over 60% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

YouTube Success: Build an Authentic Channel That’s Worth the Follow – Taught by Sorelle Amore, a Youtuber, Videographer and Photographer. This class is beginner-friendly, and you will learn tips and techniques for building up a devoted online following. You will learn how to find your topic niche and evolve it over time, prioritize authenticity over beauty, create a posting schedule and much more. This class has been watched by over 35,500 students with 60% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

Fine Art

 

 

The Art of Science of Drawing – Taught by Brent Eviston, a Master Artist & Instructor. This class is beginner-friendly and designed for aspiring painters, graphic designers, illustrators and artists of all types. In this course you’ll learn how to use the pencil like an artist, how to draw any shape and how to analyze and draw any subject by simplifying it into a basic shapes. This class has been watched by over 56,000 students with over 60% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

Acrylic Painting: Learn the Basics for Beginners – Taught by LaurieAnne Gonzalez, a Youtuber, Videographer and Photographer. This class is beginner-friendly and is broken down into 6 categories: Your Workspace, Color Mixing, Brushes, Texture (Acrylic Mediums), Dimension and Depth of Field. At the end of this class, you will have all the skills you need to begin painting. This class has been watched by over 21,000 students with 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Graphic Design

 

 

Adobe Photoshop CC – Essentials Training Course – Taught by Daniel Scott, an Adobe Certified Trainer. This class is beginner-friendly and will teach you everything you need to know about getting started with Photoshop. By the end of this course you’ll have the skills to retouch photographs, distort, transform and manipulate images and much more. This class has been watched by over 63,000 students with over 70% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design – Taught by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips, co-directors of the Graphic Design MFA program at MICA. This class is beginner-friendly and will give you a solid foundation and core principles of graphic design. You’ll learn and define 5 basic design principles, critique your work for effectiveness and balance and apply each core concept in future projects. This class has been watched by over 106,000 students with 80% of students sharing positive feedback.

Illustration

 

 

Digital Illustration: Learn to Use Procreate – Taught by Jarom Vogel, a Digital Illustrator. This class is beginner-friendly where you’ll learn how to use Procreate on your iPad to create digital artwork. The key lessons in this course include: setting up your first canvas, using select tool, brushes and erasers, creating and organizing your layers, adding color, textures, and effects. This class has been watched by over 115,000 students with over 50% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

Intro to Procreate: Illustrating on the iPad (UPDATED) – Taught by Brooke Glaser, Illustrator and Children’s Designer. This class is beginner-friendly and will cover all the hidden tools and gestures you need to make creating digital illustrations easy and fun. By the time you finish this class, creating digital illustrations will feel intuitive and natural as drawing with pencil and paper. This class has been watched by over 67,000 students with 65% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

Music

 

 

Learn How to Mix Music with Young Guru – Taught by Young Guru, Grammy-Nominated, Legendary Audio Engineer. This class is for intermediate level learner and the class is made up of four sections which include: Organizing a Mix, Determining Levels, Adding Effects and Tonal Balance. This class has been watched by over 23,000 students with 50% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

SINGING MADE EASY (Level 1): Complete Vocal Training System – Taught by GB Voice Academy, Voice Coach. This class is beginner-friendly and this course will provide you with a wealth of information and tools to bring your singing voice to the next level. Some of what you will learn are expanding your vocal range, how to properly warm up your voice, how to utilize your breath efficiently, how to sing with more emotion and feeling and much more. This class has been watched by over 22,000 students with over 60% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

Photography

 

 

Fundamentals of DSLR Photography – Taught by Justin Bridges, Fashion and Portrait Photographer. This class is beginner-friendly, an introductory photography class where you’ll learn how to manually balance shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to achieve perfect exposure. You’ll also learn Justin’s go-to camera settings, must-have gear and recommendations on a budget. This class has been watched by over 86,000 students with over 65% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

iPhone Photography: How to Take Pro Photos On Your iPhone – Taught by Dale McManus, a Photographer and Videographer. This class is beginner-friendly and will teach you everything you need to be a professional digital photographer. In this course you’ll learn plenty of tips and tricks that you can use during every day shooting to make your photos stand out from the rest. Some of what you’ll learn  is how to take stunning photos by utilizing shot composition, how to create depth in your photography, how to professionally edit photos in Lightroom and much more. This class has been watched by over 95,000 students with over 60% of students say the course exceeded their expectations.

UI/UX Design

 

 

User Experience Design Essentials – Adobe XD UI UX Design – Taught by Daniel Scott, an Adober Certified Trainer. This class is beginner-friendly, and you’ll learn the difference between UX and UI Design. You’ll learn the essential tools necessary for creating excellent wireframes, including type, colours, icons and much more. This class has been watched by over 21,000 students with over 70% of students who said the course exceeded their expectations.

Intro to UX: Designing with a User-Centered Approach – Taught by Cinthya Mohr, Sr. UX Manager @ Google. This class is beginner-friendly and Cinthya will teach you to look at the user’s experience with your product, so you can create designs that serve your user effectively. By the end of the class, you’ll have the tools you need to design digital products that keep your users engaged and give you the results you’re looking for. This class has been watched by over 7,500 students with nearly 50% of learners saying it exceeded their expectations.

Web Development

 

 

Responsive Web Design Essentials – HTML5 CSS3 Bootstrap – Taught by Daniel Scott, an Adobe Certified Trainer. This class is beginner-friendly, and you’ll learn how to build professional responsive web sites, which look good on mobiles, tablets and desktop screens. You’ll build 4 sites together; a simple but elegant restaurant website, a bike repair website, a responsive portfolio website and a Bootstrap website. This class has been watched by over 6,500 students with close to 80% of students who said the course exceeded their expectations.

Coding for Beginners 1: You Can Code!– Taught by Applause Interactive, Digital Skills for Life. This class is beginner-friendly and has been designed as a generic, foundation level course, to introduce you to many of the common coding concepts that you’ll go on to use in whichever programming language you choose to learn next. This class has been watched by over 8,000 students with over 60% of learners saying it exceeded their expectations.

Business Analytics

 

 

Microsoft Excel Essentials: Level 1 Basics – Master Excel Step-By-Step – Learn Excel Fundamentals – Taught by Alan Jarvis, a master of Excel. This class is beginner-friendly, and you’ll learn the fundamentals of Excel. In this class you will concentrate on building a single complete project from scratch, using all the basic functions and give you a thorough understanding. This class has been watched by over 13,000 students with over 60% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Fundamentals of Google Analytics– Taught by Jeff Sauer, Google Analytics Strategist. This class is beginner-friendly, and you will learn to get the most out of your website data with Google Analytics. You will learn about user demographics to creating the perfect dashboard and each lesson is packed with actionable tips and tricksto help you articulate your goals. This class has been watched by over 13,000 students with close to 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Freelance & Entrepreneurship

 

 

Stock Market Fundamentals – Taught by Zac Hartley, an Entrepreneur and Day Trader. This class is beginner-friendly and perfect for someone interested in getting into day trading, swing trading or dividend investing and all the fundamentals are covered to getting started. This class has been watched by over 2,000 students with over 80% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Make a Living as an Artist: Strategies for Crafting Your Creative Business – Taught by Brooke Glaser, Illustrator and Children’s Designer. The class is for all levels, and if you’re starting your first art business, then this class is for you. It is a fun, practical and comprehensive guide to making money as an artist. This class has been watched by over 21,000 students with over 75% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Leadership & Management

 

 

Presentation Essentials: How to Share Ideas That Inspire Action – Taught by Simon Sinek, Optimist and Author. This class is for all levels, and you will learn Sinek’s secrets for giving a presentation that audiences love, remember, and repeat. You’ll learn how to identify your passions, speak with conviction and master public speaking and transform nerves into natural energy. This class has been watched by over 55,000 students with more than 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Communication Skills: Become More Clear, Concise, & Confident – Taught by Alex Lyon, Communication Professor. The class is for all levels, and is here to help leaders develop clear, concise, and confident communication. The communication skills you’ll learn can be applied to one-on-one conversations, team meetings, and presentations. This class has been watched by over 6,500 students with more than 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Marketing

 

 

Social Media Marketing: Top Tips for Growing Your Followers & Going Viral – Taught by Cat Coquillete, Artist, Entrepreneur and Educator. This class is beginner-friendly and someone wanting to learn strategies for using social media to grow follows and to cultivate a strong brand. The focus will be on social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. This class has been watched by over 48,000 students with close to 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Growing Your Creative Business Through Instagram – Taught by Cat Coquillete, Artist, Entrepreneur and Educator. The class is for all levels and for any creatives (artists, designers, illustrators, photographers, content creators) who are looking to grow their brand successfully on Instagram. You’ll learn strategies for driving sales, tips for photographing your work, content and caption brainstorming ideas, advice for growing followers and much more. This class has been watched by over 13,000 students with more than 60% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Lifestyle

 

 

Learn Anything With Flashcards – The Ultimate Guide to Anki – Taught by Ali Abdaal, a Doctor and YouTuber. This class is for all levels and for someone looking for the right tools and techniques for learning. This class provides and extensive walkthrough of the flashcard app Anki, a tool which has made studying more effective, more efficient and less stressful. You will come away from this class with helpful tips and advice. This class has been watched by over 15,500 students with more than 70% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Style Your Space: Creative Tips and Techniques for Interior Design – Taught by Emily Henderson, Stylist, Author and Host. This class is beginner-friendly and for anyone looking for practical ways to create a space that’s uniquely yours. In this class Emily shows 20+ examples of her designs and shares tips on finding your interior style, how to mix and match your favorite styles, implement style trends and choose pieces you’ll love for a lifetime. This class has been watched by over 35,500 students with close to 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Productivity

 

 

Productivity Masterclass: Create a Custom System that Works– Taught by Thomas Frank, YouTuber, Author, Entrepreneur. This class is for all levels and will help you transform your personal and professional life by creating a simple, customized productivity system. The key lessons you will take away from this class are task management essentials, how to take (and keep) notes, email tips and tricks and more. This class has been watched by over 93,000 students with more than 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Real Productivity: How to Build Habits That Last – Taught by Thomas Frank, YouTuber, Author, Entrepreneur. This class is for all levels and will help you build habits to build yourself up for success and keep yourself on track. You’ll learn to set reasonable and realistic goals, how to handle failure without giving up, a better understanding of habit formation and much more. This class has been watched by over 53,500 students with over 50% of students saying the course exceeded their expectations.

Skillshare Teachers

Skillshare has over 8,000+ teachers within its community. If you are looking to teach online and trying to decide on your class topic then Skillshare offers up-to-date teaching resources and teachers tips videos (see image below). You can also join a Skillshare Teachers group to ask questions, share tips, and you can email [email protected] for any specific questions.

 

 

As well as all the resources and tips that Skillshare offers for new teachers it also highlights success stories of teachers on its blog to inspire you to build a following, engage with learners and earn a passive income.

Top Skillshare Teachers

Hayden Aube: An illustrator, designer and teacher at Skillshare. Hayden offers a variety of classes from Character Design to Illustration. His classes are short and to the point and the focus is on delivering the most important information that’s going to make the biggest impact on your work. Some of Hayden’s most popular classes are Adobe Illustrator: Design with Gradients, Teach Yourself to Draw Anything: A Step-by-Step Process and Vector Illustration: Playing with Texture.

Mel Armstrong: An illustrator, Pattern Addict and teacher at Skillshare. Mel is obsessed with creating beautiful things, from craft to illustration. Her classes focus on learning pattern design as well as digital illustration. Some of Mel’s most popular classes are Illustrating in Procreate: Draw a fox!, 10 Photoshop Tips for Surface Designers and Surface Pattern Design Fundamentals.

Sean Dalton: A travel and lifestyle photographer and teacher at Skillshare. Sean strives to capture the true essence of a scene with his camera. His classes relate to his travel and lifestyle photography background, but his focus is constantly expanding as he continues to grow as a photographer. Some of Sean’s most popular classes are Photography Essentials: Understanding the Basics, Adobe Lightroom: Finding Your Unique Editing Style and Dark & Moody Food Photography for Instagram Success: Visual Storytelling with Emotional Food Photos.

My Skillshare Experience

The best way for me to get to know the Skillshare platform is by taking one of its classes and sharing my personal experience. As I am always looking for new ways to improve my own productivity, I thought the Productivity Masterclass – Principles and Tools to Boost Your Productivity would be a great place to start.

My initial feelings were that Ali Abdaal (Doctor & YouTuber), who is the teacher of the class, was engaging and was able to explain productivity concepts clearly and concisely. The interface of the class design make it easy for users to move around and find what you are looking for.

Video Lessons

The video lesson’s template is very intuitively designed (see image below). You can find all the video lessons and duration on the right side of the video player. Then below the video player is subheadings of the class like About, Reviews, Discussions, Projects & Resources and Transcripts.

 

 

This Productivity Masterclass – Principles and Tools to Boost Your Productivity consists of 15 video lessons which are all bite sized, with the longest video around 20 minutes long. I particularly enjoyed the video lesson on The Power of Habits as it was one of my favourite classes, I took a lot away from it, especially about how once something becomes a habit it becomes so much easier to sustain. Also, the fact that it is about identity change and the identities we reinforce on ourselves and making the smallest changes will impact us long term.

Projects & Discussions

Throughout the Productivity Masterclass, Ali Abdaal encourages students to share their experiences via Student Projects or Discussions. Many of the video lessons have journaling and writing prompts for learners to help you reflect on your own practice. This reflective writing helps you to engage with the class.

 

 

I added my own response to the prompt “I Don’t Have Time” (see image below) and even though I won’t be getting any feedback from Ali Abdaal it did make me think about what am I avoiding when I say to myself “I don’t have time” and write down what that is. I believe much of what this class is about is changing old habits of behavior, so having this reflective practice enforces you to think about changing patterns of behavior.

 

 

To summarize

Before concluding all the reasons, you should take a Skillshare class. It would only be fair to highlight where the platform is lacking and why it may not be right for you. Skillshare doesn’t offer certificates or any sort of formal accreditation. If that is something you are looking for then Coursera or Udacity would be the right fit.

Skillshare isn’t right for you:

• There are no quizzes, tests or assessments
• You won’t get any feedback from the teacher
• There are no deadlines

You’ll love Skillshare for:

• 1-month free trial
• Engaging & Bite size video lessons
• Ask questions in the Discussions
• 35,000+ classes on a wide variety of subjects

> You can check out Productivity Masterclass – Principles and Tools to Boost Your Productivity

7 tips To Find The Perfect Skillshare Class

Like most of the other elearning platforms, Skillshare has a review system that you can check to find out what previous students think about a certain course. But these aren’t the only ways you can find the right course for you, let me highlight some tips on how you can find the right class for you.

Filter out the classes

If you buy on sites like Amazon or eBay you are probably used to the filters to narrow your searches down. Skillshare’s interface comes with filters you can use to find the right course for you.

 

 

Skillshare filter view

Once you’ve selected a category (topic) you can then filter the classes out by free vs premium and select the desired course duration (in minutes). There is also the possibility to order the classes by popularity or trend.

Sadly, its filters don’t have as many options as the ones you can find in other elearning platforms such as Coursera or Udemy, but they can be useful too.

About this class

In the course landing page, you can find the ‘About this class’, a section that will detail who the course is aimed at, what you will learn, the level of the class (from beginner to advanced) and the skills that you’ll be able to acquire after completion.

 

 

Skillshare about this class

There is also a short blurb about the instructor, normally it details their experience, passion and why they teach this subject.

A good place to start is checking that the skills taught in the course are what you are looking to learn and that the level of the course matches your experience.

Available projects

Since Skillshare classes are project-based, you can have a sneak peek of the projects that the instructor will use to support her or his teaching throughout the lessons.

 

 

Skillshare sneak peek of the course projects

As you can see in the image above, the course resources can be accessed even before starting the course. I’d recommend doing so as they will give you a pretty clear idea of what you’ll be practising and learning.

Read reviews at Skillshare

Another great tip to find the course of your dreams is to be checking what past students have to say about it.

 

 

Skillshare reviews and rating

Its review system offers a breakdown of what students thought of the course, you can then click on one of the grades and read the reviews for it (e.g. only ‘Exceeded!’ rating reviews).

You can also go ahead and read some of the reviews from other users, but be aware that Skillshare sorts them by default from best to worse. you can always sort them by ‘Most Recent’ to read a more balanced pool of users’ feedback.

I also checked the ‘Most Liked’ section too, this section provides information about the different aspects that students valued the most. For example, helpful examples, the instructor was clear or how organized the classes are.

Find out more about the instructor

At Skillshare.com, every teacher has a page where they explain who they are, their professional experience and what their teaching goals are. Going through this page can be useful to get a vibe of each teacher and see if you like their approach to education.

 

 

Skillshare instructor profile

However you are not limited to the information that you can read on their instructor landing page, as you can see in the image above, they normally have references to either their website or their social media accounts. Check them out to gather more information on your potential teacher – but please don’t be a creepy stalker 🙂

Free Trial

The 7-day free trial gives you the opportunity to try out the Skillshare platform and all its courses for a week.

 

 

Skillshare premium 7 day free trial

Remember, you can always cancel before the first 7-day if you want to avoid continuing with the Skillshare premium plan, and you won’t be charged anything.

Skillshare mobile app

You can access Skillshare from your tablet or phone thanks to the Skillshare app. With the premium membership, you can learn on the go even when you are offline. All you need to do is download the classes beforehand, and then you can learn from anywhere. As you progress in different classes, this will all be synced with all your devices, be it your computer, tablet or phone.

 

 

So if you have a busy schedule, or a long commute, then learning with the Skillshare app maybe the answer for you. The Skillshare app is available for IOS (4.8 rating) and Android (4.5 rating).

 

Will Skillshare Help Me With My Career?

Whereas Skillshare won’t get you a formal promotion as it doesn’t have accredited certificates, it’s very possible that it helps improve your professional skills so you can work confidently.

 

 

All Skillshare classes are project-based

I would say that Skillshare is ideal if you are a freelancer (or part of a creative team) and you don’t care too much about earning certificates and developing your CV. Skillshare is more about teaching you the knowledge you can apply to your work.

There is also an engaged community of students at Skillshare, this can be a great way to get in touch with other professionals from your field.

Is Skillshare Legit?

Sure, Skillshare is an elearning platform that has been operating since 2010, which means that it’s older than most of its competitors. They have their headquarters in New York and companies such as Vice, Stapels or Virgin TV use them for their employees’ development.

 

 

Skillshare Premium free trial

Its website is SSL secured and the payments can be done using a credit card or PayPal, you’ll have a 14-day refund policy for annual subscriptions. On top of that, you’ll be able to trial the platform and its classes for some time completely free.

Publish a course at Skillshare

There aren’t any formal requirements to publish a course at Skillshare, you won’t have to be a university lecturer or a super famous designer or artist – although that helps.

As a Skillshare instructor, you’ll be in charge of designing your course, producing the videos and materials, uploading the resources to Skillshare and keeping in touch with your students.

There are two ways in which Skillshare teachers are paid:

1. You would get paid $10 for every new student you bring to Skillshare
2. For each viewed minute of your classes, Skillshare will pay you a royalty.

Payments to instructors are made via PayPal, sadly, there isn’t any other way to get paid with Skillshare.

Please be aware that the speed at which students watch your classes has an impact on your revenue. For example, if they watch 20 minutes at 2x, you’ll be paid for 10 minutes, and if they watch 20 minutes at 0.5x you’ll be paid for 40 minutes.

There are guidelines for instructors when creating classes, but they are mainly common-sense recommendations:

• Create engaging and educational content
• Sound and video should be good quality
• You must have an introduction/presentation video
• Classes need to be project-based
• No self-promotion outside the intro and outro of the classes
• Max upload 1 class a week
• Some topics aren’t allowed: passive income, other educational platforms (e.g. Udemy), reselling products or medical content
• Minimum of 10 minutes per course

Skillshare Vs Udemy

Skillshare and Udemy are both very popular online learning platforms that offer a wide range of topics, but they do have some key differences. For example, Udemy offers over 200K courses, compared to Skillshare’s 35,000+ courses. It also has a much broader range of categories like Business, Technology, Personal development and more. Whereas Skillshare focuses around creative topics like Graphic design, Photography, Animation and so on. Each platform has a different pricing model, Skillshare is subscription-based and Udemy’s courses are paid for individually. The quality of its courses are similar on both platforms as it allows anyone to teach a course. If you want to try out either platform for free, then you can take advantage of Skillshare’s 1-month free trial or try one of Udemy’s free courses. If you want to read in more detail comparing these two platforms, then check out our Skillshare Vs Udemy article.

Skillshare Vs MasterClass

Skillshare and MasterClass are both popular online learning platforms, they have many things in common, but equally have some differences. Skillshare focuses on creative topics like Animation, Creative Writing, Graphic Design, Photography and more, which makes it stand out from the rest. Whereas what makes MasterClass unique are its VIP and celebrity instructors teaching its courses. Both platforms offer annual membership plans, MasterClass charges a slightly higher fee, but has a more generous refund policy. The quality of MasterClasses video lessons are top, it’s almost cinematic like. Whereas at Skillshare anyone can teach and record a class, which may mean the quality suffers. It is important to try and both platforms to compare, if you want to read in more detail, then please check out our Skillshare Vs MasterClass article.

Last Thoughts: Is Skillshare Worth It?

After this in-depth Skillshare review, I hope you have a clearer understanding of how this popular creative online learning platform works and whether it is right for you. Let me summarize why it’s worth it;

Its premium plan is affordable and gives you access to 35,000+ classes which are geared towards creative professionals, entrepreneurs and learners. The course community is normally engaged, so interacting with other students can be a fun way to learn. The 1-month free trial gives you the opportunity to test the waters out before financially committing.

If you are part of a creative team or business, one of its three team plans may be suitable. The starter plan is the cheapest option, and then you have the Enterprise or Revive, which are both custom plans.

As mentioned earlier, if you are looking for any kind of official recognition of your learnings (e.g. a certificate), you’ll have to look elsewhere (e.g. Coursera or edX). Even if they have a lot of online courses available, they are normally focused on design, marketing and entrepreneurship – you may not be able to find the course you need.