How to Make Money as an Artist on Skillshare

how to make money as an artist on skillshare

Hey there, fellow artists! Have you heard of Skillshare? It’s an online education platform for creative people who love to learn and teach. It’s not only an opportunity to learn and share our skills, but also has the potential to make us some extra money, or even a full-time income! So in this post, I’m going to be sharing with you my experience of how to make money as an artist on Skillshare.

Back in 2021, I took a leap outside my comfort zone and published my first Skillshare class. Now, with five classes under my belt and a growing income stream, I can attest to the great opportunities this platform has to offer.

Although the initial challenges of video creation were intimidating, the rewards have been fulfilling and it has opened new doors for my career as an artist and content creator.

So let’s jump in to this post on how to make money as an artist on Skillshare.

What is Skillshare?

Skillshare is an online learning platform and community with thousands of classes in design, business, and more, taught by professionals in their field.

Members pay a monthly, or annual fee to access all courses on the platform, along with some other perks, such as live classes. They predominantly focus on creative disciplines like painting, illustration, and software tutorials such as Photoshop and Procreate.

As well as being an excellent platform to hone your creative skills, Skillshare offers the opportunity for artists to share and monetize their own expertise.

As a Teacher on Skillshare, you can create and publish your own courses, guiding learners through your unique creative process while earning money doing what you love.

my Skillshare profile

How do you make money as an artist on Skillshare?

The most common way to make money on Skillshare is by becoming a Teacher and uploading your own courses.

When someone watches one of your courses, you earn a share of the revenue, based on how many minutes of your course(s) they watch. If you have a popular course with a lot of students, you could potentially earn a decent amount of money.

Another way to make money on Skillshare is by becoming an Affiliate. Affiliates are people who promote Skillshare courses and earn a commission when someone signs up for a Premium Membership using their affiliate link. You can promote your own and/or other teacher’s classes to earn this type of income.

If you have a blog or social media with a large following, you could make some decent money by promoting Skillshare courses.

How do you get started on Skillshare?

To get started on Skillshare, the first thing you need to do is create a free account and set up your profile. You can do this by going to the Skillshare website and clicking on the “Sign Up” button.

Note: If you’re not interested in becoming a Premium Member, you can still make money from Skillshare as a teacher and affiliate.

How do you make courses for Skillshare?

Now you’re ready to create your first course. This may take a significant amount of time, and there can be be a learning curve if you are not familiar with the hardware and/or software needed to produce videos. It’s okay, you can learn! (If I can do it, so can you).

There are tons of resources out there to help you product your first Skillshare class. Both on Skillshare itself, Youtube, and blog posts on the web.

The main things you will need to produce your videos are:

  1. A phone or a camera to film
  2. A microphone
  3. A computer with video editing software.

It’s possible to create your class without a microphone, but they do tend to perform better if you can speak directly to your students rather than just screen casting or using on screen text.

For editing my videos, I use a free video editing software called DaVinci Resolve. I was completely new to this software so I followed some Skillshare courses and YouTube videos to learn how to use it. You can use any video editing software you have or are familiar with.

Skillshare class structure

Skillshare has a very specific structure for their courses that you’ll need to follow.

They want a stand-alone introduction video which is kind of like a trailer or highlight reel for your class, which anyone can watch it (even non members). This is meant to entice people to sign up to take the rest of your class. Below is an example of a class trailer from one of my classes:

You’ll also need to film individual videos for the Supplies and Class Project, and an Outro or Conclusion video to wrap it all up.

So a typical class outline might look something like this, with each one being a separate video:

  1. Introduction
  2. Supplies and Class Project
  3. Lesson 1
  4. Lesson 2
  5. Lesson 3
  6. Outro

Skillshare also really encourages you to have some sort of Project at the end of the class that students create and can share with other students on the website and social media.

You’ll also need to come up with a great title, description, and an eye catching thumbnail for your class. This takes time and experience to master. Your first course might not be that great right out of the gate. But just keep working on it and making more more courses, and this will improve over time! The great thing is you can update your older classes with new thumbnails, revised descriptions, and even add or replace whole lesson videos in the future.

The Skillshare website has tons of information and tips about producing your first class. I highly encourage you to go through the articles in their Teacher Handbook before you get started.

Don’t worry too much about getting it just right the first time. After you publish your class, someone at Skillshare will review it within the first 72 hours and let you know if there are any issues with the video quality or content so you can address it and even re-upload if necessary.

How to Promote your Skillshare classes

Once you’ve created your course, you’ll need to promote it. There are several ways to do this, and I’ve listed just a few ideas below:

  • Share it with your following on social media.
  • Write one or more blog posts about it.
  • Post your intro video on YouTube with a link to the class in the description. (You are allowed to post the intro video but not the other lessons on YouTube)
  • Engage with your existing students and encourage them to leave reviews and share their experience with others, helping build your reputation as an instructor.
  • Collaborate with other Skillshare teachers and cross-promote each other’s courses to tap into each other’s audience.
  • Use email marketing: Build an email list and send newsletters to your subscribers, promoting your Skillshare classes and sharing valuable content related to the courses.
  • Use Pinterest: Create eye-catching graphics and pins that lead to your Skillshare class landing pages to attract organic traffic.
  • Create shareable content: Develop engaging and shareable content related to your classes, such as infographics, tips, and tutorials, to attract more attention online.

These are just a few ideas of ways you can promote your Skillshare classes to attract more students and make more money.

how to make money as an artist on skillshare

How much money can you realistically make on Skillshare?

There’s no easy answer when it comes to how much money you can make on Skillshare. Realistically, it depends on a variety of factors such as the quality and popularity of your courses, how often you promote your courses, and how many students enroll in your courses.

That said, some Skillshare teachers have been able to generate significant income from their courses. Some of their Top Teachers have reported earning over $100,000 in a year.

While it’s certainly possible to make good money on Skillshare, it’s important to set realistic expectations. Many Skillshare teachers supplement their income with other activities such as freelance work, consulting, or selling other products. If you’re looking to make a full-time income as an artist online, it’s important to diversify your income sources.

At the end of the day, how much money you can make on Skillshare depends on a variety of factors. If you create high-quality courses and promote them effectively, you can certainly make a good income from Skillshare.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my journey of making money as an artist on Skillshare has been rewarding. From publishing my first class in 2021 to now having five classes and a growing monthly income, I’ve experienced the power of this platform.

So if you’re looking to make some extra money as an artist from teaching online classes, Skillshare is a great platform to consider.

Let me know what you think about making money as an artist on Skillshare in the comments section below! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this potential income stream.


Cheers,

julie signing off

New Skillshare Class: Modern Mandala Art

modern mandala art class
mandala drawing class

Hey guys, I just waned to let you know I’ve published a mandala drawing class on Skillshare! In this class we draw and colour 2 stunning and unique mandalas.

Click here to watch my mandala drawing class – Modern Mandala Art: Draw and Color 2 Stunning and Unique Mandalas

orange and blue mandala drawing

You can watch the intro video below:


Do you want to create some stunning mandala art today? Then join me as I take you step by step through drawing and coloring 2 beautiful and unique mandalas that you can hang on your wall, gift to friends and family or share with your followers online!

This is a traditional art class using paper and pens, but you can also follow along digitally if you prefer. 

blue and yellow mandala

In this class, I will guide you through the following steps:

  • Practicing some basic mandala patterns.
  • Drawing a simple mandala design.
  • Drawing a more complex and detailed mandala design.
  • Coloring in the simple mandala in a complimentary color scheme.
  • Coloring in the complex mandala with a monochromatic color scheme with metallic accents.

This class is perfect for beginner artists, or anyone who loves mandala art and easy therapeutic drawing exercises which produce beautiful results.

I hope to see you there!

Cheers,

julie signing off

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From Design to Product: Sell Your Art Online Through Print on Demand – My First Skillshare Class!

how to sell your art on products online
From design to product: sell your art online through print on demand websites Skillshare class

I’m so excited to share my first Skillshare class: From Design to Product: Sell Your Art Online Through Print on Demand.

This class has been a labour of love and I couldn’t have done it without the help of Skillshare.

As part of their (free) “Teach Lab” program, they basically guided me through the entire process of creating and filming the class, and even edited it for me!

Check out the intro video below:


The class encompasses all I’ve learned from the past 7 years of selling my art online, and contains much of the information I have shared here on my blog over the years in a nicely condensed video format.

Are you an artist who wants to make money by selling your art on real life products through print on demand websites like Redbubble and Society6? Then this class is for you!

Join me as I teach you how to sell your art online through print on demand (POD) websites!

Whether your designs are digital or traditional, you will learn the basics of making an income from your art using POD websites.  

During the class I take you step by step through the process of opening up your first print on demand store so you can start making passive income from your art!

from design to product: sell your art online with print on demand

In this class, I will guide you through the following steps:

  • Digitizing your artwork
  • Setting up a print on demand store
  • Uploading your first design on products
  • Marketing your products
  • Business tips
  • Bonus *PRO* tips from an established print on demand artist!

This class is great for beginners, or already established artists who are looking to earn passive income online. 

You can watch my class, From Design to Product: Sell Your Art Online Through Print on Demand FOR FREE with a 1 month trial of Skillshare using my link: https://skl.sh/2Z2AjXM

Then when you’re done, you can watch any of the other classes they have available!

Feel free to leave a review so I can improve my future Skillshare classes. I’m already working on my next one as we speak!


Cheers,

julie signing off

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Amazing Skillshare Classes for Artists

fabric mock ups
amazing skillshare classes for artists

Today I’d like to share some amazing Skillshare classes for Artists and creatives.

If you haven’t heard of Skillshare before it’s an education platform with all sorts of courses which are created by individal teachers.

I’ve known about Skillshare for a while now, and have done some of their free courses in the past. I wasn’t sure if the premium membership was worth it. I got a deal for 40% off the yearly subscription and decided to give it a try.

I’m so glad I did! I’ve been plowing through courses and found some really excellent ones. It’s helped me improve my skills and turned out to be a great investment for my personal and professional development.

The courses on Skillshare are particularly good for artists and creative business owners. Not only can you improve your artistic skills with classes taught by professional artists, but you can learn all sorts of business and marketing skills which are important if you want to make a living from your art.

I thought I would share some of my favourite Skillshare courses with you today and if you are interested in trying out their premium membership you can use this link for a 1 month free trial.

Skillshare Classes for Artists

If you are anywhere in the Print on Demand space you have likely heard of Cat Coquilette (aka CatCoq). She is very successful with art licensing, and has some amazing classes on Skillshare! These are a couple of my favourites, but honestly they are all good.

This class guides you through several exercises to help hone in on your person illustration style. Below is a sample of some of the illustrations I created in this class.

dragonfly illustrations mixed media art skillshare classes for artists

Want to learn or improve on your watercolour painting techniques? There are a ton of watercolour courses on Skillshare. Here are a few I’ve done recently:

watercolor christmas gnomes skillshare classes for artists

This course helped me re-brand my entire website and social media profiles. It’s a must follow for creatives who want to level up their businesses and have a more professional-looking and cohesive brand.

Delores Naskrent has a lot of interesting classes. Many are in Illustrator and Photoshop so if you want to improve your digitial art skills then her classes are for you.

blue gold alcohol ink tapestry

If you want to be a successful artist then being on social media is kind of a must. You can even find some artist specific social media courses on Skillshare, like this one:

And finally, you can learn to become a professional artist and illustrator with Ohn Mar Win! This is an extremely insightful class that will give you a realistic perspective on what it takes to become a professional illustrator (without immediately quitting your day job).

I’m actually going to be doing a workshop to learn how to make my own Skillshare class! It seems like a great opportunity for creatives to make money by sharing their knowledge and skills.

If you’re already on Skillshare, let’s connect! Here’s the link to my profile.

Let me know in the comments below if you have a favourite Skillshare class I’ve missed.


Cheers,

julie signing off

Other posts you may be interested in:

Buddha Mandala Free Colouring Page

buddha mandala free download adult coloring page
buddha mandala free colouring page

I decided to relieve some of my stress and anxiety by drawing another colouring page for you guys featuring a Buddha shape inside of a mandala.

As the days in quarantine drag on and on, I hope everyone is staying safe indoors and feeling well. I am on my 2nd week of working totally from home. It’s taking some time to get used to my changed routine.

I am going to continue creating content to share and provide some calm activities or beautiful art to look at and meditate on while we all get through this crazy time together.

Please let me know if you have any special requests for a colouring page or other content you’d find interesting or want to see from me in the next while.

Click here to download the free Buddha Mandala Colouring Page

I hope this colouring page brings you some peace and tranquillity as you colour and meditate on the shape of Buddha inside of a mandala.

Love colouring? You might also like my hand drawn Mandala Coloring Book now available on Amazon!

Also make sure to check out my other free colouring pages including:

Feel free to tag me in your coloured creations on Instagram @julieerindesigns!

Take care my friends.

Cheers,

julie signing off