Kate Anisimova
Educational platforms · 5 MIN · 17.09.2024
How to create a course on Skillshare
If you’re a creator and want to earn money by sharing your knowledge, Skillshare is an excellent platform to start. With its subscription-based model and a library of over 30+ courses, it provides an opportunity for creators to reach a wide audience.
So, how can you create a successful course on Skillshare? In this article, we’ll not only answer that question but also provide you with tips on how to do it efficiently.
So, how can you create a successful course on Skillshare? In this article, we’ll not only answer that question but also provide you with tips on how to do it efficiently.
First steps
Before you start creating your course, you’ll need to set up a Skillshare teacher account. Follow the link to sign up to teach.
Under this link, you'll find the questionnaire. Prepare a sample of your lesson beforehand – Skillshare requires it to evaluate your skill as an instructor.
Then, wait until you get approval – usually, it takes 1-2 weeks.
What does a Skillshare course look like?
Skillshare courses – or classes, as the platform calls them – are short pieces of knowledge, usually focused on one skill or a specific project.
Before we dive deeper into the format, let’s take a look at the essential course guidelines Skillshare provides.
Before we dive deeper into the format, let’s take a look at the essential course guidelines Skillshare provides.
Here's a Skillshare course in a nutshell
- Total duration: 20-60 minutes of pre-recorded video
- Each lesson: 2-8 minutes
- Final project: so students can practice what they have learned
If you aim to teach some fundamental stuff like ‘how to become a UX designer,’ these guidelines may seem impossible. After all, we all have so much to teach, right? Is it even possible to fit everything into a half-an-hour course?
Yes.
And no.
Let’s see how one can manage this task.
Yes.
And no.
Let’s see how one can manage this task.
How does it work?
Let’s indeed pretend you plan to create a Skillshare course to become a UX designer. This is a complex profession that requires a lot of learning in order to achieve success.
Most likely, you plan to design modules on research, customer journey maps and user flow, creating wireframes and prototypes, UX writing, Figma basics, A/B testing and a dozen other topics. By all means, it should take at least six months.
Take a moment to examine all these topics. Ask yourself: Is it possible to create a final project for each one of them?
The final project is the key when planning your online course – it doesn’t matter if it is on Skillshare or another platform – because it embodies the goal of your course. ‘I need students to learn this stuff’ – ‘so they can do other stuff’. Or – ‘I need students to learn A/B testing’ – ‘so they can find the best way to with their products.’
When you design any course, always keep in mind the final project and how you can lead your students there.
When you design any course, always keep in mind the final project and how you can lead your students there.
Let’s take customer journey maps, for example. If you think about learning how to create CJMs as a standalone course, the final project may be:
- Create CJM that outlines the user’s experience when first using the Spotify app
- Or – map their experience of using toy delivery services
Most likely, you plan to design modules on research, customer journey maps and user flow, creating wireframes and prototypes, UX writing, Figma basics, A/B testing and a dozen other topics. By all means, it should take at least six months.
Let’s take the first course and see what’s inside. As you can see, there are a total of 29 minutes of video, 2 to 7 minutes each.
In the end, there’s a final project.
To conclude:
If you’re feeling unsure about how to proceed, remember that you're not alone. Seturon has a team of learning experience designers with 6 to 10 years of professional experience ready to assist you in choosing a topic for your course and guiding you through the entire creation process.
- Break down your area of expertise on smaller topics
- Choose one
- Come up with the final project you’ll lead your student to
If you’re feeling unsure about how to proceed, remember that you're not alone. Seturon has a team of learning experience designers with 6 to 10 years of professional experience ready to assist you in choosing a topic for your course and guiding you through the entire creation process.
How to create content for your Skillshare course
By this moment, you should have your topic and a final project in mind. It’s time to create content!
For a lot of people, this step is the most complicated one. Blank page syndrome is not a joke, right? Here’s a little trick to make everything easier.
Imagine you’ve just hired an intern. Your goal will most likely be to teach them to do useful work as soon as possible because working on real work a bit differs from studying at school. So, here is a task. You need them to create a CJM. Or proofread an article. Or bring you coffee. You need to get it done and have very little time to explain.
For a lot of people, this step is the most complicated one. Blank page syndrome is not a joke, right? Here’s a little trick to make everything easier.
Imagine you’ve just hired an intern. Your goal will most likely be to teach them to do useful work as soon as possible because working on real work a bit differs from studying at school. So, here is a task. You need them to create a CJM. Or proofread an article. Or bring you coffee. You need to get it done and have very little time to explain.
How will you teach your imaginary intern to perform work-related tasks?
Got an answer in mind? Perfect! That’s your starting point – and the one in the end is the final project you’ve created in the previous step.
In between, there will most likely be 3-4 steps you’ll need to teach your intern to perform to be able to finish the final one. If these steps still look big, split them into even smaller ones. For example:
So, start with your final project and keep breaking it down into simpler tasks with your inner intern in mind.
Now, let’s move to shooting videos. Each process of creating any video consists of three steps: preproduction, production and postproduction.
In between, there will most likely be 3-4 steps you’ll need to teach your intern to perform to be able to finish the final one. If these steps still look big, split them into even smaller ones. For example:
- Your intern needs to understand basic UX elements like buttons and forms to create a prototype, which they must also create in Figma.
- To create in Figma, they need to be able to work there.
- To do this, they need to understand its interface.
So, start with your final project and keep breaking it down into simpler tasks with your inner intern in mind.
Now, let’s move to shooting videos. Each process of creating any video consists of three steps: preproduction, production and postproduction.
Preproduction
One may argue that preproduction is the most crucial step because it is where you set the foundation for your video.
There are two ways to prepare the script: write it down word by word if you plan to use a prompter, or make a plan and tell the story to the camera.
The second option will look more natural, but there is no shame in using a prompter if you do not feel like an accomplished speaker.
Either way, make sure you think through the whole content before shooting. Even if you plan to film yourself on the mobile phone at home, do a future yourself a favour and prepare in advance. You’ll need to edit it later, after all.
The second option will look more natural, but there is no shame in using a prompter if you do not feel like an accomplished speaker.
Either way, make sure you think through the whole content before shooting. Even if you plan to film yourself on the mobile phone at home, do a future yourself a favour and prepare in advance. You’ll need to edit it later, after all.
Production
It’s okay if you don’t have access to a professional camera and light.
Here’s a life hack: if you don’t have a good microphone, put a sock on your phone and put it close to you while you're shooting. It will help your voice come out much cleaner and reduce echo a bit.
- Pick a quiet place where no one will disturb you and where there is enough natural light.
- Don’t shoot at night if you can avoid this – non-professional artificial light most likely won’t do you good.
- Think about sound recording devices in advance: good audio quality is more important than many tend to think.
Here’s a life hack: if you don’t have a good microphone, put a sock on your phone and put it close to you while you're shooting. It will help your voice come out much cleaner and reduce echo a bit.
Postproduction
If you’re not familiar with editing software, try Camtasia – it is relatively easy to start with. If you have experience with other Adobe products, you may try Premiere Pro, but be ready to spend some time learning, as it may not be the most straightforward software.
An important thing to know: Skillshare has a navigation bar in the video player. Though it can disappear, we advise you not to put anything of high importance in the lower part of the video if you don’t want students to miss it.
Conclusion
If you plan to create a course on Skillshare, keep in mind that this platform is designed for shorter courses, up to 60 minutes long, that consist only of videos and a mandatory final project at the end.
And if you feel like needing assistance with creating your course – reach out to Seturon, and we’ll help to guide you through the whole process.
And if you feel like needing assistance with creating your course – reach out to Seturon, and we’ll help to guide you through the whole process.
- Kate AnisimovaLearning experience designerDesigned over 100 online courses, built four LX teams from scratch, and established educational standards for five companies. But who's counting?