Skillshare Help Center

Get Started With Teaching

Whether you're creating your first Skillshare class or preparing your next one, this guide walks you through the entire class creation process—from applying to teach to publishing and engaging with your students.

Along the way, you'll find links to Help Center resources that explain each step in more detail.

In this article:

Get Ready

Before creating your first class, you'll need to apply and be approved to teach on Skillshare. Review How do I apply to teach a class on Skillshare? to learn more about the application process.

We also recommend familiarizing yourself with how teaching works on Skillshare before you begin by exploring the Basics of Teaching section of the Teacher Help Center. Be sure to also check through our Teaching Policies to understand teaching requirements and what’s permitted on the platform.

For a step-by-step walkthrough on creating and publishing your first class, check out our class, Teach on Skillshare: Plan, Publish, and Promote an Engaging Class.

Plan Your Class

Planning is the first and most important part of creating your Skillshare class. This is when you decide on your topic, come up with an engaging class project, and get your thoughts organized. Great planning makes production much easier (and faster). If you put the time into planning at the start, the whole class creation process will go much more smoothly!

Understand Class Length & Timeline

How long should my class be?

Most Skillshare classes include:

  • 20–60 minutes of pre-recorded video
  • Lessons broken into 2–8 minute videos

Short-form classes

  • 2–15 minutes of video
  • Include a class project
  • Don't require an introduction or outro

Standard classes

  • More than 15 minutes of video
  • Include a standalone introduction, several lessons, a class project, and an outro

While classes can certainly be longer, focus on creating the amount of content your topic needs—not simply making the class longer. Well-paced, high-quality classes tend to keep students engaged and encourage more minutes watched.

Film & Edit Your Class

Once your outline is complete, it's time to record your lessons.

If you’ve never produced video content before, this aspect of creating a class might feel intimidating. But many successful Skillshare teachers create stunning content, at home, all on their own. This section includes articles to help you prepare your space for filming, get confident on camera, film your content, and edit your footage into polished lessons.

Upload Your Class

When your videos and project materials are ready, upload your content and prepare your class for publishing.

When you're ready to publish, visit the Upload Your Class Content section of the Teacher Help Center for step-by-step guidance on uploading, strategies for dealing with uploading errors, and optimizing your class page.

Promote Your Class

A polished class page helps students discover your class. We recommend understanding marketing and merchandising before you launch to maximize your reach with potential students.

To learn how to showcase your class, strengthen your teacher profile, and share your work with a wider audience, explore the Promote Your Teaching section of the Teacher Help Center.

Launch Your Class

We recommend going through the Publishing Checklist and reviewing our Teaching Policies prior to publishing. 

Most common mistakes teachers make that result in class closures are: 

  • not having adequate A/V quality
  • not including a project 
  • not titling each lesson 
  • not having a standalone introduction lesson

Once you've gone through the checklist and confirmed your class is good to go, push submit to publish your class! 

New classes become available immediately after submission, while our Moderation team reviews each new class within 72 hours. For more information, see Class Moderation.

Engage Your Students

Publishing your class is just the beginning. Active teachers build stronger communities by interacting with students and encouraging participation.

Learn how to build an engaged learning community by visiting the Engage Your Students section of the Teacher Help Center, where you'll find tips for facilitating discussions and providing feedback on student projects.

Continue Your Teaching Journey

As you continue teaching, you can grow your audience, strengthen your brand, and update your classes over time.

As you continue teaching, visit the Continue Your Teaching section of the Teacher Help Center for resources on improving your classes, growing your audience, building your brand, and making the most of your teaching experience on Skillshare.

Still need help?

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us at teach@skillshare.com. We're happy to help!



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