Learn New Skills, Share Your Expertise on Skillshare

There are no more excuses for not learning. In the palm of most every hand is access to online courses geared for every level of study and learning. 

I first started down the path of online learning when I thought I wanted to attend the local junior college and take a few classes. What I found was an entrance exam that began with Algebra. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t feel like brushing up on Algebra. I didn’t like it the first time around.

Some searching made me realize I needed to take a few steps back and get prepared to start learning again. It’s been some time since I sat and studied anything. Yes, I sit down to write which sometimes requires research, but nothing like studying a topic and then being tested on it.

This led me to Coursera where I took a wonderful class, Learning How to Learn. You can read more about my experience here.

I took a few classes on Coursera. Learning how to Learn inspired me.

Then I took a few classes on Udemy. they were also well done and inspiring.

But most of these classes focused on academic topics. I wasn't finding the creative outlet I was looking for.

Skillshare was exactly what I was looking for.

Not only do they have some academic classes, like math, marketing or journalism, there are also classes on photography, calligraphy, social media, and using software programs like GIMP and Inkscape (two programs I've come to love!)

A nice part of Skillshare are the class projects. This lets students show what they learned and created, and it gives the class the opportunity to interact with each other and the instructor.

Another great thing about Skillshare classes; they are usually short and focused.

Instead of having to take a course that covers everything GIMP does, there are classes that are as short as 10 minutes (which is the minimum class length) that focuses on one thing GIMP does. Which made it easy for me to learn what I didn't know and skip over what I already did know. Saving me tons of time, you know?

And classes are broken down into sections. So once you're "inside" the classroom, you can even pick and choose which parts of the class you watch. 

These short, focused classes are exactly what any short-attention span, busy person needs. 

Nice!

Have you ever wanted to create an online course but didn't know where to begin?

Skillshare makes it super easy to create an online course. Through their Teaching Academy, new teachers learn how to create their class using templates and simple instructions. 

This is a great way for anyone thinking of creating an online course to get their feet wet in course creation. You can start by sharing just a small section of your course and add to it over time. 

They also have monthly challenges. This article and my related course on Skillshare, How to Write on Wizzley, For Fun and Profit was created for one of those challenges. Courses that are selected as winners are posted in the Feature section, giving instructor more exposure to Skillshare audience.

Instructors with popular classes on Skillshare are sharing their success stories of earning good money! 

There are a few, and you'll see them featured prominently on Skillshare, who are now full-time Skillshare instructors, meaning they're earning a full-time income from their courses that are available 24/7 on Skillshare! 

It will take some time to create your classes and build your audience. Find people to follow by taking classes and viewing class projects. Interact with classmates and follow! You'll grow your audience in no time.

And when you post a new Skillshare class, your followers will be notified, meaning people will know immediately you have a new class for them. This saves you time from having to notify them yourself - although don't forget to share you class on your social media channels.

Even if you don't want to create a course, you can still earn money by referring others to Skillshare.

If you've taken a class, or find it interesting, you can share a link to the class to your social media audiences. You'll earn for every referral! 

I hope you'll use my referral link here. Thanks :)  

I hope to see you there!

Visit the site and browse the classes. I know you'll find at least one class to take. Many of the classes are free and if you use this link you'll get 3 months access to over 200,000 classes for just $0.99! 

If you do create a class, please let me know - leave us a link to your course in the comments and I'll be sure to enroll!