Introduction:
Skillshare was founded in New York in 2010 by two veterans of the digital world Michael Karnjanaprakorn and Malcolm Ong. It offers more than 35,000+ courses (or as they say classes) and 5 million users, it is one of the most popular elearning platforms out there and focuses on classes for creative professionals and entrepreneurs.
Skillshare is a good elearning platform, even if it doesn’t have as many classes as others (e.g. Udemy), it provides a lot of resources for creative people and entrepreneurs.
It’s also an affordable solution as it can be as cheap as $8.25 a month if you decide to go for an annual subscription (be aware that you’ll need to pay the full amount in advance).
There is also a 1-month free trial for the Premium plan which gives you unlimited access to thousands of classes and you can cancel at anytime within that 1-month period if you decide not to continue.
Who Is Skillshare For?
This elearning platform is aimed for professionals that want to develop new skills or improve existing ones. Since it’s focused on creative workers (e.g. designers, chefs, artists, etc.) and entrepreneurs (e.g. marketers or SEOs), freelancers or small businesses are the ones that will enjoy Skillshare the most.
However, if you are after some sort of formal education (or certificate), Skillshare won’t be a good match for you.
Skillshare for Teams
Skillshare doesn’t only offer classes for individuals, it also offers plans for businesses and teams. It offers three different team plans depending on the size of your team or business.
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.
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.
Top 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 teach@skillshare.com 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.
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.
SkillShare vs Youtube:
SkillShare has classes with connected lessons, while YouTube offers shorter, independent videos. The lessons in a Skillshare class flow together seamlessly and often add up to hours of content on a single topic, by the same teacher. On YouTube, the focus is on finding shorter, individual videos.
Pros and Cons:
Pros
- Free Classes: Skillshare offers about 10% of its classes for free meaning over 3,000 classes can be accessed at no cost.
- Affordable: Skillshare pricing is affordable, especially if you commit for a yearly deal as you’ll get more than a 50% discount.
- Free Trial: Skillshare is currently offering a 1-month free trial on its Premium paid membership for you to enjoy and explore the full library of its classes.
- Engaged Community: Skillshare has a highly engaged community, this can make its classes interactive and fun.
- Big pool of classes: Skillshare offers thousands of classes and all are available with the premium Skillshare membership. I think it will be hard for you to get bored with the selection.
Cons
- Quality Control: Since anyone can create their own course at Skillshare the available courses’ quality can vary from course to course.
- Available In English: Although Skillshare welcomes courses in any language, in reality, there isn’t much on offer in languages other than English.
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