Skillshare Help Center

Earn From Your Referrals

As a teacher, you can earn additional revenue for each new subscribing member you bring to Skillshare.

In this article:

From October 1 to December 31, 2022 we’re running a promotion on referrals! Skillshare will pay teachers 90% of the first membership payment of each new member they refer (typically 60%), net of refunds. We will return to the 60% earning structure starting January 1, 2023. For more information on this change, read our announcement Introducing a New Teacher Payment Model (September 2022).

How Skillshare Referrals Work

Every new class you publish on Skillshare has a unique class referral link that you can share with your followers outside of Skillshare. Also, when you become a teacher on Skillshare you are also automatically granted a channel referral link, which gives you the benefit of being able to market all of your classes at once through your profile page.

Wherever you promote classes or your channel — on social media, via email, on your blog, or elsewhere — you will earn every time someone signs up for Skillshare through your referral link.

The amount you earn will be equal to 60% of that student’s first subscription payment for a Skillshare membership. Read below for specific information on how your referral revenue is calculated.

Additionally, where available, people who click your referral links and sign up get a free one-month trial to try out Skillshare.

Heads up! Due to some recent updates to banking regulations in India, new students residing in India are unable to access a free trial of a Skillshare membership through teacher referrals. To learn more, please read our announcement, Temporary Interruption in Teacher Referrals from India (January 2022).

All earned referral revenue is sent on the 16th of each month through Tipalti. For more on the timing of teacher payments, visit When and how do I receive payments from Skillshare?

Class and channel referral links are unique to you and they look a little different than the regular URL for your class. Be sure you’re using the right one when marketing your class so you can earn! Here are two examples:

Class referral link: https://skl.sh/3QJdXQ8

Channel referral link: https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/teachonskillshare

In terms of earning revenue from your referrals, it doesn’t matter what link you use — the payout is still the same regardless if you use a class or your channel referral link.

How Your Referral Revenue is Calculated and Distributed

For every new student you refer to Skillshare through any of your referral links, you will earn an amount equal to 60% of that student’s first subscription payment for a Skillshare membership. The exact amount is calculated based on the membership fees Skillshare receives from a user who becomes a paid subscriber via your referral link, net of refunds, and will not include amounts collected from the user for taxes, if any. Take note that the cost of a Skillshare membership may vary by country.

Skillshare calculates this payment by aggregating payments received in that month from first-time memberships (not including sales taxes) paid by students you referred (Membership Payments). Then, we subtract any refunds processed in that month for any referred students (Refunds).

Membership Payments - Refunds = Net Membership Payments

Your referral earnings for each month will be equal to 60% of your Net Membership Payments for that month.

60% of Net Membership Payments = Your Monthly Referral Earnings

Example Scenario

It may be helpful to consider this hypothetical scenario to understand how the model works and its impact on your expected revenue as a teacher. 

Referral-payment-scenario.png

For example, if a student signs up for Skillshare using your referral link on April 9th, they will still earn a free 1-month trial of Skillshare. After the free trial ends on May 9th and the student decides to keep their membership they will be charged for a full year. If the student’s membership fee is $100* before taxes, as an example, your referral earnings will be a 60% share of that payment, or $60. The amount will be added to your May earnings, sent on June 16th.

*Take note this is purely an example. The exact amount a student pays for an annual membership will vary.

How to Find Your Referral Links

For step-by-step instructions on how to find either your class or channel referral links, refer to the article Where can I find my referral links?.

Tracking Your Referral Earnings

Your Teacher Stats dashboard shows your total earned revenue since you started teaching on Skillshare. Your Referrals dashboard shows details on your referrals, in addition to your channel referral link.

Visit Where can I find information on my class performance and earnings? for a detailed breakdown of the information displayed on this dashboard.

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