When you publish a class, it's automatically added to the Skillshare catalog, where students with an active Skillshare membership can watch it. Without a membership, visitors can only watch the first lesson of your class. If you'd like to let people watch your class without a membership, you can create a free access link for your published class.
In this article:
- How watch time is calculated
- Tips for maximizing watch time
- What happens when someone uses a free access link?
- Things to know about free access links
- Create a free access link
- Can I offer a discount instead?
How watch time is calculated
Watch time from members with an active Skillshare subscription counts toward your monthly teacher payment, whether they watch your class online or offline in the Skillshare app.
If a member watches your class offline, their watch time is recorded automatically and syncs the next time they open the Skillshare app while connected to the internet. Your class statistics update after that sync.
Watch time is based on the actual amount of time a student spends watching your lessons, not the lesson's original length.
For example:
| Lesson length | Playback speed | Minutes counted |
| 10-minute lesson | 2× speed | 5 minutes watched |
| 10-minute lesson | 1× speed | 10 minutes watched |
| 10-minute lesson | 0.5× speed | 20 minutes watched |
Watch time from students using a free access link doesn't count toward your monthly teacher payment.
Tips for maximizing watch time
The best way to increase watch time is to create classes that are engaging and the right length for the topic you're teaching.
Making a class longer than necessary doesn't necessarily result in more minutes watched. In many cases, shorter, focused classes keep students engaged and encourage them to watch more of your lessons.
For recommendations on planning your class, see How long should a class be?
What happens when someone uses a free access link?
People who access your class through a free access link can watch your class without an active Skillshare subscription.
Here's what to expect:
- New members are prompted to create a Skillshare account, but they won't need to enter payment information.
- Existing members can sign in and watch the class, even without an active subscription.
- Students can submit class projects.
- Students can't leave reviews on classes they've accessed through a free access link.
Things to know about free access links
Before sharing a free access link, keep these limitations in mind:
- Minutes watched through free access links aren't eligible for teacher payments.
- Free access links don't generate referral revenue because viewers aren't signing up for a Skillshare membership.
- Free access links can't be shared for commercial purposes, including exchanging them for payment or offering them as a paid benefit outside of Skillshare. Please follow the Class and Content Guidelines when sharing your classes.
Create a free access link
On desktop
- Sign in to Skillshare using your teacher account.
- Open Creator Hub.
- Select My Classes from the left navigation.
- Find the published class you'd like to share, then click Edit.
- Select Promote from the left menu.
- Scroll to Free Access Links.
- Click Create a New Link.
- Choose:
- The number of people who can redeem the link.
- An optional campaign name to help you track redemptions.
- An optional expiration date.
- Click Create.
- Copy and share your free access link.
Free access links can currently be created from the desktop experience only.
Can I offer a discount instead?
No. Skillshare doesn't support discounted pricing for individual classes.
Still need help?
If something isn't working as expected or you're having trouble creating a free access link, our Teacher Support Team is here to help.